A woman from Los Angeles has gone viral on TikTok after claiming that her landlord has tricked her into overpaying the rent in her “uninhabitable” apartment by more than 45%.
The video was posted by TikTok user Kelsey Kerrigan (@conornoburst) on Jan. 23, and currently has over 185,100 views. In it, she explains, “So I was opening my mail recently, and I got notice of a rent increase. But also in my mail was a letter from the LA Housing Department explaining to me how I can start paying them instead of my landlord for the REAP account.”
The REAP (Rent Escrow Account Program) comes into play when an apartment is deemed uninhabitable by an inspector, allowing the tenant money into an escrow account instead of directly to the landlord, with the landlord only having access to the funds if he’s investing them into improving the property.
Kerrigan continues, “In September, I got an email from my landlord saying, ‘Disregard the REAP letters, we had an inspector sign off on the property today, you can pay rent as per usual.’ Now, my mistake, I took it in good faith that she meant that.”
However, when Kerrigan received a rent increase, she found it strange. REAP prohibits landlords from increasing their rent for one full year after their property has been released from the program.
@conornoburst All landlords are bad. #landlordsfromhell #losangeleshousing #lahd #reapprogram ♬ original sound – Kelsey
This prompted her to finally call the LA Housing Department and seek clarification. “It turns out that since August, I’ve been overpaying my rent by 45%, that they owe me that money back, and they can either give it to me in credit, which I wouldn’t want, or they can pay me the money back. It’s like $3,700,” Kerrigan reveals.
The video has since amassed 190,000 views, with many users going to the comment section to offer advice to the TikToker.
One user commented, “If it’s a multi-family place, casually mention this to the other tenants. They might be overpaying as well.”
A second user added, “you better believe that if you underpaid by one cent they would have let you hear it. good luck!”
“I know someone I’m San Francisco that got ALL of his rent money back, as his apartment should NOT have been rented to him,” another claimed.
This isn’t the first time a tenant has found themselves overpaying rent. In a similar incident reported by the Daily Dot, a TikToker went viral after discovering that her landlord was overcharging her for a rent-stabilized apartment.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kelsey Kerrigan via Instagram direct messages for comment.