Fed-up landlord Vanessa McCants, angry that her tenant was not paying rent, decided to take matters into her own hands –she took a can of spray paint and wrote “DEADBEAT TENANTS” on her own building.

The story, according to WBTV, is that McCants rented the property (what appears to be a single family home) to Shanae Jackson for $1300 a month without trouble until June 1, when Jackson began deliberately not paying rent while still living in the home. The deluded Jackson claims that she cannot afford rent and moving expenses at the same time, and furthermore, claims that her security deposit “should cover the rent” — even though the security deposit, as the name implies, is money for damages to the property, not for rent. McCants alleges that Jackson is refusing to pay rent because Jackson may know that McCants is being foreclosed on by her bank, which allows Jackson to levy both a plausible legal gray area and already incredibly lenient (if not coddling) tenant-friendly laws in NC in order to avoid paying the rent she owes.

After Jackson missed two payments (I’m presuming one for June and one for July), McCants decided to get her back by spray painting her name and “DEADBEAT TENANTS” on her own property. Jackson called the police after this happened, but the police correctly informed her that McCants was within her rights in spraypainting her own property.

Hilariously, some commentators are claiming that Jackson is somehow in the right because McCants is being foreclosed upon — but this is irrelevant information. Certainly, the fact that McCants is being foreclosed upon is interesting to note, and it may indicate her own financial issues (and ironically, her own lack of ability to pay what she owes to whom she owes it to), but this does not somehow exonerate Jackson from paying her rent. So far as Jackson is concerned, until the bank comes into control of the property, McCants is her landlord, and she is subject to the terms of the contract, regardless of if she “can” pay or not. McCants is not required or obligated to use her security deposit to pay her rent simply because Jackson does not want to/feel like paying.

Though obviously spray painting her own house may be shooting herself in the foot, I think what McCants did was wholly acceptable. After all, Shanae Jackson is a deadbeat.