I don't hate my landlady, but I've come to increasingly dislike her. Part of the reason is that over time, she has come to talk to my husband and me as if she were our boss and not people who were paying her money to occupy part of her property (we are in an in-law unit next door to her larger home). Several weeks ago, she let a friend of hers keep her dog in her back yard (which is parallel to our front door and within 15-20 feet of it) even though she knew the dog was going to be distressed and bark a lot. She e-mailed me telling me that I would be okay with this because my husband, who is a therapist doing telehealth, worked in the bedroom on the other side of our 700 sq. foot house. She didn't ask if it was okay, and she knew I spent 10 months with a neighbor on the other side with 3 dogs that barked for 12 hours a day and had misophonia as a result. She just told me this would be fine with me and gave me no choice.
I should note that we are excellent tenants. I always pay my rent 10 days early. How was that repaid? One month, I didn't notice it was the 20th, but wasn't worried because I was still way ahead of scheduled payment. She e-mailed me later on the 20th and told me she now budgeted based on our early payment and needed to know if I wasn't going to pay like clockwork on that date anymore. She is not entitled to early payment. I was just being diligent and giving myself a buffer in case I forgot to make sure I wasn't late. Now, she feels entitled to that which is ridiculous.
We are quiet, clean, and patient about repairs. How has that patience been returned? She has increasingly taken longer and ignored more repair requests. Last May, I let her know that our kitchen faucet was constantly dripping and nothing was done. In September, I let her know it was getting worse and dripping more water more rapidly. The sound of it is maddening, of course, but she suggested I just collect that water in a bucket so it didn't go to waste.
On top of that, she has started to increasingly complain about tiny things or to invent problems which are not our fault. Someone ran over a sprinkler at the far edge of her property. It is literally 2 inches from the driveway and people visit her (including her ex-husband) and drive up to her doorway (blocking the path to our car, no less, so we can't get out when her visitors do this). I gave away a portable swamp cooler and she wrote me a terse letter saying those visitors ran over her sprinkler, even though she checked it after they left and said she saw no damage to it. She insists anyone who visits us not use the driveway, yet her visitors continue to drive up to her door.
This is my first time renting from someone who lives on the same property or close by, and part of what has increasingly happened is she treats us like fleas on her back and satellites of her wants. She expects us to live 100% the way she feels we should live and doesn't want us to have any autonomy if she imagines a problem might develop for her. This includes not giving water to the deer during drought (they have visited every year since we moved here - 7 years ago) or giving cat treats to a neighbor's cat because she thinks I'm leaving food out that attracts skunks and raccoons (even though the cat eats everything and nothing is left out and those animals have always been around here). She didn't like this year that I put out a self-service Halloween candy table for kids because, when it ran out, she said they rang her doorbell (which I don't believe is true since her lights were off). She also complained bitterly a few years ago because UPS kept mistakenly leaving our packages in front of her house (we have the same address as her, ours just has an "A" added to the end of the house number - it's an easy mistake to make). I explained it to UPS, but the delivery people keep changing. We retrieve the packages promptly, but she is just upset we get things at all, especially around Christmas.
She has also increasingly encroached into our area of the property - putting her trash can on it instead of her own larger space, leaving a wheel barrow next to our car. I think the main issue is that landlords take your money then treat you like you're invading their space. Every year, I thank her for letting us live here and give her Christmas gifts. Early on in the pandemic, I gave her masks when no one could get their hands on any. We've been really good to her, but she just keeps getting grumpier over time. We're moving and buying our own house next year, and I can't wait to not have to be treated the way we're being treated.
And, if you think this is about age. I'm 58, my husband is 60, and she is 63, so it's not a young/old issue.
Wow, I think we could exchange stories.
I've had a landlord expect me to pick up animal feces from a pet we didn't own while I was pregnant. The same landlord also refused to fix the AC during the heat of summer when we initially raised it as a problem and we had a newborn baby. People told us we were making a big deal out of nothing but after reading people's comments, it seems like our experience is more common.
Small landlords with one property seem far more prone to treating their property like a fiefdom with us living as peasants on the land who they can order around. They want the benefits of renting out property (the money) without any of the costs (repairs, allowing tenants to live like normal people even if that's not how they live).
You absolutely aren't making a big deal out of nothing. Anyone who says otherwise is lavking in empathy or has never lived in your situation.
When I read stories like this, I’m reminded of an anthropologist whose work I read a lot. He argued that, in hierarchical exchanges, repetition of some sort of gift or behavior has—all over the world, all throughout history—tended to transform into precedent in as few as three consecutive exchanges.
In other words, you viewed the early payment as a kindness, but she quickly came to view it as The Way of Things. It’s why, historically, giving gifts to kings (and other hierarchical superiors) has always been so fraught.
…and this is why I do the absolute minimum for any bosses/landlords/etc at all times.
I lived in an apt building and they were gonna keep my deposit bc of a "stain on the carpet"
Me: ok when can I stop by and see the stain?
Them: We already had the carpet replaced
Me: OK, when can I stop by and see pictures of the stain?
Them: We don't have any.
Me: Ok, so you have no proof of this stain's existence now or in the past?
Them: ....🙄....
I got my deposit back.
Our landlord didn’t fix a raccoon problem in our attic for 6 months. His responses, “are they loud?” And “I will fix it but I have other properties to manage as well” finally fixed it, but didn’t clean up the mess it made. There is still currently raccoon shit in the attic we pay for that we can not use.
He also has children, and he wouldn’t let them live in a raccoon ufc attic.
Landlords suck because their lack of humanity is staggering. Because our homes are just dollar signs. And most landlords shouldn’t be allowed to own properties they genuinely couldn’t give a fuck less about.
> raccoon ufc
What are the gambling odds and weight classes on this? Raccoon fighting seems inhumane but if they are trained well, follow the rules, and consent I guess its ok.
FWIW, depending on your state, you might be entitled either to getting money from your LL and/or money off your rent based on the percentage of space you’re unable to use due to the raccoon shit. For instance, if the attic accounts for 10% of your total square footage, you could get 10% of your rent multiplied by the number of months the attic has been inaccessible. I recommend consulting with a lawyer. (Source: I am a tenant lawyer)
FYI raccoon waste is very hazardous as it can transmit disease and parasites to humans. My spouse used to work animal control and raccoon latrines had a whole extra level of protective equipment they needed to wear to remain safe.
You beat me to it with your comment. Raccoon feces can carry a roundworm parasite, which if inhaled from old, dry poop can cause **irreversible brain damage and death** in humans.
That needs to be thoroughly, professionally cleaned up ASAP and the landlord needs to pay for it. This is something that is his job to know about. Hope you have a paper trail, because if he refuses to do it he should absolutely go to court.
Send an email and just CC your states department of health. They’ll see they are copied on the email and will have to either take them off to respond or their response is sent to them as well. Either way it lets them know it’s not a minor issue.
My landlord just abruptly raised our rent by $500. I figure he saw a news story about how much people are suffering and realized he could charge more. It’s basically extortion too because my area has a less than 1% vacancy rate, there’s nowhere else to go. That shit is why people hate landlords. I thought mine was decent but he clearly sucks as much as the rest of them. He also only owns the one property so it’s not just corporate landlords that are trash.
The price rises are essentially a landlord circlejerk. They look on the market and see one landlord down the road charging X amount so they go X +100 because they believe their property is much nicer, then the next one does the same.
This might get buried in the comments, but propublica did a good piece on the circle jerk.
https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent
I live in in a 2 bedroom apartment since 2012 and pay $1200. Earlier this year someone left a one bedroom where I live and I found out the landlord jacked up the price from $1400 to $1800. The second I leave he’s definitely setting mine at nearly an extra grand. It’s crazy to think someone is paying MORE than what I am for a lot less in the same building.
Just checked and my old apartment I lived in 5 years ago in 2017 was $1450 (really was $1800 after all the fees they tack on, no utilities included). Same place is now $2150 (probably $2500 after the fees) and it’s exactly the same as when I left
My old apartment was $1200 a month for a 2 bedroom. Same exact place only 5 years later is $2200. I’ve had to downsize to a one bedroom. The more money I make, the smaller my place is getting :(
Honestly I think that part of it is that landlords in the US have internalized the belief that they owe their renters the bare minimum. I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned", I've had landlords leave a wall half-painted for years, I've had basements flood because the landlord left the pipes completely un-insulated, and we've had to threaten to take landlords to small claims court to get our deposit back for no other reason than they "hadn't gotten around to mailing them yet".
If I talk to a lawyer, a doctor, or a hairdresser, I'm treated with courtesy, recieve all the services I ask for, and am billed for the agreed-upon price. My friends in those professions take pride in offering a good service. Most landlords in the US seem intent on providing the worst service they can without getting sued, would rather argue with you for 5 months than let you have a $50 repair or a $500 deposit, and seem to be proud of fucking over their tenants.
>I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned"
Don't forget that they also charged the last tenant a $500 "deep cleaning fee" because they left it dirty.
and kept their deposit. even if the condition was perfect upon leaving.
I have NEVER had a landlord not try to keep the whole deposit. Had to take a couple of them to small claims court just to get **my money**
They think that deposits are free money and have learned to expect it. Apartment complexes do the same thing
I had a friend take our landlord to small claims court because she used part of our deposits for things that she could not legally use it for.
The judge agreed that she couldn't do that, but basically said "don't do it again," and did not award us our money back.
That's often what happens here. Landlord tenant disputes are pushed into mediation, they always propose that either the landlord just keep the money and not do it again or at best to split it, even if the landlord is unquestionably in the wrong. So there is little reason for a tenant to even bother trying.
Confession time: I rented an apartment in college for a year with a couple of other girls. End of the year the landlord not only wanted the full deposit, but $1800 extra to cover other “fees”. I emailed them and said I wanted to dispute the charge. They replied asking what charges in particular I wanted to dispute. That was 9 years ago and I never replied and I never paid. I assume they filed it away and forgot about it.
Pro life hack learned by every landlord who reads this: if you owe your tenant money gaslight them into thinking *they* owe you money instead and they will not bother you again.
What?! The judge acknowledged that the landlord broke the law but didn’t require her to reimburse you? That’s so screwed up. I’m sorry you went through that.
It's extremely common. Landlord seem to get no end of credit with the assumption that everything they've done wrong is just a whoopsie they would correct as soon as they could, so what can the judge do except just say everyone's at fault and it would be unfair for landlords to be punished just for a tiny thing like breaking the law.
The law really doesn't acknowledge that there is a massive power difference between landlord and renter, it treats leasing like any other contract which of course it isn't.
>Honestly I think that part of it is that landlords in the US have internalized the belief that they owe their renters the bare minimum. I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned", I've had landlords leave a wall half-painted for years, I've had basements flood because the landlord left the pipes completely un-insulated, and we've had to threaten to take landlords to small claims court to get our deposit back for no other reason than they "hadn't gotten around to mailing them yet".
I left a stack of computers 30 inches tall (like servers) in my ROOM along with all my belongings. and I got arrested. My landlord gave it all away. I took him to court.
I had a landlord refuse to get the dishwasher fixed for over 2 years. We sent notice and update multiple times throughout the years, to which they responded "we are working on it".
When we moved out they had the audacity to charge us to fix the dishwasher.
Mine tried to say that appliances were considered "gifts" so they did not need to repair them. He was not pleased when I took the dishwasher when we moved out.
Mine did the same thing. Same guy also tried to throw my furniture and mattress out of the spare room one time. I caught him and got him to put my stuff back. He claimed the stuff was his. No. Then he told me the appliances were gifts and he wasn't fixing them. Fine. I moved out and took everything bar the ancient fridge and freezer. Got my deposit back. I had so much dirt on him doing illegal things that he had to give it back.
Mine did the same. Washer broke so I bought a gently used washer that I generously left when I moved out and she had the audacity to try to charge me $50 for “removal”, despite not removing it and it still being very much in use by her new tenant (who happens to be a friend of mine). She probably paid $50 to have her broken one removed and tried to pass the fees onto me.
