Heartless landlord in China evicts terminally ill woman

A landlord in China is under fire after heartlessly evicting a cancer-stricken tenant, fearing her death could devalue his property.

Zhang, the landlord from Beijing, booted out Wang, a terminally ill woman renting his flat, claiming that her presence could turn the property into a haunted house and slash its value by up to 1 million yuan (nearly 4.7 million baht). Wang, battling late-stage cancer, had chosen the flat for its proximity to a hospital.

Zhang had rented the flat to Wang and her husband at a discounted rate of 5,500 yuan per month, hoping to sell it soon. Under their agreement, the couple allowed potential buyers to view the property, and the lease was set to run until mid-November.

However, everything changed when Zhang noticed Wang’s baldness during a viewing and enquired about her health. Upon learning of her cancer diagnosis, Zhang swiftly pinned an eviction notice on their door, giving the couple just one week to leave. The landlord reasoned that he feared Wang’s death could stigmatise the flat and scare off future buyers.

Wang’s husband, who had kept her condition private, refused to be bullied, rejecting Zhang’s outrageous demand for compensation if the property lost value.

“It’s inhumane!” one furious commenter wrote on Douyin, where the drama has sparked a frenzy, with over 5,000 comments. Others offered a more tempered view, with one stating, “The landlord should at least compensate for breaking the lease.”

As the dispute rages on, Zhang remains defiant, while Wang and her husband refuse to vacate without fair compensation, leaving the two sides locked in a bitter battle, reported South China Morning Post.

In related news, the owner of a rented house in the southern province of Songkhla refused to allow a terminally ill Thai man to rest in her residence. This forced the man to seek refuge in a temple, where he passed away on the morning of June 14.