A Philadelphia man who went viral on social media for a video he posted depicting him as living in a storage unit with his partner as a cost-saving measure now has taken to Instagram to reveal that they have been kicked out of the storage unit.
The storage management cited a violation of the facility’s contract terms as the reason for their removal, he said.
Leland Desmond Brown Jr. said managers of the space sent him an eviction notice telling him and his girlfriend they have until the end of the month to get all of their belongings off the property.
Following this the couple had returned to living inside a tent outside of the building until someone hooked them up with a place to stay, Brown says in the new video.
“So we got kicked out of our storage unit,” the 28-year-old started his video. “The higher-ups found out about my video and went so viral we ended up getting kicked out. Now we’re just trying to figure out where to go and what we’re going to do with all of our stuff.”
Brown said he is going to have to get a new storage unit and figure out his next steps, noting that he was also told that he could not make videos on the property.
“All we have is a tent, and it’s freezing cold outside,” he said in the clip, adding that he tried to take a big risk by living in the unit and thought he was clever — figuring out a way to circumvent paying the rising rent costs in the City of Brotherly Love.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the average rent in the city in 2023 stood at approximately $1,700. Over the past year, there has been a modest increase of 1.2 percent in average rent, marking a notable contrast to the substantial 11.9 percent surge in rent prices witnessed in the city from 2019 through 2022.
While that might not seem like a significant amount, for someone like Brown and his girlfriend — who said they were paying $200 to live in the unit — it could mean the difference between living in a small apartment, a shelter, a tent, or a storage unit.
Some individuals resort to living in storage units to find a semblance of shelter for themselves and their families. Tragically, in 2019 a man lost his life in North Dakota when the storage unit he called home caught fire. Similarly, in 2017 in Kansas, a man faced arrest for residing in a unit with his two children, resulting in charges of child endangerment and contributing to a child’s misconduct.
Another incident involved an Indiana woman arrested for living in a storage unit with her two children, leading to charges of neglect of a dependent.
At the beginning of 2024, Brown shared a video showcasing his living space at that time. The video, garnering tens of millions of views on TikTok, featured him explaining that he and his girlfriend chose to reside in the unit due to its cost-effectiveness compared to renting an apartment. Their goal was to save money to eventually acquire an RV and, ultimately, a home.
This week Brown said that after the eviction someone extended a courtesy to him and his girlfriend to stay for the weekend in a hotel.
“We got a free hotel,” he said, noting how cold it was in the city.
On Friday, Jan. 19, when he posted the clip, the city experienced between 3 and 5 inches of snow, with temperatures in the low 20s and a wind chill of 8 degrees.
“We don’t have to stay outside in the cold,” he added. “Not only can we get out of the cold for the weekend, but we can also use this time to figure out next” his girlfriend added, “Where we’re going to put our storage at and who we can call to help us.”
They also plan to make “a lot of money moves” which will include “making some content.”