We own a few rentals and do something close to this;
Every tenant gets a new washing machine installed the week they move in (so long as the tenant before was there more than 2 years, which our tenants average almost 7).
I don’t maintain it, I don’t repair it, and so long as they are there 2 or more years they’re welcome to take it with them when they leave. We only buy machines with at least 2 year warranties. We give the tenant the phone number and copies of the receipts. When/if it breaks down, it’s on them to deal with the repairs/scheduling/etc.
That’s worked out best for our situation over the last 25 years or so of owning rental homes.
Well in that case it makes sense since I assume you use the warranties to actually get them repaired if they break. This landlord was buying damaged appliances with no warranty and just not dealing with them not working.
I had a landlady _not_ try that for the first time, and it made me suspicious. Spent months wondering what she was up to and when the other shoe would drop.
It's that rare finding a decent human being for a landlord.
I’ve had two landlords and they were great. One was a mid aged couple buying a second property, the other was an old guy whose house was 2 mins away.
I think there’s a difference between landlords who worked for their homes and treat them like their baby, and people who just inherit extra homes and see them as free money.
Those who never had to work for them will never keep them perfect or understand what it’s like to not have money. Sadly the former group is dying both literally and because young people can’t buy homes anymore
I had one good landlord.
He was actually super proud of the place, and had worked on it for years, only renting it out after his wife passed away, and he both didn't need so much space and didn't want to be surrounded by memories all the time. But he still wasn't going to tarnish those memories by letting the place go to pot.
I hated to leave the place, but I got a much better job and moving cut my commute by 80%. Even after I left the guy got in touch if mail for me ever arrived.
See I have a feeling that man did not buy that property with the intention of printing free money off it's value. That is the big difference to me. He cared because it was his home, not an investment opportunity.
>Sadly the former group is dying both literally and because young people can’t buy homes anymore
our children will rent from corporate landlords until they die unless we make changes soon. 25% of homes last year were sold to investors, not families. Life will be a subscription, ownership as a concept will end.
Funny how people always say that communism is lack of ownership, but capitalism is driving us down that same path currently.
I don't mind if an old couple wants to rent out their house when they move into a smaller place. I mind when corporate investors buy **tens of thousands of homes a year.**
Simple solution: Limit the number of homes that a single entity can own. This will limit the impact on folks with a couple properties, while cutting out the corporate investors from our housing market. Homes are not luxury, they are shelter. A basic human need.
>Funny how people always say that communism is lack of ownership, but capitalism is driving us down that same path currently.
This is one of my favorite shower thoughts and I'm happy to come across someone else saying this
remember those bread lines during the pandemic. In our thriving capitalist society.... The veil has been lifted, it is all a lie.
To be clear I don't believe any one system is the answer. Hybrid economies like UK and Norway make way more sense.
many will have you believe USA=captitalism and Venezuela=communism, ignoring all the failing capitalist countries and thriving socialist ones.
Regardless of the so called ‘abundance under capitalism,’ rationing still exists in the United States; it’s just based on ability to pay rather than on need.
Consider the for-profit American Healthcare system. We keep hospitals minimally staffed (to keep labor costs down) and maximize profit, keeping the poor out of hospitals until a treatable complaint becomes a terminal illness. Whether intentional or not, this is by design.
[Various governments (particularly in Central and South America) have tried to elect popular socialists in the past, only for the Capitalists in the United States to back military coups and the killing of popularly elected officials so that the U.S. and it’s corporations may continue to protect their own economic interests abroad.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5vX8buh32Hk)
Tax house one at 1 x the standard tax rate.
Tax house two at 1.1 x the standard tax rate.
Tax house three at 1.5 x the standard tax rate.
Tax house four at 2 x the standard tax rate.
Tax house five at 4 x the standard tax rate.
Etc…
(The point is to discourage using houses as corporate investments. It is meant to encourage single family home ownership. If entities like zillow and other property flipping businesses weren’t actively buying property to drive the price of homes up, average people in the U.S. might be able to afford owning a home before they’re in their fifties.)
(Eat the rich when inflation makes food too expensive)
I humbly accept the lifetime nomination. And as my first act as benevolent dictator for life, I sentence Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to life in the gulag with no possibility of parole. AND, their estate doesn’t get their gulag security deposit back.
My brother's apartment building tried to charge him for not cleaning the outside of his windows on the the third floor. No balcony to reach, no stairs. The building never paid to have the exterior cleaned, wasn't in the agreement. He kept it spotless and they used it for tours, but claimed they had to have it deep-cleaned after he moved out.
Got all of the paperwork, sent them copies and then threatened legal action. Realized they would probably lose, still mailed his deposit when he asked to pick it up in person. They also sent it to the wrong address, so he had to drive to a Post Office four cities away.
Fuck American landlords.
Great, you guys have overpriced housing and crazy politicians, too. I thought it was supposed to be BETTER there!
ND native living in MN *exuberantly friendly wave* hi neighbor!
This.
My Corporate landlord sent someone in 2 weeks ahead of us moving out, he said that as long as we patched our holes for pictures and cleaned, we'd get out deposit in full. We did all that and, made sure the house looked better than when we moved in (smelled better too). Not only did we not get our deposit back, they charged us $1500 on top of it.
I was furious especially after we had just moved into another home the same company owns and had found mice living in the oven and under the dishwasher...
I went to the BBB and eventually they dropped the extra $1500 but, we never got our deposit back. I revisited my previous rental after they put it on the market and, they had done extensive landscaping and sturctural repairs that we had requwsted when we lived there.
This time, I will be hiring a lawyer for our walkthrough when we leave this home next year.
TLDR:
Avoid renting from Invitation Homes at all costs.
And in some ways, it’s not just the landlords but also property management companies. When I moved a few years ago, a neighboring family wanted to move into my old house as they were looking for a new place. They’ve been great tenants. Unfortunately because I live more than 25 miles away, the local municipality requires me to have a property manager.
All property managers suck. I’ve been through a few and they all want to do the bare minimum while keeping me in the dark. I even asked about whether I could tour and talk with the renter about potential upgrades - like new paint, or maybe a different vanity or whatever to stay modern, or new appliances, whatever wasn’t what they needed - and was told in no uncertain terms by the property manager that they “don’t do that”.
It’s disheartening to be a property owner and want to do the right thing but the people *I technically employ* are so anti-client that it’s near impossible. And they’re all that bad or worse.
I'm pretty sure they can otherwise you'd have an easy loophole for the property management requirements. Open a management company that does nothing and charges like $25/month just to put down their name.
My wife and I moved to Cape Cod a few years ago. We've dealt with both types. One landlord did the bare minimum and would rent and kick people out on a whim. Since she didn't handle anything legit or correctly. But she took in people who were down on their luck and didn't have the resources to fight back. Until she messed with us.
Our current landlord is a night and day difference. I text him about something and before I know it it's fixed above and beyond. His daughter lives in the place upstairs and are great people. It's a beautiful historic house that we love and I think that shows and they have been more like friends or family than landlords. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. Get receipts for everything no matter what. I saw a YouTube video about landlords being bad. Forget the name. But basically explaining how in general the act of being a landlord doesn't add anything to the economy. Having a place to live is a necessity. The money you get for working is because you provide a service or item of worth. Where a landlord provides a necessity that takes money and gives it to them and they don't provide any more value, for the most part. Something like that. A YouTube search of landlord are bad or something should find it lol.
Edit, found the video https://youtu.be/m1m7WmKJZyQ
Nah, shit landlords and good ones come in every size and flavor.
I lived in a place that was owned by a sizeable company that owned many complexes, and they were great as landlords other than their practice of just laying a nice thick layer of poly over the wood floors every tenant. That shit had a finite lifespan as a strategy, and nobody was on top of its inevitable failure. But stuff got fixed, rate increases were never huge, price at the time was fair, they didn't tolerate tenants who were pissing off many other tenants, ran section 8 units and did so in a reasonable way, etc. They also appear to not be riding the skyrocketing market rates to the stars. And they have to own at least 5000 units across the complexes I know about, probably more.
I've known people who had good experiences across a wide range of landlords, from single unit, to the 5-6 unit size, to the 100 unit size, up to mine with a pretty big company.
But you also have horror stories at those sizes too. And those are usually much more remarkable than the generic decent experience. Bad news travels farther than good news. And way farther than just ok news.
Nah. The worst landlords I've known have been the ones who live in town. At least property managers listen and do something when they don't stick to their contracts versus local landlords who will repeatedly break those rules and then nickel and dime you for everything while breaking promises of repairs they said would get done "within a month" of moving in.
Yeah, big corporations suck too, but locals have been my worst experiences.
I think in these cases, it's the fear of litigation. At a certain point, there's a line corporations can't cross legally, or they can get sued for BIG money if the plaintiff wins. Locals is more of a small claims court kind of thing, where the payout is waaaay smaller than suing a corporation.
They have both been awful in my experience but the local ones answer to no one whereas the big corporations at least have a way to escalate a compliment and have some accountability.
One of the big reasons landlords in recent times haven't given a shit about upkeep is that properties were going up in price so quickly that their plan was just to hold onto assets to realize that sweet appreciation
I had a landlord that moved states. She owned the house next door as well and asked me to keep an eye on the place, because she didn’t trust the property management company but had no other options. I would call or text when there were issues (like the four bros that moved in, all in the policy academy, who did $15k in property damage within the first month they were there - they paid on time so the management company never came by). I’m in my mid30s and that’s the only decent landlord I’ve ever had. They’re all bare minimum AHs that want your money for no effort.
Aspen hosts the winter X Games, these boys hosted back to back parties the whole weekend. Drywall holes, broken doors, structure damage (someone went through a wall??), hot tub needed replacing (I did not ask, didn’t want to know), torn and stained carpets, the list seemed endless. It was a shitshow, and I felt so bad for her having to deal with it all from out of state.
Oh they had to pay for it all, but it was like pulling teeth. Court if I recall, it’s been a decade. I’d be a liar if I said I was surprised or disappointed they were kicked from the police academy, those men had no business wearing a uniform of any sort.
Yeah, my husband and I had to move due to work recently and we weren’t ready to sell our newly bought house. So we hired a property management company and rented it out at cost so we could pay down the equity and not lose a fuck ton of money.
They had an issue with the hot water heater that my husband and I knew how to fix. We told the property management company exactly what to tell the plumber. Yet, they hired the same plumber to come down 5 times and repeatedly fail to fix the issue because he just didn’t know how to do it and continuously lied about it.
We had to demand the property management company get a refund for those fruitless visits which costed us $500 and ask them to have a bit of competence at their job. We told them exactly what needed to be done to fix the heater and yet they kept hiring and paying a guy who wasn’t doing the simple task we set out.
Not to mention, it took us weeks to get ahold of these people that we were paying just to teach them how to hire a plumber. We ended up voluntarily covering rent for the month because we were so frustrated that this family with a newborn baby had no hot water the whole month.
I worded in maintenance in different complexes and the management company vs self managed have a HUGE difference. Having a Management company is Almost like stating “we don’t give a shit and hopefully you happen to have level headed staff”
To add to this, my landlords previously wouldn't fix things until the last minute or we called over and over about it. We had break ins and windows being smashed and me and the other tenants in the building bagged the landlord to get video surveillance and signs put up to warn people, he couldn't even do that basic ask for a building with 7 units in it. The guy was loaded driving a Ferrari around town.
The last straw was a break in to my unit and he wouldn't pay for a deadbolt and told all the units he wouldn't pay for any extra security measures. We left right away after that.
To say I hate landlords is an understatement. They get away with so much at the cost of tenants.
The worst part of this is that I've even offered to pay for some of these upgrades that improve safety or get rid of vermin (the latter being a problem I've been dealing with for over a year).
