What do I do if my co-living landlord houses me with a roommate who is a serial killer?

Jan 12, 2025

In Episode 40 we look at a January 8, 2025 Business Insider article with the headline: “Man Sues Co-Living Company After Being Housed with a Serial Killer”. You simply cannot make this stuff up.

In a 15-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, a tenant said that a co-living company breached its duty to him when the company placed him with a roommate it knew to be dangerous and unfit and ignored the fact that the roommate had already exhibited abnormal, alarming, and erratic behavior, the roommate had not paid rent in a year, and the roommate threatened the tenant. Nevertheless, the co-living company denied the tenant’s requests to be relocated after he raised concern about his safety. And then the roommate allegedly killed three sleeping homeless men and another person, over a four-day period. To add insult to injury, when the police busted through the apartment door to arrest the roommate-alleged-serial-killer, they arrested everyone in the apartment, including the complaining tenant, who was obviously later released.

This episode is not merely going to be about a sensational roommate-from-hell story. The company in this LA story is based in New York City and operates here and has at least a dozen competitors doing co-living business here in New York City. Co-living has become more and more common as a natural response to the New York City housing shortage. We have so often seen situations where tenants in co-living situations feel compromised. Today’s episode is about what you, as a tenant in a co-living situation where you feel unsafe, can do to get your co-living landlord to be more responsive to your request to move you quickly to another apartment or to refund your money.

Listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Links:

• Tenant Law Podcast Website

• “Man Sues Co-Living Company After Being Housed with a Serial Killer”

• Suggest future topics at [email protected]