Moment Washington landlord confronts ‘con’ serial squatter who owes $80,000 in back rent but refuses to leave $2 million in rental properties

A Seattle landlord was forced to take matters into his own hands and confront a squatter he claims owes $80,000 in rent and refuses to leave his $2 million home.

Jaskaran Singh rented his five-bedroom home on 123rd Avenue near Seattle, Washington, to the man’s family in the summer of 2022.

He received the first and last month’s rent, but said the tenant then stopped paying, leaving him $80,000 out of pocket.

Singh filed for eviction, but after the tenant was granted an extension with a court date set for April 5, Singh took matters into his own hands, confronted the tenant and organized a protest with 200 people outside the house.

Singh said KOMO news: ‘I suffered a loss of $80,000. This should stop. This is a fight against injustice.’

He says the man owes him $80,000 in back rent and is refusing to leave the property

The $2 million home has five bedrooms and measures 1,600 square feet

The moment Singh confronted the tenant was captured on camera.

During the protest, Singh walked to the front of the 1,900-square-foot home and knocked on the door.

The tenant, whose name is not known, opened the door and came out.

Singh said, “You haven’t paid the rent for the last year.”

The tenant tried to go back to the house, but Singh said, “Wait, I need to talk… You haven’t paid the rent for six months. This is my house.’

The tenant then walked back into the home and closed the door.

Singh told KOMO News: “He is not willing to pay. He’s basically exploiting the system.”

Singh filed eviction proceedings when the tenant first began missing payments, but the Housing Justice Project (HJP) intervened on behalf of the tenant, seeking a stay of the eviction and paying a portion of the back rent.

The HJP even paid a three-month advance on the rent, so that the family had time to move.

But when the three months were up in May 2023, Singh said the family still didn’t move out and they started missing rent payments again.

Singh told KOMO News: “He never paid rent after May 2023 of last year, so it’s been almost eleven months now.”

The tenant reportedly claims to have lost his job during the pandemic and has been unable to find work as a consultant in the medical field.

But Singh’s lawyer, Stephen Freeborn, told them KOMO news: ‘That man can’t pay his rent, but he has two brand new cars parked in the driveway.’

Singh and his lawyer staged a protest outside the house on Saturday, attended by around 200 people, holding banners and chanting ‘No pay, no stay’.

Seattle-based journalist Jonathan Choe filmed the protest.

Kory Hahn, vice chair of the King County Republican Party, led a “Go Away, Crook!” shouted in Korean and said, “If you’re not going to pay, you shouldn’t stay there.”

On Saturday, 200 people came to the address to protest and call on the tenant to leave

They held signs reading “A Landlord’s Life Matters” and performed chants saying “no pay, no stay.”

Jaskaran Singh told KOMO News that this is a ‘fight against injustice’

Police had to intervene when some protesters banged on the door of the house.

Freeborn told KOMO News: ‘I was there and I thank them for coming. Not only was it a community gathering, but there were people from as far away as Tacoma, Olympia.

“We had representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties and I was surprised and happy to see it because this shouldn’t be a partisan issue. This should be a bipartisan issue because it affects everyone.

“I’m glad that this kind of thing (the protest) is starting to happen because they’re afraid no one is listening. Nobody listens to them.

“These landlords are dying on the vine, which is bad for the economy.”

According to KOMO News, the tenant has been granted a temporary restraining order against the Singh.