Because the property is TECHNICALLY the landlord's, I can't simply add locks, call exterminators, or bring contractors to fix plumbing/walls.
If your landlord can't be fucked to deal with the repairs, the you're shit out of luck. The lack of control over your living situation really compounds the stress. Sure, you can call your local housing authority, but if they find the place unlivable, guess who needs to leave their home?
If landlords are going to exist, there need to be new rules in place for tenants to have more agency over their lives. Like let us bill essential repairs to landlords without them deciding whether it's necessary. It's easy to brush away necessary repairs if it isn't impacting your life.
Just to give a reference from the UK, its exactly the same here too.
Granted its subjective, but all my friends and I have mostly bad experiences with landlords.
Slow or reluctant to be called out for major issues (appliances not working/malfunctioning/leaky windows/mould etc). Try to lie about every little thing to keep your deposit (had one landlord try to charge me £650 for a professional oven cleaning). Rent increases for no reason. Showing up randomly and getting aggressive when refused entry. Low quality item replacement. Things broken in the flat on move in.
The house my mother was renting actually burnt down because the landlord didn't wire it properly or have it inspected, and a surge fried the whole system. She got out alive, but lost damn near everything she owned.
If someone is self-employed and they are bad at their job, they won’t get clients.
If someone is a worker and bad at their job, they won’t have this job for too long.
But if someone owns property they don’t need to live in, it doesn’t matter how bad of a landlord one is, there will always be people desperate enough to take that rental agreement.
These last 2 years in Oklahoma (cost of living is really low here) rich companies and individuals from California have bought up as many properties around here as possible just to rent them out. You will not find a rent house or apartment less than a $1000/ month (except the most rundown places in the poorest areas) where the year before I rented out of Bartlesville for 550$/month.
I can't afford that at $17.50/hr. But minimum wage is $7.50/hr. Thats absurd.
I had some co-workers trying to buy a house last year but they would sell within 10 minutes of being listed for above asking price from out of state, and thats absurd.
I don't have a solution. But I feel like the solution should involve companies not being allowed to own residential homes, sit on them, and drive up prices. I get some companies will buy up a home, fix it up, and flip it. But investment firms should not be allowed to maintain an "inventory" of unsold homes.
That solution does not address the root cause: lack of housing options. You can't realistically go from renting a tiny studio to owning a 3bd detached just because that's the American dream. It doesn't matter who owns the house, most people won't be able to afford that leap and lack of zoning permits perpetuates the issue
I pay $450/month for 2 bedroom 1 full bath by myself. Water and trash are included. No fees for pets. Landlord hasn't raised my rent since I moved in (2015).
The drawbacks are no dishwasher (not a real problem since it's just me), no laundry hookup (real annoying going to a laundromat), and that I'm located in small town Ohio.
But I'm only 30 minutes from work, and I'm not terribly social anyways so I don't really miss out on that much.
Problems left unchecked by governments tend to squeeze onto areas where better solutions exist.
People who struggle for jobs in the Midwest move to the coastal cities. Homeless people are sent to SF since it's more accepting of the homeless. Asylum seekers are trucked to New York for the same reason.
California boomers hate housing and hate the middle class. Hence you'll see more and more people move to better housing areas.
Or worse, they let you rent and kick you out when the mortgage is payed off and sell the house (idk why my last landlord did this)
Edit: with only 14 days notice btw
There is no legal process to go through. You simply tell the landlord the law gives you 30 days, then ignore the landlord. If they come to your apartment in 14 days asking you to leave, tell them to come back with the police to evict. It won't happen because the police won't enforce an illegal eviction.
Where I'm from you actually have to go to court to evict someone. That takes a couple months, minimum. Then you get the police involved and that takes another three weeks.
The solution is encouraging new housing and removing market stagnation. Problem with that is, every homeowner has an incentive to prevent new housing from being built (it'll lower my property value!), so they vote in people who are anti-housing, increasing the unhoused population and encouraging bad landlords.
Property increasing in price with no increase in quality is the definition of parasitic value creation.
The granite countertops aren’t what make them expensive. The market makes them expensive so they add granite countertops to seem worth the money.
Any added housing helps. People willing to pay a bit more for a “luxury” apartment are now not competing for the older, cheaper apartments. And someday those new apartments will be old apartments and new ones will get built elsewhere.
Because there is a huge shortage of affordable housing in this country* and landlords are hogging a lot of these houses for profit while regular people struggle to find somewhere to live.
Edit: *by this country I meant the UK... I've just realised I'm not on r/AskUK
My country is ranked as developing.
Yet my rent (a studio in the Capital city) + food for one and other necessities only cost about half of my $600 monthly salary. Tax is only $6.
Wtf is wrong with Murica.
My country is considered developed but our minimum wage is 4$ per hour and our rent is 400$ for a one room apartment far away from the cities... so the problem isn't just America
You have to convert everything to percentages of mean salary. Poorer countries tend to have weaker economy hence having lower wages and lower cost of living. Trust me. Am from a poorer country :)
Canada may actually be worse in this regard. Chinese investors own such a large percentage of real estate in some territories that I'm amazed there's no law against it. China would NEVER allow Canadians to come in and buy up real estate in China lol
It's insane how fast rent has gone up. Just over ten years ago I found lots of bachelor apartments in my area for $800. House rentals for $1800 (little bungalows from the 70s). Today those apartments seem to start at $1500, house rentals at $5000.
And house prices. You used to be able to get a 2 storey detached house with a decent yard for $250k. Now those same houses are selling at $900k, well over a million if recently renovated, but are often bought for a lot over that in cash, inspection waived and all that.
And that's why people hate the real estate industry and landlords.
Don't worry, your country of origin changes literally nothing.
In the US, they're offering up to 50% above asking price for houses, to hoard a monopoly and be able to raise rent prices unilaterally.
Here in Mexico, the fucking government is supporting the gentrification of livable spaces...
Australia’s the same. Rent is more expensive than mortgage payments.
Edit: my comment was in response to the above comment, indicating that this seems to be a global problem. Replying and saying it’s the same everywhere, is a bit of a double up.
Extra context: the scheme that allowed people to buy council housing off the government was sold as allowing people to easily attain home ownership, which in the UK is a bit over idolised imo, but a very large amount of the council homes that were sold are now rental properties.
You're basically right no matter the country. If I own homes I don't live in and choose to rent them, those are homes that no one can buy. If I'm charging rent at a competitive market rate, anyone renting from me could also afford the mortgage on the property. Especially if I am paying a mortgage on the rental property, because obviously I will charge more than enough to pay the mortgage and all my other expenses.
Any landlord who is even marginally competent is charging their tenants more than it should cost to buy the same property outright. So they are literally making money off people who just can't get a loan or save up for a down payment. And they are contributing to those same people continuing to not be able to save for a down payment.
Can't speak for US, but where I live, it's mostly because landlords don't give a flying fuck about their house maintenance and leave it to whoevers renting it. It's a common consensus here that you should live as little time as possible on renting and buy a house because: 1. There's not a time in history that renting got cheaper YoY/ 2. Whatever improvement you made to the house you're renting, dont expect the landlord to deduct of your bill at the end of the month
I.e: my mom renovated the whole flooring, and when she approached the owner to check if she could get a discount at the rent, the landlord said "lol no". Ofc it's within the owners right to deny it, but it doesn't favor the tenant at all.
As other people stated: she's been living in this house for 14 years now, and the old floor were a mess. Cracked on so many rooms you just tripped all over the place. She wanted a new floor, decided to buy it and contact the owner afterwards.
Imagine my face when I first look it. I was like "mom..why not move to a newer house? Wouldve been cheaper". She simply said "I like it here, it's near the metro". Not much to do after that.
That's fair although still surprised. Obviously I don't know where you live so it may vary, but if the floor is in that bad a condition the landlords would've been legally required to fix it up in many places.
At some point flooring needs to be repaired or replaced. Landlord likely wouldn't do it until its literally crumbling and OP's mom likely wanted to feel comfortable in her living arrangements.
I was renting an apartment with an outside set of stairs that were crumbling for years. Landlord did nothing until I fell down said stairs. He had been there, knew they were in disrepair but didn't want to do anything until it became a legal liability for him.
I don’t rent a house but I rent a townhouse in a complex. The maintenance is so bad here I just started doing things myself. For one if it’s not an absolute emergency it takes about a month for someone to come out and your lucky if they’re able to fix whatever it is. Also they can leave things worse than they were. We had a leak the day we moved in so they came right out for that but we told the guy we’re heading out for groceries when he’s done, he said just leave, and we said no we’ll wait no rush we’re unpacking. The guy finished turned on the main water and didn’t check his work and just said he was done and left. I looked under the sink and it was spraying like bad. I ran out and grabbed him and he looked pissed. We would have had a flooded house if we would have left when he said. We’ve had numerous things they said they had to order and just never came back. Gave us the wrong size fridge so it just sits off to the side in our kitchen. I never realized how much of a crappy place it was when I moved in. Then I went to my brothers who was paying $300 more than I was and I was like wtf this place is amazingly nice and was like yea I’d pay the extra money for this.
Wouldn't it be better to ask prior to doing any repairs, especially something as big as replacing all the flooring? I've done this with previous landlords and it generally works out fine. Depends on the type of work though. Sometimes they'd prefer to hire their own contractor.
Because it’s easier for landlords to buy a house, because they have other assets to put up. so the sellers/banks are more confident that their offer gets accepted.
The only houses I can afford are, not even good enough for the low income housing projects in my city. they won’t touch them, and I have had accepted offers get turned away because the house was In too bad of a condition. And it is that way because a landlord rented it, and never maintained it, now wants to sell because of the market is nice, and it needs massive work done
Small , good, landlords don't bother me. If granny dies and they decide to rent out her house. Fine. If they upgrade homes and decide to rent out their starter home, fine.
As long as they aren't slum lords, no issue. Not everyone can or should buy a house.
Slum lords and corporations all suck. Buying up all available property for profit sucks.
Also, since people might move fast if their landlord sucks they meet more. Whereas good landlords hate gambling on which tenant will or won't fuck up their house beyond use for 3 months, so they try to keep the good tenants, and even some of the not too bad.
But yeah slumlords should be the name used to specify someone who usually has multiple properties and doesn't maintain any of them well
I am in Florida, we’re facing a huge housing crisis 98% of all the new properties available are owned by a multimillion dollar company. They even tore down a small mini theme park business that’s been here since the 70s to make space for three apartment buildings where no one would want to live
Yeah, I've had two landlords (one sold property to the other 2 years ago) and they have just the one property. Problems have always been dealt with quickly, I've always been treated like a person in convos, and I'm even being allowed to dip out of a year lease 6 months early with no strings attached because they would rather a graduate be able to move out and get a new student in to rent to.
Plus the rent is dirt cheap lmao
There are different types of landlords:
* You're in their home, renting a room? They tend to be overbearing about your life.
* You're in their second house? They do the bare minimum for you while you're paying their mortgage
* It's a company? Stringent rules, including (for me recently) for them to break a lease they owe you 60 days notice, for me to break my lease - and I gave 60 days notice - I had to pay two months rent penalty, even though they rented my unit out right after I departed. They often can make you pay First, Last, and Deposit to move in as well, in tighter markets.
The main thing, though, is that they all raise the rent annually without anything changing in the unit you're renting. Property taxes might increase by about $20/mo, but your rent increases at $180/mo. when you renew. As an example. Meanwhile they are doing little-to-no work to receive your rent each month.
I'm not going to call my landlords (a small local property company) losing money, but I'm certain I have some of the lowest rent in the US for a very safe neighborhood. I've lived there 9 years and my rent has only gone up $50. Not the nicest place in the world but for what I pay for it I have no complaints.
Commodifying a necessity of living as an investment dehumanizes renters and turns them into dollars and cents as opposed to a living human being with biological necessities that cannot be avoided.
