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Apartment complex threatens to evict non-Facebook friends

By Ben Hooper
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SALT LAKE CITY, May 31 (UPI) -- Residents of a Salt Lake City apartment complex said they were outraged to be threatened with eviction if they refused to friend the complex on Facebook.

Tenants at City Park Apartments said the "Facebook addendum" taped to their doors Thursday night ordered them to friend the apartment complex on the social media site within five days or be found in breach of their rental agreements, which some residents said they signed months ago, before the addendum was authored.

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Residents said the document ordered them not to post anything negative about City Park Apartments on Facebook and granted permission to the company to use photos of tenants and their visitors on the page.

"I don't want to be forced to be someone's friend and be threatened to break my lease because of that," tenant Jason Ring told KSL-TV. "It's outrageous as far as I'm concerned."

Ring said he plans to move out when his lease is up.

"It's a violation of my privacy," Ring said.

Zachary Myers, a Bountiful attorney specializing in tenant rights cases, said the contract addendum could be considered discriminatory toward those who don't use Facebook or are unable to create accounts.

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"The biggest issue that I have with it is that it seems to be discriminatory against elderly individuals and disabled individuals who are unable to utilize an online presence such as Facebook," he said.

Myers said tenants can't be forced by law to sign an addendum after their lease has been signed.

The apartment complex had a 1.1-out-of-5 star rating Tuesday before the page was apparently deactivated in the afternoon.

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