65 Infuriating Landlords Making Renting Harder Than It Needs To Be
I’ve rented enough places to know that not every landlord should be landlording. Even the “good” ones I’ve had made fixing the simplest problems feel like pulling teeth. Why are landlords always shocked when you ask them to repair a leak in the property they actually own?
Accountability should matter here, right? Sometimes the legal battle isn’t worth it, or maybe it’s an issue you just learn to live with. These infuriating landlords still deserve to be called out, like the tenants over on r/LandlordLove do every day.
Someone’s got to know exactly what kind of stuff renters are dealing with out there. Don’t rent from any of these landlords.
1. “Found In A Lease From 2014”
“I work as a social worker assisting formerly homeless clients, and I found this lease addendum on a lease from back in 2014. Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks a landlord requiring 5-minute or less showers is ridiculous.”
2. “Foot Went Through A Step, Almost Got Hurt, Landlord : Hold My Beer”
3. “Owner Is Tearing Out Our Gardens And Putting In Grass And River Gravel”
“We chose this building because we were allowed to garden there. Have been here for 10 years. I am chronically ill and unable to work, so we are low-income. I have $25/month to spend on myself, and for the past 8 years have spent most of it on plants.
4 days ago, we got a notice on our doors that the owner has decided he wants a more uniform look, and will be replacing everything with gr and gravel. I just wanted to share my garden with someone before it is gone.”
4. “Goofy Landlord Making Up Rules And Wanting To Steal My Dishwasher”
“My landlord is very hands-off and recently hired property management, which has been nothing but a nightmare. They came to check the smoke detectors today, and I got this message 30 minutes after they left from the property manager (not the owner, she’s alright and pretty fair, so I’ll call her in the morning to explain the situation).
Anyway, he wants me to get rid of my washing machine, and now has decided the countertop dishwasher I bought with MY MONEY is considered an upgrade and now belongs to the unit. LOL!!
On-site laundry has been non-functional for months, btw, and costs 2.50 to wash and 1.50 to “dry” (if the dryer decides it likes you that day. And it’s hateful, so almost never.)”
5. “Landlord Says The Door Isn’t Broken. Guess I Just Don’t Understand Modern Art”
6. “What A Wonderful Little Interaction To Add To My Evidence Of Property Mismanagement. A Gift Really”
“I also recorded a video of the inspector showing up 30 minutes late, cursing to himself when he realized I wasn’t obligated to be available all day long.”
7. “I Gave Notice That I Was Moving Out. Received A Constant Bombardment Of Realtors Viewing My Apartment, And Then These Guys Trashed The Place”
“The apartment was a nightmare. Vibrating floors. Neighbours blasting music at 330AM. Roaches and mice are coming up into my unit from the Cobs Bread downstairs. This realtor, Hanibal Mehari, brought a group to my apartment, and they trashed the place.
My rear door was left unlocked. They opened all the windows (it was raining). They picked up one of the cockroach glue traps and stuck it to my bag for some reason. They put a hole in my door and filled my toilet, and didn’t flush. They were only in there for 10 minutes. Hanibal was in front of the entire time, walking around in circles in my half-empty living room, kicking my shelves. They also went through all of my cupboards and were touching my food for some reason?”
8. “Landlord Special, A Personal Favorite”
“Helped my buddy move into her apartment, and the kitchen cabinet had a screwdriver instead of a hinge pin, with a little landlord flair. Painted over in goopy white paint.”
9. “It’s Really Annoying That Life Is So Hard For Her”
10. “My GF’s Landlord With A Crazy Work Landlord Special. Meet The New Thermostat”
11. “Landlord Asking For Damages Worth $6000 What Should I Do?”
“This is due to wear and tear only, I believe. The landlord also took $700 security deposit from me. I moved out nov1st and he did not even do the inspection at that time. I waited, but he did not show up. Today he mailed me these pictures and told me these damages are worth $6000, which I think is a joke”
12. “Housing Discrimination Based On Nationality?”
“Based in England, and wondering if they’re allowed to do this? The advert was on the right move and nowhere does it state it’s reserved for migrants, refugees, or any kind of positive discrimination situation.
The message is from the agent who’s communicating with the landlord to me, and they said it’s not discriminatory and that’s just a “personal requirement” from the landlord, but everyone else around me is saying it is.
I’m just very confused and wondering if this is worth reporting, and if so, to whom do I report this?”
13. “Live-In Slumlord Hates When Other People Cook”
“He’ll threaten to evict you if you make steamed rice, yet he’ll cook fish all the time. He makes all of us feel like we’re walking on eggshells, can’t stand living with this person, but it’s the only place I can afford.”
14. “Told My Landlord The Toilet Wasn’t Leveled. Came Home From Work To Carpet Installed On My Floor”
15. “My Landlord’s Glass Table Broke On The Deck Above Our Patio. She Refused To Clean It Because It Was ‘An Act Of God'”
16. “Landlord Is Gaslighting Us Into Thinking We Didn’t Send A Notice Of Intent For Escrow”
17. “Landlord Evicts Tenants For Drawing With Chalk On The Sidewalk And Wants To Call The Police”
18. “Landlord Insists This Is Completely Normal”
“Dude’s house is literally splitting in two, with large cracks forming in every room of his house and growing daily (no exaggeration), and yet he claims it is normal settling due to the clay beneath the foundation.
He also added, ‘You aren’t a homeowner, so you wouldn’t know.'”