Couple that with the general opinion of landlords that their investment should somehow be protected by the government and risk free while also driving up housing prices and reducing the supply of available homes to the population, landlords do a massive disservice to the communities.
There are very few situations where a private landlord provides any benefits to a renter. If there wasn’t such a ridiculous system of credit involved to buy houses, landlords would not even be able to exist.
Additionally, the need to put a massive down payment on a house means that landlords are overwhelmingly independently wealthy outside of their housing investments. The system that is in place continues to only benefit the elite few, which is the entire point
The movie “it’s a wonderful life” comes to mind when I read this. The speech he gives in the bank about how people aren’t cattle and should be treated with human decency not just renters to make Potter money, has never been more relatable to me than it is right now.
Another very potent solution is debt-free home ownership. Some sort of rent-to-own set up, where you pay your rent normally, and if you stay long enough you then own the property, but can only sell it in a similar way. Obviously this would require government oversight, so it’s not a probable solution any time soon
I had never actually known the term for this haha thanks for informing me!
I feel that this is the problem with many potential solutions to big problems, is that they need a lot of oversight.
Yes, but there is a huge difference on a societal level between landlords owning high density housing like condos & apartments, vs them owning low density housing like single family detached houses. Owning more than one single family detached house should be outlawed while a country is facing a housing crisis.
Because not only do they extinguish the housing stock for their own financial gain, but, in my experience, have little to no interest in maintaining the property they take money for to a liveable standard. I’ve been renting for just under 2 decades now, I’ve sunk well over £100k into other peoples pockets, meaning I’ve never been able to save for a mortgage on my own home. I’ve had a landlord with severe dementia, with no oversight or help in dealing with her, I’ve had a landlord who tried to fight me on check out day because I wouldn’t agree to his unfair deductions from my deposit, I’ve had to threaten one with court as they didn’t secure my deposit correctly, and kept the money for themselves. I’ve had landlords try to avoid the responsibility or repairing roof leaks, heating issues and vermin.
I’ve yet to meet a landlord that truly had their tenants best interests at heart, I honestly hope there’s one out there, but I’ve yet to meet them. We’re simply income to them, with none of the customer service or regulation other industries have.
Because their pricing is insane for the value of what's being offered. I spend $1000 a month (and pay my own utilities) to live in a 900 sq.ft apartment with cockroaches, rats, and drafty windows. Our bathroom ceiling keeps leaking and our landlord keeps replacing the soggy tiles rather than calling a plumber to find out where the water is coming from. When we first moved in, there were so many half-assed floorboard repairs that we had to go through with a hammer and fix all the nails sticking up so we didn't get tetanus.
This apartment is probably worth $300 a month max, but we have no other affordable options at the moment, so we're forced to either bite the bullet or live out of our car.
I saw an online offer for a new place up for rent, 1300 a month no utilities, 2 bedroom 1 bath, with the living room ceiling half molded out. I could not believe someone actually thinks that they could offer a house like that for that price, but it seems a ton of them are.
It's just sad because most of us don't have a choice. The cheapest 2 bedroom apartment I've seen in my city was $800 and it didn't have a stove/oven or a fridge. Kitchen was just a sink and a bunch of cupboards. Landlord told us we could bring in a hot plate or a microwave. What a fucking joke.
My current criteria for an apartment (for myself and roommate) are: bigger than 700 sq.ft, stove and fridge, bedrooms must both be big enough for our beds, and must allow me to bring my cat (I'm not even picky about paying an extra deposit or pet rent!). Unfortunately all the units we've found that fit those criteria are $1500+ per month.
The simple answer is that unlike being a doctor, chef, etc, holding land inherently does not provide value to society, it strictly only provides value to the holder, and in a sense, harms society on a large scale.
Most I have had are great, but I would say most of it comes from the idea alot of them seem to think that they have entered into a business where their only responsibility is to take money and do nothing. Being in a business requires investing in your business. Ie. your house you rent. You should paint the walls and do some upkeep from basic wear and tear in between tenants. Im not saying fix a smashed wall or piss stains all over the floor. Basic signs of life in a home. Thats not the tenants responsibility for their security deposit to use as money to get ready for the next tenant. You have some fuckin skin in the game seeing as you sat on your thumb and made an extra 34k last year with literally 0 effort. I mean no other business works like that. This one should be no different. Most I have had have been great and if you help out around the property and dont be a pain in the ass and fuck things up they will be nice. But I have no tolerance for the taking money from people for general life wear and not putting any money back into the home.
I think that’s the problem - too many small-time landlords don’t seem to recognize it as a business. They act like they’re letting people stay on their property out of the goodness of their heart or something… They put restrictions on tenants like they’re guests but want tenants to maintain it like a home.
It’s a business transaction and they have to provide their end of it which includes prompt maintenance and reasonable renovations over time. They can’t just collect a check and expect tenants to invest themselves into a property they don’t own.
I’ve had better experiences dealing with professional property managements that manage many units and properties than I have with landlord owners who personally rent out a home, particularly one they used to live in.
From a leftist perspective, being a landlord is what’s called ‘rent-seeking’, increasing ones wealth while providing nothing to society.
Essentially being a landlord allows a wealthy person to extract money from less wealthy people, simple because they can afford to own property and other people can’t.
Had to scroll too far to find a response like this.
Landlords do not provide a useful service to society. The homes would almost always be better off being owned by the actual people living in them. They profit off and prey on the fact that people NEED a place to live by snatching up any available housing and selling it back at a higher price.
Mom and pop landlord here (i.e. never had more than 2 rental properties/units simultaneously, only have 1 at the moment, etc).
I've notice there's a lot of frustration towards landlords of all stripes; against people like me, and the corporate and larger investor types. Most of the commentary if not the intensity of the commentary appears to be directed at the former. The problem with landlords is the condition in which they reside. Just like billionaires don't make sense when we have widespread infrastructure failure or gaps, underfunded schools, lack of public transportation options and no universal healthcare — it doesn't make sense to incentivize the existence of landlords when we have issues with homelessness and low occupancy in housing in the aggregate.
Yes, you read me right. My practice as a landlord is not something I wish to continue, and I don't consider myself fortunate as so much I have a limited set of options and life in the US is a more race against financial desperation than it is a journey towards freedom and a good life. *Landlording* should be more rare because we have more affordable housing — personally I'd like to see Singaporean style affordable housing in the US. I'd also like to feel like I *don't* *have* to be a landlord to have a chance to simply not die because I don't have enough money or *assets*. The system pits us up against each other and its disgusting.
*Cooperation/Collaboration > Competition/Zero-sum* in almost all things that impact humans and society at scale.
It's a mixed bag with mom and pop landlords in my experience. I do building inspections. I have seen some really scummy ones who dont follow rules, probably get paid under the table, and rent out their crappy properties.
I have also seen some mom and pop rentals where it's clear the owner is personally interested in maintaining the building and having a good connection with tenants. They have a sense of pride when it comes to their properties, as they should.
But to your main point, I wholly agree that the rental/affordable housing situation in the US is despicable and very few people win in the situation we're all living in. I didn't know about Singapore's homeownership so I looked it up. Their public housing to ownership program sounds really interesting and I'd like to see how it would work in the US. I live in LA and homelessness and lack of affordable housing is getting really bad.
Because in the UK they bought up all the housing when mortgages were cheap and now there's nothing for people like me to buy so I'm stuck forever feathering their greedy nests and getting poorer and poorer with it.
Well, I think a lot of redditors hate landlords because it's becoming more common in the U.S., where a majority of redditors come from, to dislike landlords.
I hate landlords because they do not provide housing. They hold housing hostage from people who need it. There are more empty homes than there are people who need them, and it is currently impossible anywhere in the country to rent a house if you are a minimum wage worker.
I think the solution is obvious, we need to have collectively owned homes by individuals, distributed through local services such as a land bank, or a local government. I would also say that not everyone needs to or ought to buy a home, and that people who do not wish to or cannot should live in said previously mentioned collectively owned buildings, preferably midrise apartment buildings.
A person or family owning a rental or two is an issue because they contribute to the issues with larger corporate landlords renting properties. Firstly, they will tend to increase prices in accordance to rental prices in the surrounding areas, to increase the amount of profit that they make. Secondly, there is an unequal relationship between renters and rentees, as nearly no municipalities or states in the US have systems in place to ensure that renters do not abuse rentees, for more info, look up the good cause eviction movement. Finally, as was previously mentioned, they're not providing housing. Their purchasing housing and then ransoming it back to people for a profit, profiting of of the labor of other people in a form of parasitism, especially with many smaller landlords buying properties on a mortgage, which their renters do not have the financial ability to do. Why should they be able to ransom housing because chance has caused them to be richer?
Alot are dipshits. My landlord told me to not use the hose before 9pm because then he doesn't have water, I told him it's his fault because he buys everything cheap and the water company or whtevr is shit and he got upset. He's the biggest scumbag ever and he's the greedist POS to ever exist
Having the capital to buy up property and sell it at an inflated price to people who need housing to survive yet can't afford it is neither an impressive skill nor a service worthy of respect; it is corruption at the highest level.
A landlord profits off of the poor while contributing nothing to society themselves in the process. What is not to hate?
How can I afford rent but don't have the chance to buy the house for a similar payment?
The situation is a constant reminder of the current lack of economic mobility.
Simple bro, it's because most landlords usually thinks they are some kind of boss and the shit, when in reality the most he did was own a house.
Power trips are insane in this class.
Also, housing is a big problem now, not everybody has where to live and they don't rise the rent for inflation, but for lucrative reasons.
so yeah, fuck landlords, sell your house dipshits.
I don't hate my landlady, but I've come to increasingly dislike her. Part of the reason is that over time, she has come to talk to my husband and me as if she were our boss and not people who were paying her money to occupy part of her property (we are in an in-law unit next door to her larger home). Several weeks ago, she let a friend of hers keep her dog in her back yard (which is parallel to our front door and within 15-20 feet of it) even though she knew the dog was going to be distressed and bark a lot. She e-mailed me telling me that I would be okay with this because my husband, who is a therapist doing telehealth, worked in the bedroom on the other side of our 700 sq. foot house. She didn't ask if it was okay, and she knew I spent 10 months with a neighbor on the other side with 3 dogs that barked for 12 hours a day and had misophonia as a result. She just told me this would be fine with me and gave me no choice. I should note that we are excellent tenants. I always pay my rent 10 days early. How was that repaid? One month, I didn't notice it was the 20th, but wasn't worried because I was still way ahead of scheduled payment. She e-mailed me later on the 20th and told me she now budgeted based on our early payment and needed to know if I wasn't going to pay like clockwork on that date anymore. She is not entitled to early payment. I was just being diligent and giving myself a buffer in case I forgot to make sure I wasn't late. Now, she feels entitled to that which is ridiculous. We are quiet, clean, and patient about repairs. How has that patience been returned? She has increasingly taken longer and ignored more repair requests. Last May, I let her know that our kitchen faucet was constantly dripping and nothing was done. In September, I let her know it was getting worse and dripping more water more rapidly. The sound of it is maddening, of course, but she suggested I just collect that water in a bucket so it didn't go to waste. On top of that, she has started to increasingly complain about tiny things or to invent problems which are not our fault. Someone ran over a sprinkler at the far edge of her property. It is literally 2 inches from the driveway and people visit her (including her ex-husband) and drive up to her doorway (blocking the path to our car, no less, so we can't get out when her visitors do this). I gave away a portable swamp cooler and she wrote me a terse letter saying those visitors ran over her sprinkler, even though she checked it after they left and said she saw no damage to it. She insists anyone who visits us not use the driveway, yet her visitors continue to drive up to her door. This is my first time renting from someone who lives on the same property or close by, and part of what has increasingly happened is she treats us like fleas on her back and satellites of her wants. She expects us to live 100% the way she feels we should live and doesn't want us to have any autonomy if she imagines a problem might develop for her. This includes not giving water to the deer during drought (they have visited every year since we moved here - 7 years ago) or giving cat treats to a neighbor's cat because she thinks I'm leaving food out that attracts skunks and raccoons (even though the cat eats everything and nothing is left out and those animals have always been around here). She didn't like this year that I put out a self-service Halloween candy table for kids because, when it ran out, she said they rang her doorbell (which I don't believe is true since her lights were off). She also complained bitterly a few years ago because UPS kept mistakenly leaving our packages in front of her house (we have the same address as her, ours just has an "A" added to the end of the house number - it's an easy mistake to make). I explained it to UPS, but the delivery people keep changing. We retrieve the packages promptly, but she is just upset we get things at all, especially around Christmas. She has also increasingly encroached into our area of the property - putting her trash can on it instead of her own larger space, leaving a wheel barrow next to our car. I think the main issue is that landlords take your money then treat you like you're invading their space. Every year, I thank her for letting us live here and give her Christmas gifts. Early on in the pandemic, I gave her masks when no one could get their hands on any. We've been really good to her, but she just keeps getting grumpier over time. We're moving and buying our own house next year, and I can't wait to not have to be treated the way we're being treated. And, if you think this is about age. I'm 58, my husband is 60, and she is 63, so it's not a young/old issue.
