Homelessness continues to be a serious problem in America. The statistics are quite harrowing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that “on a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people – or about 20 [in] every 10,000 people in the United States – were experiencing homelessness.”
To avoid adding to that statistic, one couple found a way to survive in this harsh economy. They turned their storage unit into a living space. Philadelphia man Leland Brown, aka fulestness on TikTok, showed the Internet how the storage facility has everything he and his girlfriend need. The viewers, however, had mixed reactions.
The couple in this story are Leland Brown Jr., a 28-year-old father from the video, and his partner Breanna. They document their story of homelessness and struggles not only on TikTok but on YouTube, as well. In fact, in a recent video, they detail their journey of financial struggles and living arrangements.
The couple spoke about how they met and what led to their current situation. Leland shared how he used to live with his girlfriend, but after a breakup, he moved back in with his father. He kicked Leland out after finding out how often Breanna was spending the night.
The couple then moved in with Breanna’s parents, worked for her mother, and delivered food via DoorDash. Unfortunately, her parents also demanded they move out after disagreeing with their life choices. (Breanna dropped out of college, for one.)
The couple then started living in a tent in the woods. Both admit that this period was particularly hard. They had trouble with flooding, snow, and animals, and someone even stole their belongings once.
What about jobs? Leland lost his previous cleaning job after accidentally sending his girlfriend’s OnlyFans picture to a coworker. Now, he works part-time at a hotel while the couple focuses on other “entrepreneurial pursuits.”
Leland spoke about how the couple are currently deciding whether to use the money they received via TikTok for investments or to buy a car. “The goal is to take this money and make a difference so that we don’t have to go back out there,” he said.
“I’m always willing to get a job if I have to, a traditional job. I’m always willing to do that,” Leland added. “But as of right now, Breanna [and I] look at getting a job as a setback, [like] we’re going backwards. This is our dream. It’s just gonna get in the way of us creating content and doing the things that we love.”
They talked about how creating content is currently lucrative for them. There are also donations on GoFundMe and TikTok, which pays its creators a certain amount per 1,000 views. Leland posits at the end of the video: “Once we get afloat, why would I go back to a job when I’m making more money and I’m doing what I love?”
Currently, the couple is living in a hotel room, which one lady provided them with for free. At first, the plan was to stay there for a couple of days, but now Leland and Breanna hope to be able to stay there until the winter is over.
Less than a week after Leland posted the original video, the storage facility evicted the couple. (You can see the update below.) Many commenters warned the couple that this might happen. And experts say that this is quite a straightforward issue. Brian Hoel, President of BraineTrust Storage LLC, said that “state and local laws prohibit the residential use of storage units.”
“For example, in California, the Health and Safety Code prohibits the use of self-storage units for human habitation, and violators can face fines of up to $1,000 and eviction from the facility,” Hoel told Self Storage. “In New York, the state’s Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code also prohibits residential occupancy of storage units, and violators can face fines and imprisonment.”
Many storage facilities have security cameras and can easily see if someone is living in their unit. The penalties for taking up residence in a storage unit range from eviction and fines to even criminal charges.
Storage facility operators have ways of determining whether the unit owner might be living there. The first sign is that you see that tenant a lot. Usually, people don’t visit their storage units every day. If an operator sees a tenant once or more times a day, that might mean they might be living there.
Other tell-tale signs include a higher electrical bill, being short on toiletries, and a surge in trash. All in all, living in a storage unit might not be the best idea. The facility owners can easily find out and then evict you, just like what happened to this couple.
