Locked-up

I've seen contracts that state the landlord may lock up a rental property if the tenant fails to pay rent. What can go wrong, right?

Once upon a time, a family rented a unit in an apartment building. They were behind in rent, so they cautiously avoided the landlord. One day, the parents left the unit and didn't return until after a couple of days.

Irate for non-payment, the landlord finally decided to padlock the room from the outside.

The tenants came back to find the unit locked up. They forced the door open...

…only to find their child had passed away.

As it turns out, they left their kid in the unit–likely without enough food to last until they returned.

This is a story from a lecturer in my RE classes. A few details might be off, but the main points are there.