A landlord has spoken out about her frustrations after being unable to evict tenants - despite being owed more than $23,000 in rent.
As reported by CBS News, single mom and Air Force veteran Brandie LaCasse has been left "functionally homeless" after not being paid rent for nearly a year and falling on hard times.
The landlord owns three properties in upstate New York, and after notifying a group of tenants that they would need to move out so that she could move into her home, they stopped paying rent and have not budged.
LaCasse has now resorted to living out of her car and staying with friends, along with her daughter.
Speaking to CBS, the mom said: "I've cried many nights, like thinking, 'Where's my money?'"
"I don't understand how they can give my private property to somebody to live for free. I bought that property. I fixed it up with my blood, sweat, and tears," she added.
More on this story below:Unfortunately for LaCasse, despite requesting that the tenants leave and now being owed over $23,000 in unpaid rent, state and federal moratoriums on evictions mean that the occupants cannot be forced out.
The moratoriums were put in place in order to protect renters from being booted from their homes amid the pandemic and being left homeless, and federal money was set aside in order to compensate landlords.
However, CBS reports that the Treasury Department has revealed that almost 90% of these rental assistance funds have not been distributed.
Landlords are now saying that they have become "collateral damage".
On the other side of this story is LaCasse's tenant, Carla McArthur.
A mom to a daughter and autistic son, McArthur says that she is unable to pay rent due to childcare costs, telling CBS that she feels "bad" that she is unable to pay LaCasse what she is owed.
"We've gone from two incomes. I had Covid-19 twice. My kids all have had it once. My husband's had it once. We've been affected by the virus," McArthur said.
McArthur's situation meant that she was approved for rent relief in New York - but LaCasse is yet to be compensated. CBS states that New York was provided with $2.6 billion in relief for landlords - but just 8% of this has been distributed.
LaCasse says that she never thought she'd be left without a place to live after investing so much into her properties. "I just want my house. That's it. I just want my house," she said.
But on the other side of the coin, McArthur is living in fear that her family will become homeless when the moratorium ceases. "That's what I'm afraid of, being homeless," she said.