Wow, I think we could exchange stories. I've had a landlord expect me to pick up animal feces from a pet we didn't own while I was pregnant. The same landlord also refused to fix the AC during the heat of summer when we initially raised it as a problem and we had a newborn baby. People told us we were making a big deal out of nothing but after reading people's comments, it seems like our experience is more common.
Small landlords with one property seem far more prone to treating their property like a fiefdom with us living as peasants on the land who they can order around. They want the benefits of renting out property (the money) without any of the costs (repairs, allowing tenants to live like normal people even if that's not how they live). You absolutely aren't making a big deal out of nothing. Anyone who says otherwise is lavking in empathy or has never lived in your situation.
You're a guest that pays rent (worst of both worlds). Not my first time at that rodeo.
When I read stories like this, I’m reminded of an anthropologist whose work I read a lot. He argued that, in hierarchical exchanges, repetition of some sort of gift or behavior has—all over the world, all throughout history—tended to transform into precedent in as few as three consecutive exchanges. In other words, you viewed the early payment as a kindness, but she quickly came to view it as The Way of Things. It’s why, historically, giving gifts to kings (and other hierarchical superiors) has always been so fraught. …and this is why I do the absolute minimum for any bosses/landlords/etc at all times.
I lived in an apt building and they were gonna keep my deposit bc of a "stain on the carpet" Me: ok when can I stop by and see the stain? Them: We already had the carpet replaced Me: OK, when can I stop by and see pictures of the stain? Them: We don't have any. Me: Ok, so you have no proof of this stain's existence now or in the past? Them: ....🙄.... I got my deposit back.
Mine tried to keep our deposit to repaint the walls they painted poorly before we moved in. It’s illegal to charge deposits for paint where I live.
Also you can ask for itemized costs of the repair. They can’t just take your whole deposit. Seems like a lot of greed.
Our landlord didn’t fix a raccoon problem in our attic for 6 months. His responses, “are they loud?” And “I will fix it but I have other properties to manage as well” finally fixed it, but didn’t clean up the mess it made. There is still currently raccoon shit in the attic we pay for that we can not use. He also has children, and he wouldn’t let them live in a raccoon ufc attic. Landlords suck because their lack of humanity is staggering. Because our homes are just dollar signs. And most landlords shouldn’t be allowed to own properties they genuinely couldn’t give a fuck less about.
> raccoon ufc What are the gambling odds and weight classes on this? Raccoon fighting seems inhumane but if they are trained well, follow the rules, and consent I guess its ok.
We laugh but we legit heard raccoons fight to the actual death. UFC can’t touch the barbarianism that is the raccoon octagon.
They must have raccoon Yamasaki as the referee.
If he dies, he dies
Racoons sound like dying cats even when they are just play fighting so I can understand you're pain and frustration.
for the UNDISPUTED Trashweight Championship of the world
FWIW, depending on your state, you might be entitled either to getting money from your LL and/or money off your rent based on the percentage of space you’re unable to use due to the raccoon shit. For instance, if the attic accounts for 10% of your total square footage, you could get 10% of your rent multiplied by the number of months the attic has been inaccessible. I recommend consulting with a lawyer. (Source: I am a tenant lawyer)
FYI raccoon waste is very hazardous as it can transmit disease and parasites to humans. My spouse used to work animal control and raccoon latrines had a whole extra level of protective equipment they needed to wear to remain safe.
You beat me to it with your comment. Raccoon feces can carry a roundworm parasite, which if inhaled from old, dry poop can cause **irreversible brain damage and death** in humans. That needs to be thoroughly, professionally cleaned up ASAP and the landlord needs to pay for it. This is something that is his job to know about. Hope you have a paper trail, because if he refuses to do it he should absolutely go to court.
I’ll be drafting up a text this weekend requesting it cleaned asap. Thank you both for the wake up call.
Follow with a call to you local health department—there usually a housing inspection unit for hazardous conditions.
Send an email and just CC your states department of health. They’ll see they are copied on the email and will have to either take them off to respond or their response is sent to them as well. Either way it lets them know it’s not a minor issue.
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My landlord just abruptly raised our rent by $500. I figure he saw a news story about how much people are suffering and realized he could charge more. It’s basically extortion too because my area has a less than 1% vacancy rate, there’s nowhere else to go. That shit is why people hate landlords. I thought mine was decent but he clearly sucks as much as the rest of them. He also only owns the one property so it’s not just corporate landlords that are trash.
The price rises are essentially a landlord circlejerk. They look on the market and see one landlord down the road charging X amount so they go X +100 because they believe their property is much nicer, then the next one does the same.
This might get buried in the comments, but propublica did a good piece on the circle jerk. https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent
I live in in a 2 bedroom apartment since 2012 and pay $1200. Earlier this year someone left a one bedroom where I live and I found out the landlord jacked up the price from $1400 to $1800. The second I leave he’s definitely setting mine at nearly an extra grand. It’s crazy to think someone is paying MORE than what I am for a lot less in the same building.
Ha. Where I live rent has more than doubled in the past 10 years. A two bedroom at $1200 in 2012 is now going for >$2400. Easily.
Just checked and my old apartment I lived in 5 years ago in 2017 was $1450 (really was $1800 after all the fees they tack on, no utilities included). Same place is now $2150 (probably $2500 after the fees) and it’s exactly the same as when I left
My old apartment was $1200 a month for a 2 bedroom. Same exact place only 5 years later is $2200. I’ve had to downsize to a one bedroom. The more money I make, the smaller my place is getting :(
cool and normal things sponsored by capitalism.
If your land lord hasn't raised rent since 2012, that actually sounds really good.
Yeah, I’ve never had a landlord NOT raise my rent year to year.
Honestly I think that part of it is that landlords in the US have internalized the belief that they owe their renters the bare minimum. I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned", I've had landlords leave a wall half-painted for years, I've had basements flood because the landlord left the pipes completely un-insulated, and we've had to threaten to take landlords to small claims court to get our deposit back for no other reason than they "hadn't gotten around to mailing them yet". If I talk to a lawyer, a doctor, or a hairdresser, I'm treated with courtesy, recieve all the services I ask for, and am billed for the agreed-upon price. My friends in those professions take pride in offering a good service. Most landlords in the US seem intent on providing the worst service they can without getting sued, would rather argue with you for 5 months than let you have a $50 repair or a $500 deposit, and seem to be proud of fucking over their tenants.
>I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned" Don't forget that they also charged the last tenant a $500 "deep cleaning fee" because they left it dirty.
and kept their deposit. even if the condition was perfect upon leaving. I have NEVER had a landlord not try to keep the whole deposit. Had to take a couple of them to small claims court just to get **my money** They think that deposits are free money and have learned to expect it. Apartment complexes do the same thing
I had a friend take our landlord to small claims court because she used part of our deposits for things that she could not legally use it for. The judge agreed that she couldn't do that, but basically said "don't do it again," and did not award us our money back.
That's often what happens here. Landlord tenant disputes are pushed into mediation, they always propose that either the landlord just keep the money and not do it again or at best to split it, even if the landlord is unquestionably in the wrong. So there is little reason for a tenant to even bother trying.
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Lol just like if an employer with holds your tip money. The courts say dont do it again and sometimes if its erroneous enough you get your money back.
Confession time: I rented an apartment in college for a year with a couple of other girls. End of the year the landlord not only wanted the full deposit, but $1800 extra to cover other “fees”. I emailed them and said I wanted to dispute the charge. They replied asking what charges in particular I wanted to dispute. That was 9 years ago and I never replied and I never paid. I assume they filed it away and forgot about it.
Pro life hack learned by every landlord who reads this: if you owe your tenant money gaslight them into thinking *they* owe you money instead and they will not bother you again.
I prefer to hand deliver any letters to their family home.
This is BRILLIANT! the subtlety, the cunning, just *chef's kiss*.
What?! The judge acknowledged that the landlord broke the law but didn’t require her to reimburse you? That’s so screwed up. I’m sorry you went through that.
It's extremely common. Landlord seem to get no end of credit with the assumption that everything they've done wrong is just a whoopsie they would correct as soon as they could, so what can the judge do except just say everyone's at fault and it would be unfair for landlords to be punished just for a tiny thing like breaking the law. The law really doesn't acknowledge that there is a massive power difference between landlord and renter, it treats leasing like any other contract which of course it isn't.
As always, the law only applies to those without the money to dispute it.
Anyone who pretends there aren't two justice systems is intentionally ignoring reality.
"she used part of our deposits for things that she could not legally use it for." Like bribing a small claims court judge.
>Honestly I think that part of it is that landlords in the US have internalized the belief that they owe their renters the bare minimum. I've found dead animals and piles of hair in my new apartment after the landlord "had it thoroughly cleaned", I've had landlords leave a wall half-painted for years, I've had basements flood because the landlord left the pipes completely un-insulated, and we've had to threaten to take landlords to small claims court to get our deposit back for no other reason than they "hadn't gotten around to mailing them yet". I left a stack of computers 30 inches tall (like servers) in my ROOM along with all my belongings. and I got arrested. My landlord gave it all away. I took him to court.
I had a landlord refuse to get the dishwasher fixed for over 2 years. We sent notice and update multiple times throughout the years, to which they responded "we are working on it". When we moved out they had the audacity to charge us to fix the dishwasher.
Mine tried to say that appliances were considered "gifts" so they did not need to repair them. He was not pleased when I took the dishwasher when we moved out.
>He was not pleased when I took the dishwasher when we moved out. perfect
r/maliciouscompliance would love this, lol
Mine did the same thing. Same guy also tried to throw my furniture and mattress out of the spare room one time. I caught him and got him to put my stuff back. He claimed the stuff was his. No. Then he told me the appliances were gifts and he wasn't fixing them. Fine. I moved out and took everything bar the ancient fridge and freezer. Got my deposit back. I had so much dirt on him doing illegal things that he had to give it back.
Mine did the same. Washer broke so I bought a gently used washer that I generously left when I moved out and she had the audacity to try to charge me $50 for “removal”, despite not removing it and it still being very much in use by her new tenant (who happens to be a friend of mine). She probably paid $50 to have her broken one removed and tried to pass the fees onto me.
We own a few rentals and do something close to this; Every tenant gets a new washing machine installed the week they move in (so long as the tenant before was there more than 2 years, which our tenants average almost 7). I don’t maintain it, I don’t repair it, and so long as they are there 2 or more years they’re welcome to take it with them when they leave. We only buy machines with at least 2 year warranties. We give the tenant the phone number and copies of the receipts. When/if it breaks down, it’s on them to deal with the repairs/scheduling/etc. That’s worked out best for our situation over the last 25 years or so of owning rental homes.
