Jan 13, 2026
After nearly a year without rental income, Patrick and Kandice Phillips are finally seeing a light at the end of a long and costly tunnel.
The Forest Park, Georgia, couple rented out their three-bedroom, one-bathroom home to a woman named Camela Johnson for $1,300 a month, but went months without receiving a single payment, according to 11Alive (1, 2). Repeated eviction appeals allowed the tenant to remain in the home, the homeowners say, leaving them with around $13,000 in unpaid rent.
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Their experience reflects a broader reality for small landlords across the U.S., many of whom don’t have deep pockets. When rental income stops coming in, the financial strain can escalate quickly.
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“Just imagine for a moment if we had to foreclose on this house that we paid for, for almost 16 years because Camela Johnson want to rig the system and live in a house rent free,” Patrick told the local broadcaster.
The cost of a delayed eviction
The couple says Johnson was able to remain in the home for months by taking advantage of a loophole that allowed her to repeatedly appeal the eviction and stay put while the case worked its way through the system.
“We are not rich people. We are working-class people who can’t really afford lawyers,” Kandice said. “So we're in this gray area where we cannot get assistance or help and we cannot afford to buy help, so we are on our own.”
Evictions can be costly to landlords. On top legal fees, which may include filing paperwork and potentially the cost of representation, landlords have to deal with lost back rent, turnover costs and lost revenue due to vacancy, which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
In a November court filing, the tenant even asked a judge to allow her to remain in the home while repaying the overdue rent, a request Patrick said was not realistic, 11Alive reports. Days after the story aired on Dec. 13, a Clayton County judge signed a writ of possession authorizing law enforcement to remove the occupant and return the property to the couple.
After deputies enforced the eviction, the couple were left to assess the condition of a home they hadn’t had access to for months. Inside, they say they found large televisions, expensive furnishings and signs the property may have been used to operate an at-home daycare. The return came just days before the holidays, but the couple says there was little to celebrate as they turned their attention to what comes next.
“We don’t have a Christmas tree, we don’t have gifts under the Christmas tree and she has Christmas tree gifts, living her best life at our expense, but telling the courts she’s broke and that we’ve been abusing her when the whole time we are the true victims,” Patrick said.
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What to know to protect yourself as a small landlord
This story underscores a reality that often gets overlooked in housing debates: owning a single rental property leaves little margin for prolonged legal delays or surprise costs. Kandice told the broadcaster the couple now wants to work within the court system to push for reform.
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“We want to get into the court system and try to figure out what we can do to help and maybe get a law passed or any type of bill on the senate floor. We want to help people in that way,” she said.
In the meantime, it may be wise for landlords to approach renting like any other investment that carries downside risk. That starts with thorough tenant screening, including eviction history checks where available and a clear understanding of how eviction enforcement works in their state. It also means building an emergency fund to cover months without rent, legal fees and repair costs if things go sideways.
Some landlords may also want to consider to landlord insurance or working with professional property managers to add another layer of protection, even if it cuts into monthly returns. As for Patrick and Kandice Phillips, they told 11 Alive they won’t rent their home again until existing loopholes in eviction legislation are addressed.
Correction, Jan. 13, 2026: The final quote in the article was previously misattributed to Patrick Phillips. It was spoken by Kandice Phillips.
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Victoria Vesovski is a Toronto-based staff reporter at Moneywise covering personal finance, lifestyle and trending news. She holds degrees from the University of Toronto and New York University, and her work has appeared on platforms including Yahoo Finance, MSN Money and Apple News.
