An 'astounded' model claims her landlord more than doubled her rent after discovering her popular OnlyFans channel.
Romi Chase says she was 'taken aback' when her former landlord turned up unannounced to her four-bedroom home after almost a year of her living there.
He said he had made the surprise visit to carry out a routine inspection, but instead confronted the 29-year-old about her work on the adult only site.
Just a few weeks later, she was sent a letter notifying her that her rent would be significantly increased from $2,300 to $4,800 a month, Hull Live reports.
The influencer, who made $1million (£767,755) in her first year on OnlyFans, explained: “He told me he found my Instagram, went through all of my links and my OnlyFans. I was astounded, completely taken aback and put on the spot to say the least.
"He definitely made the impression that he didn’t take kindly or approve of how I make an 100% legal living.
"He had an attitude, I could feel him judging and looking down on me, but I chalked it up to being from a different generation with a different set of values.”
When the Polish model called him to ask him why he hadn’t informed her of the rent hike during the inspection, she claims he did not provide an explanation.
Despite being able to afford the new price, Romi decided to forgo her security deposit and move out of the apartment saying she felt judged.
She said: “I’m proud of what I do, I wasn’t hiding anything. I can’t help but wonder if my landlord, in his research, became an OnlyFans customer and enjoyed my work!”
Former primary school teacher Romi left her home in Poland in 2017 in pursuit of starting a life in America. She started in New Orleans but then moving to Alabama and eventually Orlando, Florida the following year.
"I didn't really have a plan," she said. "My degree wasn't worth much so at some point I was broke.
"I didn't have my social security number, I didn't have my green card or work permit so I had to hustle.
"I started doing side gigs for fetish sites and glamour photoshoots and boudoir. I never considered that to be something I'd be doing full time."
Her plus-size modelling career, selling glamor and fetish photos and making adult videos for OnlyFans, skyrocketed, so by January 2020 she wanted to move to a larger home in Miami.
"I moved there to get better opportunities for my career that was taking off," said Romi. It was nice home, nice open layout, it was great."
During the course of the year she made her first million dollars, and became one of the world's top OnlyFans creators.
She said: “I was a model tenant; I never missed a payment, even during the pandemic when my career actually thrived.
“I was quiet and low-key, nothing illegal or suspicious ever went on and I never had an issue with any of my neighbours.
"Life was good, I was happy and grateful to be a stranger in a new land prospering and making a life for myself.”
Then in late November last year she had the inspection from her landlord. She said: "All of a sudden he's like 'I found you on Instagram'. I'm like 'oh, OK'.
"I didn't think much of it because, whatever, my Instagram is public, if you find me you find me. Allegedly he found my OnlyFans, you can clearly see it is an adult site so he probably got a pretty good idea of what I was doing.
She said she felt he didn't like what she was doing but added: "It's a legal job, I'm paying taxes, I have registered as a small business. I wasn't going to waste my time trying to explain myself, I didn't have anything to explain."
After 15 minutes, the landlord, who Romi estimates was in his late 50s, left, leaving Romi feeling very confused.
She said: "I was just weirded out, I didn't even know what that was about - why are you confronting me about my job? Would you confront a lawyer or a job?
"When I moved in he knew my finances. He was aware of the money I was bringing in and he didn't ask me about anything."
A few weeks later, the influencer received a letter from the landlord informing her that her monthly rent had been increased from $2,300 to $4,800.
She said: “It’s an 120% increase during a time when people are just barely surviving, leaving me in a bad spot to say the least.”
The notice required her to pay up or move out within 60 days, and since her lease had a 60-day notice period, this forced Romi to make a decision on that day or lose her deposit.
She said: “When I contacted a few lawyers I was told he was within his rights, in the state of Florida there is no regulation on rent hikes.
She said she immediately contacted her landlord, but she said he was “dismissive and cold” when she asked him why he didn’t mention her imminent rent increase when he visited her for the inspection.
She said she decided to leave. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada as she had heard other performers in her industry lived there, and she is much happier and paying reasonable rent. She said: "A lot of people would have maybe paid, I was just like 'nope'.
"I've bought a way better crib now in Vegas, it's a five bed, five bath with a private pool. It's my dream home and I came out on top."
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