[VIDEO] VIDEO. Near Toulouse: A former manager has not paid his rent for six years, the owners are at the end of their strength

The Argentine brothers are in a bad mood. The lack of rain and the insane heat of the last few weeks are threatening their tomato harvest. “It’s worse than the 1976 drought!” screams Jean-Michel, the youngest of the siblings. Worse, the brothers worry about their future retirement. It’s been 6 years since the tenant of the house built by the sweat of his brow stopped paying the rent. “We did the math, there are 43,525 euros in rent arrears. Actually, there should be a lot more. We haven’t touched the amount of the rent (600 euros, editor’s note) since 1996. And I’m not even talking about the water and all the taxes we’ve paid all these years.”strangled Camille, the older brother.

Graphologists to the rescue

Since 2005, Les frères Argentin have used all legal means to evict this 73-year-old tenant. Camille had to give up part of her accumulated capital through the sale of agricultural land that was converted into housing estates. “So far I have had more than 15,000 euros in legal fees. We even had to resort to graphologists to prove that he and his ex-wife actually signed the lease. In 2021 we kicked him out and still nothing changes… I don’t know if I’ll get my house back one day and if we can get him to leave what condition we’ll find her in…” makes he worried.

On July 15, the trial judge for intellectual property rights denied the tenant access to the “proceedings for dealing with the situation of overindebtedness of private individuals”.

He goes to the restaurant but doesn’t pay his rent

The verdict is clear and weighs heavily on the tenant. The magistrate writes: “The persistence of a behavior of total refusal to pay the rent for such a long period of time, resulting in a significant debt (…) and the persistence of the refusal to leave the premises when the creditor is insolvent in a critical situation characterizes the debtor’s lack of good faith.” In particular, during the hearing, the bank statements of the tenant were presented, who did not hesitate to go to the restaurant every month without paying a penny to the Argentine brothers. The tenant, a former CEO, suffered a heart attack in 2018. Since then, his financial situation has continued to deteriorate. “I had a company in advertising, but my illness put me on my side and quickly collapsed. Since I retired, I’ve only gotten 1,043 euros,” says the seventy-year-old. He admits that he hasn’t paid his rent for 6 years and justifies himself: “The house is totally unhygienic. When I use the toilet, it happens that the excrement goes up into the bathtub… I asked Mr. Argentinian to do necessary work. Nothing was done, that’s why I stopped paying it. I have taken all the steps to join public housing. “