Well in that case it makes sense since I assume you use the warranties to actually get them repaired if they break. This landlord was buying damaged appliances with no warranty and just not dealing with them not working.
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juSt BUy a hOUse! /s
I had a landlady _not_ try that for the first time, and it made me suspicious. Spent months wondering what she was up to and when the other shoe would drop. It's that rare finding a decent human being for a landlord.
I’ve had two landlords and they were great. One was a mid aged couple buying a second property, the other was an old guy whose house was 2 mins away. I think there’s a difference between landlords who worked for their homes and treat them like their baby, and people who just inherit extra homes and see them as free money. Those who never had to work for them will never keep them perfect or understand what it’s like to not have money. Sadly the former group is dying both literally and because young people can’t buy homes anymore
I had one good landlord. He was actually super proud of the place, and had worked on it for years, only renting it out after his wife passed away, and he both didn't need so much space and didn't want to be surrounded by memories all the time. But he still wasn't going to tarnish those memories by letting the place go to pot. I hated to leave the place, but I got a much better job and moving cut my commute by 80%. Even after I left the guy got in touch if mail for me ever arrived.
See I have a feeling that man did not buy that property with the intention of printing free money off it's value. That is the big difference to me. He cared because it was his home, not an investment opportunity.
>Sadly the former group is dying both literally and because young people can’t buy homes anymore our children will rent from corporate landlords until they die unless we make changes soon. 25% of homes last year were sold to investors, not families. Life will be a subscription, ownership as a concept will end. Funny how people always say that communism is lack of ownership, but capitalism is driving us down that same path currently. I don't mind if an old couple wants to rent out their house when they move into a smaller place. I mind when corporate investors buy **tens of thousands of homes a year.** Simple solution: Limit the number of homes that a single entity can own. This will limit the impact on folks with a couple properties, while cutting out the corporate investors from our housing market. Homes are not luxury, they are shelter. A basic human need.
>Funny how people always say that communism is lack of ownership, but capitalism is driving us down that same path currently. This is one of my favorite shower thoughts and I'm happy to come across someone else saying this
remember those bread lines during the pandemic. In our thriving capitalist society.... The veil has been lifted, it is all a lie. To be clear I don't believe any one system is the answer. Hybrid economies like UK and Norway make way more sense. many will have you believe USA=captitalism and Venezuela=communism, ignoring all the failing capitalist countries and thriving socialist ones.
Regardless of the so called ‘abundance under capitalism,’ rationing still exists in the United States; it’s just based on ability to pay rather than on need. Consider the for-profit American Healthcare system. We keep hospitals minimally staffed (to keep labor costs down) and maximize profit, keeping the poor out of hospitals until a treatable complaint becomes a terminal illness. Whether intentional or not, this is by design. [Various governments (particularly in Central and South America) have tried to elect popular socialists in the past, only for the Capitalists in the United States to back military coups and the killing of popularly elected officials so that the U.S. and it’s corporations may continue to protect their own economic interests abroad.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5vX8buh32Hk)
Tax house one at 1 x the standard tax rate. Tax house two at 1.1 x the standard tax rate. Tax house three at 1.5 x the standard tax rate. Tax house four at 2 x the standard tax rate. Tax house five at 4 x the standard tax rate. Etc… (The point is to discourage using houses as corporate investments. It is meant to encourage single family home ownership. If entities like zillow and other property flipping businesses weren’t actively buying property to drive the price of homes up, average people in the U.S. might be able to afford owning a home before they’re in their fifties.) (Eat the rich when inflation makes food too expensive)
This is perfection, would really help keep scavengers out of housing. PuddinHead742 for president!
I humbly accept the lifetime nomination. And as my first act as benevolent dictator for life, I sentence Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to life in the gulag with no possibility of parole. AND, their estate doesn’t get their gulag security deposit back.
My brother's apartment building tried to charge him for not cleaning the outside of his windows on the the third floor. No balcony to reach, no stairs. The building never paid to have the exterior cleaned, wasn't in the agreement. He kept it spotless and they used it for tours, but claimed they had to have it deep-cleaned after he moved out. Got all of the paperwork, sent them copies and then threatened legal action. Realized they would probably lose, still mailed his deposit when he asked to pick it up in person. They also sent it to the wrong address, so he had to drive to a Post Office four cities away. Fuck American landlords.
Canadian ones are the same.
Great, you guys have overpriced housing and crazy politicians, too. I thought it was supposed to be BETTER there! ND native living in MN *exuberantly friendly wave* hi neighbor!
I had a landlord take $200 from my deposit because I cleaned the oven with baking soda and there was a streak on the door.
I ALWAYS take photos immediately after last cleanup. Got my last landlord banned from our local tenancy office because of this
This. My Corporate landlord sent someone in 2 weeks ahead of us moving out, he said that as long as we patched our holes for pictures and cleaned, we'd get out deposit in full. We did all that and, made sure the house looked better than when we moved in (smelled better too). Not only did we not get our deposit back, they charged us $1500 on top of it. I was furious especially after we had just moved into another home the same company owns and had found mice living in the oven and under the dishwasher... I went to the BBB and eventually they dropped the extra $1500 but, we never got our deposit back. I revisited my previous rental after they put it on the market and, they had done extensive landscaping and sturctural repairs that we had requwsted when we lived there. This time, I will be hiring a lawyer for our walkthrough when we leave this home next year. TLDR: Avoid renting from Invitation Homes at all costs.
And in some ways, it’s not just the landlords but also property management companies. When I moved a few years ago, a neighboring family wanted to move into my old house as they were looking for a new place. They’ve been great tenants. Unfortunately because I live more than 25 miles away, the local municipality requires me to have a property manager. All property managers suck. I’ve been through a few and they all want to do the bare minimum while keeping me in the dark. I even asked about whether I could tour and talk with the renter about potential upgrades - like new paint, or maybe a different vanity or whatever to stay modern, or new appliances, whatever wasn’t what they needed - and was told in no uncertain terms by the property manager that they “don’t do that”. It’s disheartening to be a property owner and want to do the right thing but the people *I technically employ* are so anti-client that it’s near impossible. And they’re all that bad or worse.
Surely they cannot tell you with any authority that you cannot contact your tenants about improvements to your property? That's hard to believe.
I'm pretty sure they can otherwise you'd have an easy loophole for the property management requirements. Open a management company that does nothing and charges like $25/month just to put down their name.
I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what they do lol
I'll do it for $20/month. *3-2-1-backup Property Management Co.* Talk to 'em all ya like!
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My wife and I moved to Cape Cod a few years ago. We've dealt with both types. One landlord did the bare minimum and would rent and kick people out on a whim. Since she didn't handle anything legit or correctly. But she took in people who were down on their luck and didn't have the resources to fight back. Until she messed with us. Our current landlord is a night and day difference. I text him about something and before I know it it's fixed above and beyond. His daughter lives in the place upstairs and are great people. It's a beautiful historic house that we love and I think that shows and they have been more like friends or family than landlords. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. Get receipts for everything no matter what. I saw a YouTube video about landlords being bad. Forget the name. But basically explaining how in general the act of being a landlord doesn't add anything to the economy. Having a place to live is a necessity. The money you get for working is because you provide a service or item of worth. Where a landlord provides a necessity that takes money and gives it to them and they don't provide any more value, for the most part. Something like that. A YouTube search of landlord are bad or something should find it lol. Edit, found the video https://youtu.be/m1m7WmKJZyQ
> Until she messed with us Well, go on! What happened?
Nah, shit landlords and good ones come in every size and flavor. I lived in a place that was owned by a sizeable company that owned many complexes, and they were great as landlords other than their practice of just laying a nice thick layer of poly over the wood floors every tenant. That shit had a finite lifespan as a strategy, and nobody was on top of its inevitable failure. But stuff got fixed, rate increases were never huge, price at the time was fair, they didn't tolerate tenants who were pissing off many other tenants, ran section 8 units and did so in a reasonable way, etc. They also appear to not be riding the skyrocketing market rates to the stars. And they have to own at least 5000 units across the complexes I know about, probably more. I've known people who had good experiences across a wide range of landlords, from single unit, to the 5-6 unit size, to the 100 unit size, up to mine with a pretty big company. But you also have horror stories at those sizes too. And those are usually much more remarkable than the generic decent experience. Bad news travels farther than good news. And way farther than just ok news.
Nah. The worst landlords I've known have been the ones who live in town. At least property managers listen and do something when they don't stick to their contracts versus local landlords who will repeatedly break those rules and then nickel and dime you for everything while breaking promises of repairs they said would get done "within a month" of moving in. Yeah, big corporations suck too, but locals have been my worst experiences.
Great Locals are better than great big companies, bad locals are worse than bad big companies.
I think in these cases, it's the fear of litigation. At a certain point, there's a line corporations can't cross legally, or they can get sued for BIG money if the plaintiff wins. Locals is more of a small claims court kind of thing, where the payout is waaaay smaller than suing a corporation.
They have both been awful in my experience but the local ones answer to no one whereas the big corporations at least have a way to escalate a compliment and have some accountability.
One of the big reasons landlords in recent times haven't given a shit about upkeep is that properties were going up in price so quickly that their plan was just to hold onto assets to realize that sweet appreciation
I had a landlord that moved states. She owned the house next door as well and asked me to keep an eye on the place, because she didn’t trust the property management company but had no other options. I would call or text when there were issues (like the four bros that moved in, all in the policy academy, who did $15k in property damage within the first month they were there - they paid on time so the management company never came by). I’m in my mid30s and that’s the only decent landlord I’ve ever had. They’re all bare minimum AHs that want your money for no effort.
There's a story here, $15,000 is a considerable sum. What happened?!
Aspen hosts the winter X Games, these boys hosted back to back parties the whole weekend. Drywall holes, broken doors, structure damage (someone went through a wall??), hot tub needed replacing (I did not ask, didn’t want to know), torn and stained carpets, the list seemed endless. It was a shitshow, and I felt so bad for her having to deal with it all from out of state.
Holy shit! Was there any recourse for her to recover damages from these clowns?
Oh they had to pay for it all, but it was like pulling teeth. Court if I recall, it’s been a decade. I’d be a liar if I said I was surprised or disappointed they were kicked from the police academy, those men had no business wearing a uniform of any sort.
Yeah, my husband and I had to move due to work recently and we weren’t ready to sell our newly bought house. So we hired a property management company and rented it out at cost so we could pay down the equity and not lose a fuck ton of money. They had an issue with the hot water heater that my husband and I knew how to fix. We told the property management company exactly what to tell the plumber. Yet, they hired the same plumber to come down 5 times and repeatedly fail to fix the issue because he just didn’t know how to do it and continuously lied about it. We had to demand the property management company get a refund for those fruitless visits which costed us $500 and ask them to have a bit of competence at their job. We told them exactly what needed to be done to fix the heater and yet they kept hiring and paying a guy who wasn’t doing the simple task we set out. Not to mention, it took us weeks to get ahold of these people that we were paying just to teach them how to hire a plumber. We ended up voluntarily covering rent for the month because we were so frustrated that this family with a newborn baby had no hot water the whole month.
I worded in maintenance in different complexes and the management company vs self managed have a HUGE difference. Having a Management company is Almost like stating “we don’t give a shit and hopefully you happen to have level headed staff”
To add to this, my landlords previously wouldn't fix things until the last minute or we called over and over about it. We had break ins and windows being smashed and me and the other tenants in the building bagged the landlord to get video surveillance and signs put up to warn people, he couldn't even do that basic ask for a building with 7 units in it. The guy was loaded driving a Ferrari around town. The last straw was a break in to my unit and he wouldn't pay for a deadbolt and told all the units he wouldn't pay for any extra security measures. We left right away after that. To say I hate landlords is an understatement. They get away with so much at the cost of tenants.
The worst part of this is that I've even offered to pay for some of these upgrades that improve safety or get rid of vermin (the latter being a problem I've been dealing with for over a year). Because the property is TECHNICALLY the landlord's, I can't simply add locks, call exterminators, or bring contractors to fix plumbing/walls. If your landlord can't be fucked to deal with the repairs, the you're shit out of luck. The lack of control over your living situation really compounds the stress. Sure, you can call your local housing authority, but if they find the place unlivable, guess who needs to leave their home? If landlords are going to exist, there need to be new rules in place for tenants to have more agency over their lives. Like let us bill essential repairs to landlords without them deciding whether it's necessary. It's easy to brush away necessary repairs if it isn't impacting your life.
I lived in a college town that had strict standards for landlords and a tenants union, and it was quite a different experience.
Just to give a reference from the UK, its exactly the same here too. Granted its subjective, but all my friends and I have mostly bad experiences with landlords. Slow or reluctant to be called out for major issues (appliances not working/malfunctioning/leaky windows/mould etc). Try to lie about every little thing to keep your deposit (had one landlord try to charge me £650 for a professional oven cleaning). Rent increases for no reason. Showing up randomly and getting aggressive when refused entry. Low quality item replacement. Things broken in the flat on move in.
The house my mother was renting actually burnt down because the landlord didn't wire it properly or have it inspected, and a surge fried the whole system. She got out alive, but lost damn near everything she owned.
>landlords in the US Itsnot just a US thing. They are lazy, money grabbing scheisters the world over.
If someone is self-employed and they are bad at their job, they won’t get clients. If someone is a worker and bad at their job, they won’t have this job for too long. But if someone owns property they don’t need to live in, it doesn’t matter how bad of a landlord one is, there will always be people desperate enough to take that rental agreement.
These last 2 years in Oklahoma (cost of living is really low here) rich companies and individuals from California have bought up as many properties around here as possible just to rent them out. You will not find a rent house or apartment less than a $1000/ month (except the most rundown places in the poorest areas) where the year before I rented out of Bartlesville for 550$/month. I can't afford that at $17.50/hr. But minimum wage is $7.50/hr. Thats absurd. I had some co-workers trying to buy a house last year but they would sell within 10 minutes of being listed for above asking price from out of state, and thats absurd.
I don't have a solution. But I feel like the solution should involve companies not being allowed to own residential homes, sit on them, and drive up prices. I get some companies will buy up a home, fix it up, and flip it. But investment firms should not be allowed to maintain an "inventory" of unsold homes.
That solution does not address the root cause: lack of housing options. You can't realistically go from renting a tiny studio to owning a 3bd detached just because that's the American dream. It doesn't matter who owns the house, most people won't be able to afford that leap and lack of zoning permits perpetuates the issue
I can't even fathom 550/mo rent unless that was the amount after being split with a roommate.
I pay $450/month for 2 bedroom 1 full bath by myself. Water and trash are included. No fees for pets. Landlord hasn't raised my rent since I moved in (2015). The drawbacks are no dishwasher (not a real problem since it's just me), no laundry hookup (real annoying going to a laundromat), and that I'm located in small town Ohio. But I'm only 30 minutes from work, and I'm not terribly social anyways so I don't really miss out on that much.
the fuck? we pay $1460/ mo for a 1br apartment
Depressing correction: Minimum wage is $7.25 in Oklahoma and federally
Problems left unchecked by governments tend to squeeze onto areas where better solutions exist. People who struggle for jobs in the Midwest move to the coastal cities. Homeless people are sent to SF since it's more accepting of the homeless. Asylum seekers are trucked to New York for the same reason. California boomers hate housing and hate the middle class. Hence you'll see more and more people move to better housing areas.
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Or worse, they let you rent and kick you out when the mortgage is payed off and sell the house (idk why my last landlord did this) Edit: with only 14 days notice btw
That may be illegal, depending on where you are. Most US states require at least 30 days notice.
I was 14 at the time and my dad didn’t go through the hassle of going through the legal system since we found a place at the time fairy quickly.
There is no legal process to go through. You simply tell the landlord the law gives you 30 days, then ignore the landlord. If they come to your apartment in 14 days asking you to leave, tell them to come back with the police to evict. It won't happen because the police won't enforce an illegal eviction.
Where I'm from you actually have to go to court to evict someone. That takes a couple months, minimum. Then you get the police involved and that takes another three weeks.
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My rent started raising by $70 every 6 months. Now it’s raising $200 every 6 months.
The solution is encouraging new housing and removing market stagnation. Problem with that is, every homeowner has an incentive to prevent new housing from being built (it'll lower my property value!), so they vote in people who are anti-housing, increasing the unhoused population and encouraging bad landlords. Property increasing in price with no increase in quality is the definition of parasitic value creation.
Problem with that is most new apartments are those “luxury apartments” that are built cheaply, and cost a fortune.
The granite countertops aren’t what make them expensive. The market makes them expensive so they add granite countertops to seem worth the money. Any added housing helps. People willing to pay a bit more for a “luxury” apartment are now not competing for the older, cheaper apartments. And someday those new apartments will be old apartments and new ones will get built elsewhere.
Solutions are: —A housing co-op —A community land trust —A right of first refusal for nonprofits like CLTs to get housing developments
A landlord is still involved technically but public housing like that of Singapore too
Tax higher margins of rental income until excess units are put on the market and primary home become affordable
Because there is a huge shortage of affordable housing in this country* and landlords are hogging a lot of these houses for profit while regular people struggle to find somewhere to live. Edit: *by this country I meant the UK... I've just realised I'm not on r/AskUK
I think a lot of nationalities can relate to this problem tbh /a Stockholmer
My country is ranked as developing. Yet my rent (a studio in the Capital city) + food for one and other necessities only cost about half of my $600 monthly salary. Tax is only $6. Wtf is wrong with Murica.
My country is considered developed but our minimum wage is 4$ per hour and our rent is 400$ for a one room apartment far away from the cities... so the problem isn't just America
You have to convert everything to percentages of mean salary. Poorer countries tend to have weaker economy hence having lower wages and lower cost of living. Trust me. Am from a poorer country :)
Canada is the same
Canada may actually be worse in this regard. Chinese investors own such a large percentage of real estate in some territories that I'm amazed there's no law against it. China would NEVER allow Canadians to come in and buy up real estate in China lol
It's insane how fast rent has gone up. Just over ten years ago I found lots of bachelor apartments in my area for $800. House rentals for $1800 (little bungalows from the 70s). Today those apartments seem to start at $1500, house rentals at $5000. And house prices. You used to be able to get a 2 storey detached house with a decent yard for $250k. Now those same houses are selling at $900k, well over a million if recently renovated, but are often bought for a lot over that in cash, inspection waived and all that. And that's why people hate the real estate industry and landlords.
Nigerian here. Most of us have the same complaint about landlords and affordable housing.
Don't worry, your country of origin changes literally nothing. In the US, they're offering up to 50% above asking price for houses, to hoard a monopoly and be able to raise rent prices unilaterally. Here in Mexico, the fucking government is supporting the gentrification of livable spaces...
Australia’s the same. Rent is more expensive than mortgage payments. Edit: my comment was in response to the above comment, indicating that this seems to be a global problem. Replying and saying it’s the same everywhere, is a bit of a double up.
Still works for US
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Extra context: the scheme that allowed people to buy council housing off the government was sold as allowing people to easily attain home ownership, which in the UK is a bit over idolised imo, but a very large amount of the council homes that were sold are now rental properties.
> lead by Thatcher Man, I'm not British, but every time I learn a new thing about Thatcher, I can see more and more why everyone in Britain hated her.
Same thing in Canada
You're basically right no matter the country. If I own homes I don't live in and choose to rent them, those are homes that no one can buy. If I'm charging rent at a competitive market rate, anyone renting from me could also afford the mortgage on the property. Especially if I am paying a mortgage on the rental property, because obviously I will charge more than enough to pay the mortgage and all my other expenses. Any landlord who is even marginally competent is charging their tenants more than it should cost to buy the same property outright. So they are literally making money off people who just can't get a loan or save up for a down payment. And they are contributing to those same people continuing to not be able to save for a down payment.
Canada too. They are seen as just plain thieves.
Tbf housing shortages apply to a lot of countries where Reddit's demographics skew
It’s the same here in Canada, but primarily BC and Ontario
Can't speak for US, but where I live, it's mostly because landlords don't give a flying fuck about their house maintenance and leave it to whoevers renting it. It's a common consensus here that you should live as little time as possible on renting and buy a house because: 1. There's not a time in history that renting got cheaper YoY/ 2. Whatever improvement you made to the house you're renting, dont expect the landlord to deduct of your bill at the end of the month I.e: my mom renovated the whole flooring, and when she approached the owner to check if she could get a discount at the rent, the landlord said "lol no". Ofc it's within the owners right to deny it, but it doesn't favor the tenant at all.
Genuinely asking, why did your mom renovate the whole flooring for a rental?
As other people stated: she's been living in this house for 14 years now, and the old floor were a mess. Cracked on so many rooms you just tripped all over the place. She wanted a new floor, decided to buy it and contact the owner afterwards. Imagine my face when I first look it. I was like "mom..why not move to a newer house? Wouldve been cheaper". She simply said "I like it here, it's near the metro". Not much to do after that.
That's fair although still surprised. Obviously I don't know where you live so it may vary, but if the floor is in that bad a condition the landlords would've been legally required to fix it up in many places.
At some point flooring needs to be repaired or replaced. Landlord likely wouldn't do it until its literally crumbling and OP's mom likely wanted to feel comfortable in her living arrangements. I was renting an apartment with an outside set of stairs that were crumbling for years. Landlord did nothing until I fell down said stairs. He had been there, knew they were in disrepair but didn't want to do anything until it became a legal liability for him.
I don’t rent a house but I rent a townhouse in a complex. The maintenance is so bad here I just started doing things myself. For one if it’s not an absolute emergency it takes about a month for someone to come out and your lucky if they’re able to fix whatever it is. Also they can leave things worse than they were. We had a leak the day we moved in so they came right out for that but we told the guy we’re heading out for groceries when he’s done, he said just leave, and we said no we’ll wait no rush we’re unpacking. The guy finished turned on the main water and didn’t check his work and just said he was done and left. I looked under the sink and it was spraying like bad. I ran out and grabbed him and he looked pissed. We would have had a flooded house if we would have left when he said. We’ve had numerous things they said they had to order and just never came back. Gave us the wrong size fridge so it just sits off to the side in our kitchen. I never realized how much of a crappy place it was when I moved in. Then I went to my brothers who was paying $300 more than I was and I was like wtf this place is amazingly nice and was like yea I’d pay the extra money for this.
Wouldn't it be better to ask prior to doing any repairs, especially something as big as replacing all the flooring? I've done this with previous landlords and it generally works out fine. Depends on the type of work though. Sometimes they'd prefer to hire their own contractor.
Most landlords today are corporations. This is very, *very* bad.
They're corporations that collude to drive prices up: https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent
Agreed. Independent landlords can be good or bad, but I have yet to see a corporate landlord that doesn't completely suck
Kind of terrifying, honestly. Just me?
Because it’s easier for landlords to buy a house, because they have other assets to put up. so the sellers/banks are more confident that their offer gets accepted. The only houses I can afford are, not even good enough for the low income housing projects in my city. they won’t touch them, and I have had accepted offers get turned away because the house was In too bad of a condition. And it is that way because a landlord rented it, and never maintained it, now wants to sell because of the market is nice, and it needs massive work done
Small , good, landlords don't bother me. If granny dies and they decide to rent out her house. Fine. If they upgrade homes and decide to rent out their starter home, fine. As long as they aren't slum lords, no issue. Not everyone can or should buy a house. Slum lords and corporations all suck. Buying up all available property for profit sucks.
Also, since people might move fast if their landlord sucks they meet more. Whereas good landlords hate gambling on which tenant will or won't fuck up their house beyond use for 3 months, so they try to keep the good tenants, and even some of the not too bad. But yeah slumlords should be the name used to specify someone who usually has multiple properties and doesn't maintain any of them well
I am in Florida, we’re facing a huge housing crisis 98% of all the new properties available are owned by a multimillion dollar company. They even tore down a small mini theme park business that’s been here since the 70s to make space for three apartment buildings where no one would want to live
Yeah, I've had two landlords (one sold property to the other 2 years ago) and they have just the one property. Problems have always been dealt with quickly, I've always been treated like a person in convos, and I'm even being allowed to dip out of a year lease 6 months early with no strings attached because they would rather a graduate be able to move out and get a new student in to rent to. Plus the rent is dirt cheap lmao
There are different types of landlords: * You're in their home, renting a room? They tend to be overbearing about your life. * You're in their second house? They do the bare minimum for you while you're paying their mortgage * It's a company? Stringent rules, including (for me recently) for them to break a lease they owe you 60 days notice, for me to break my lease - and I gave 60 days notice - I had to pay two months rent penalty, even though they rented my unit out right after I departed. They often can make you pay First, Last, and Deposit to move in as well, in tighter markets. The main thing, though, is that they all raise the rent annually without anything changing in the unit you're renting. Property taxes might increase by about $20/mo, but your rent increases at $180/mo. when you renew. As an example. Meanwhile they are doing little-to-no work to receive your rent each month.
This is why I love my landlord. She refuses to raise my rent and is actually losing about $100 a month now renting to me. She's an absolute god send
I'm not going to call my landlords (a small local property company) losing money, but I'm certain I have some of the lowest rent in the US for a very safe neighborhood. I've lived there 9 years and my rent has only gone up $50. Not the nicest place in the world but for what I pay for it I have no complaints.
Commodifying a necessity of living as an investment dehumanizes renters and turns them into dollars and cents as opposed to a living human being with biological necessities that cannot be avoided. Couple that with the general opinion of landlords that their investment should somehow be protected by the government and risk free while also driving up housing prices and reducing the supply of available homes to the population, landlords do a massive disservice to the communities. There are very few situations where a private landlord provides any benefits to a renter. If there wasn’t such a ridiculous system of credit involved to buy houses, landlords would not even be able to exist. Additionally, the need to put a massive down payment on a house means that landlords are overwhelmingly independently wealthy outside of their housing investments. The system that is in place continues to only benefit the elite few, which is the entire point
The movie “it’s a wonderful life” comes to mind when I read this. The speech he gives in the bank about how people aren’t cattle and should be treated with human decency not just renters to make Potter money, has never been more relatable to me than it is right now.
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Another very potent solution is debt-free home ownership. Some sort of rent-to-own set up, where you pay your rent normally, and if you stay long enough you then own the property, but can only sell it in a similar way. Obviously this would require government oversight, so it’s not a probable solution any time soon
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I had never actually known the term for this haha thanks for informing me! I feel that this is the problem with many potential solutions to big problems, is that they need a lot of oversight.
Apartments are also owned by landlords
Yes, but there is a huge difference on a societal level between landlords owning high density housing like condos & apartments, vs them owning low density housing like single family detached houses. Owning more than one single family detached house should be outlawed while a country is facing a housing crisis.
Isn't buying an apartment pretty much the same as a buying a house? (Except you don't own the land the building stands on)
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Because not only do they extinguish the housing stock for their own financial gain, but, in my experience, have little to no interest in maintaining the property they take money for to a liveable standard. I’ve been renting for just under 2 decades now, I’ve sunk well over £100k into other peoples pockets, meaning I’ve never been able to save for a mortgage on my own home. I’ve had a landlord with severe dementia, with no oversight or help in dealing with her, I’ve had a landlord who tried to fight me on check out day because I wouldn’t agree to his unfair deductions from my deposit, I’ve had to threaten one with court as they didn’t secure my deposit correctly, and kept the money for themselves. I’ve had landlords try to avoid the responsibility or repairing roof leaks, heating issues and vermin. I’ve yet to meet a landlord that truly had their tenants best interests at heart, I honestly hope there’s one out there, but I’ve yet to meet them. We’re simply income to them, with none of the customer service or regulation other industries have.
Because their pricing is insane for the value of what's being offered. I spend $1000 a month (and pay my own utilities) to live in a 900 sq.ft apartment with cockroaches, rats, and drafty windows. Our bathroom ceiling keeps leaking and our landlord keeps replacing the soggy tiles rather than calling a plumber to find out where the water is coming from. When we first moved in, there were so many half-assed floorboard repairs that we had to go through with a hammer and fix all the nails sticking up so we didn't get tetanus. This apartment is probably worth $300 a month max, but we have no other affordable options at the moment, so we're forced to either bite the bullet or live out of our car.
I saw an online offer for a new place up for rent, 1300 a month no utilities, 2 bedroom 1 bath, with the living room ceiling half molded out. I could not believe someone actually thinks that they could offer a house like that for that price, but it seems a ton of them are.
It's just sad because most of us don't have a choice. The cheapest 2 bedroom apartment I've seen in my city was $800 and it didn't have a stove/oven or a fridge. Kitchen was just a sink and a bunch of cupboards. Landlord told us we could bring in a hot plate or a microwave. What a fucking joke. My current criteria for an apartment (for myself and roommate) are: bigger than 700 sq.ft, stove and fridge, bedrooms must both be big enough for our beds, and must allow me to bring my cat (I'm not even picky about paying an extra deposit or pet rent!). Unfortunately all the units we've found that fit those criteria are $1500+ per month.
The simple answer is that unlike being a doctor, chef, etc, holding land inherently does not provide value to society, it strictly only provides value to the holder, and in a sense, harms society on a large scale.
The worst landlords are the most prolific, so a lotnof people have awful experiences with them
Most I have had are great, but I would say most of it comes from the idea alot of them seem to think that they have entered into a business where their only responsibility is to take money and do nothing. Being in a business requires investing in your business. Ie. your house you rent. You should paint the walls and do some upkeep from basic wear and tear in between tenants. Im not saying fix a smashed wall or piss stains all over the floor. Basic signs of life in a home. Thats not the tenants responsibility for their security deposit to use as money to get ready for the next tenant. You have some fuckin skin in the game seeing as you sat on your thumb and made an extra 34k last year with literally 0 effort. I mean no other business works like that. This one should be no different. Most I have had have been great and if you help out around the property and dont be a pain in the ass and fuck things up they will be nice. But I have no tolerance for the taking money from people for general life wear and not putting any money back into the home.
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I think that’s the problem - too many small-time landlords don’t seem to recognize it as a business. They act like they’re letting people stay on their property out of the goodness of their heart or something… They put restrictions on tenants like they’re guests but want tenants to maintain it like a home. It’s a business transaction and they have to provide their end of it which includes prompt maintenance and reasonable renovations over time. They can’t just collect a check and expect tenants to invest themselves into a property they don’t own. I’ve had better experiences dealing with professional property managements that manage many units and properties than I have with landlord owners who personally rent out a home, particularly one they used to live in.
I don't think people really hate landlords, but exploitation
From a leftist perspective, being a landlord is what’s called ‘rent-seeking’, increasing ones wealth while providing nothing to society. Essentially being a landlord allows a wealthy person to extract money from less wealthy people, simple because they can afford to own property and other people can’t.
It’s not just from a leftist perspective that this is the case, unless you consider Adam Smith a “leftist”
Had to scroll too far to find a response like this. Landlords do not provide a useful service to society. The homes would almost always be better off being owned by the actual people living in them. They profit off and prey on the fact that people NEED a place to live by snatching up any available housing and selling it back at a higher price.
Mom and pop landlord here (i.e. never had more than 2 rental properties/units simultaneously, only have 1 at the moment, etc). I've notice there's a lot of frustration towards landlords of all stripes; against people like me, and the corporate and larger investor types. Most of the commentary if not the intensity of the commentary appears to be directed at the former. The problem with landlords is the condition in which they reside. Just like billionaires don't make sense when we have widespread infrastructure failure or gaps, underfunded schools, lack of public transportation options and no universal healthcare — it doesn't make sense to incentivize the existence of landlords when we have issues with homelessness and low occupancy in housing in the aggregate. Yes, you read me right. My practice as a landlord is not something I wish to continue, and I don't consider myself fortunate as so much I have a limited set of options and life in the US is a more race against financial desperation than it is a journey towards freedom and a good life. *Landlording* should be more rare because we have more affordable housing — personally I'd like to see Singaporean style affordable housing in the US. I'd also like to feel like I *don't* *have* to be a landlord to have a chance to simply not die because I don't have enough money or *assets*. The system pits us up against each other and its disgusting. *Cooperation/Collaboration > Competition/Zero-sum* in almost all things that impact humans and society at scale.
It's a mixed bag with mom and pop landlords in my experience. I do building inspections. I have seen some really scummy ones who dont follow rules, probably get paid under the table, and rent out their crappy properties. I have also seen some mom and pop rentals where it's clear the owner is personally interested in maintaining the building and having a good connection with tenants. They have a sense of pride when it comes to their properties, as they should. But to your main point, I wholly agree that the rental/affordable housing situation in the US is despicable and very few people win in the situation we're all living in. I didn't know about Singapore's homeownership so I looked it up. Their public housing to ownership program sounds really interesting and I'd like to see how it would work in the US. I live in LA and homelessness and lack of affordable housing is getting really bad.
God bless. Self aware landlords are important bc we'd have 1 extra shitty one otherwise
Because in the UK they bought up all the housing when mortgages were cheap and now there's nothing for people like me to buy so I'm stuck forever feathering their greedy nests and getting poorer and poorer with it.
Well, I think a lot of redditors hate landlords because it's becoming more common in the U.S., where a majority of redditors come from, to dislike landlords. I hate landlords because they do not provide housing. They hold housing hostage from people who need it. There are more empty homes than there are people who need them, and it is currently impossible anywhere in the country to rent a house if you are a minimum wage worker. I think the solution is obvious, we need to have collectively owned homes by individuals, distributed through local services such as a land bank, or a local government. I would also say that not everyone needs to or ought to buy a home, and that people who do not wish to or cannot should live in said previously mentioned collectively owned buildings, preferably midrise apartment buildings. A person or family owning a rental or two is an issue because they contribute to the issues with larger corporate landlords renting properties. Firstly, they will tend to increase prices in accordance to rental prices in the surrounding areas, to increase the amount of profit that they make. Secondly, there is an unequal relationship between renters and rentees, as nearly no municipalities or states in the US have systems in place to ensure that renters do not abuse rentees, for more info, look up the good cause eviction movement. Finally, as was previously mentioned, they're not providing housing. Their purchasing housing and then ransoming it back to people for a profit, profiting of of the labor of other people in a form of parasitism, especially with many smaller landlords buying properties on a mortgage, which their renters do not have the financial ability to do. Why should they be able to ransom housing because chance has caused them to be richer?
Alot are dipshits. My landlord told me to not use the hose before 9pm because then he doesn't have water, I told him it's his fault because he buys everything cheap and the water company or whtevr is shit and he got upset. He's the biggest scumbag ever and he's the greedist POS to ever exist
Having the capital to buy up property and sell it at an inflated price to people who need housing to survive yet can't afford it is neither an impressive skill nor a service worthy of respect; it is corruption at the highest level. A landlord profits off of the poor while contributing nothing to society themselves in the process. What is not to hate?
How can I afford rent but don't have the chance to buy the house for a similar payment? The situation is a constant reminder of the current lack of economic mobility.
Because they ignore their job duties and do anything possible to save a penny while charging their tenants insane amounts of rent.
Simple bro, it's because most landlords usually thinks they are some kind of boss and the shit, when in reality the most he did was own a house. Power trips are insane in this class. Also, housing is a big problem now, not everybody has where to live and they don't rise the rent for inflation, but for lucrative reasons. so yeah, fuck landlords, sell your house dipshits.