19. “Landlord Shut Off Water To Whole Building”
“This is now the 2nd time I’ve come home to no water at my apartment. The water is shut off to the whole building, not individual units. There was no notice the 1st time, and this note was left at my door the 2nd time (today). The first time, it was only off for a few hours. This time it has been off since the time stamp in the email (10.5 hrs so far), and it is off indefinitely.”
20. “Picked Up My Keys Today, And My Landlord Didn’t Even Know About This Awesome Feature. So Much Fresh Air”
21. “California Rental Application Fee – Property Rented Before My Application Was Reviewed. Can I Get a Refund?”
“Last night, three of us applied for a rental home in California and each paid a non-refundable 60$(!) application fee. We submitted our applications after business hours. (Around 8pm)
The next morning, the property manager emailed us saying another applicant had already applied and was approved (likely yesterday or the day before) and paid the deposit around 7:50 a.m., the property was taken off the market shortly after 8:00 a.m., and our applications were never considered because the home was no longer available. They offered to transfer our applications to another property but refused to refund the application fees, citing they’re non-refundable
To my knowledge our applications weren’t even ran, no screening was ever performed and no reports were ordered. I’ve worked with realtors in the past who’ve refunded us our money when this happened. I’ve requested a refund and they’ve refused both times saying it’s company policy, anything we can do? 60$ non refundable application fee that was never run has to be illegal. Should I keep pressing them?
I’m likely just ranting here, but something has to be done about this. can’t believe a state like california hasn’t already.”
22. “Yeah I’m Not Getting My Security Deposit Back”
“Asked my landlord, who has a strange sentimental attachment to my apartment and tends to linger around the property finding “projects” to complete, if she’d like to check my work before I submit my move-out checklist and turn in my keys. Figured it’d be nice to have an idea of how much of my deposit I can expect back and re-clean anything I might have missed in my deep clean.
She shows up with a flashlight and a roll of painters’ tape and flags any evidence with a piece of tape and tells me I must properly clean to not be charged… Told myself that security deposit is a lost cause and turned in my keys…”
23. “Is This Legal?”
“I live in Oregon and have a private landlord. It stated in my lease that they would use some of my deposit for carpet shampooing and cleaning the blinds, and to NOT patch any nail holes. They asked us not to mount any TVs to avoid large holes, which we complied with. We even avoided mounting furniture against the wall at the expense of our small children’s safety, and only used thumbtacks and small nails to hang lightweight photos, and they still charged for them. I cleaned and scrubbed this house top to bottom. The cabinets were pristine, walls clean with only minor dings and scratches from furniture bumping into them over time. The fake wood floors were in great condition. I can’t think of any reason why they would need to be ALL refurbished? So much of this feels like just minor wear and tear, which feels insulting enough that they feel the need to take our entire deposit for it, but to then ask for an additional $110 is insane.”
24. “If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try More Tape. Thanks, Landlord”
25. “Landlord Sent Someone Over To Give The Pecan Tree A ‘Trim'”
“Mind you, the tree wasn’t in the way in regards to the driveway or the foundation, and I never once complained about it other than the occasional smacking my head on a singular low hanging branch (I’m five nothing, that’s a really low hanging branch) I loved having it there despite it constantly raining unripened pecans because it was at the perfect angle to provide ample shade for my truck year round. Now I have no shade. And it’s still 90° outside.”
26. “Dirty Water Backed Up Into The Living Room (Also My Bedroom)”
“The past year and a half, I have been staying with a dear family of three: two friends and their small child. My ex-husband kicked me out a few months after I became physically disabled, and they took me in like a stray cat a few months after that. We started as mere acquaintances and have become family. It’s because of their selfless love and support that I have been able to take any steps forward in life. They don’t have much, but anything they have, they’ve shared.
And now they’re going to have to fight with their annoying, cheap landlord, on getting this fixed in a timely manner…This isn’t the first time there’s been flooding issues. And so far, no emergency plumbing lines are answering.
Someday I’ll be able to help them like they’ve helped me, and that will be a good day.”
27. “Landlord Boxed My Car In With Snow”
“We have to park on the side of the building when there’s a snowstorm so he can plow. I came home when it had already snowed, and my car was sliding and swerving while trying to park. I tried so many times to park on the side but ended up just pulling straight forward because I feared I would hit another car. I had hoped I was off to the side enough that it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I woke up the next morning to this.”
28. “Our Ceiling Was Leaking For Nearly A Year Before The Landlord Finally Had It Fixed: This Happened Last Night”
29. “Locked Out”
“After driving 16 hours from Vancouver Island to Edmonton, we are locked out of our apartment at 2 am because our landlord changed our locks and did not tell us the code. Our lease started on Aug. 1. We have not been there to stay yet because we still had some packing up to do on the island. Our landlord said he might put in a new lock, but that he would tell us the code if he did. He never told us the code, so we assumed our physical key would still work. Nope. So now we have to call a locksmith, and it is probably gonna cost us upwards of 150 bucks to get into our own place.”
30. “It’s 10 O’clock At Night. This Is The Inside Temperature Of Our Apartment”
“A/C went out LAST JUNE. There was a switch in owners right around this same time. The landlord technically stayed the same. Previous owners were informed, who informed the landlord. He sent HVAC out for a quote and never followed up despite my begging for mercy at that point. I had to wait everyday in the sweltering heat, just hoping someone would show up, as I was never “allowed” the landlord’s number and had to communicate through the previous owners.
Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago, and it is still not fixed. And getting extremely hot out. Last week, there was even a weather alert for the heat wave. I sent a very angry maintenance request as it seems they’ve completely forgotten about me, and the small portable replacement A/C the previous owners gave me was just not cutting it. I even mentioned contacting BBB. Lo and behold, I get an almost immediate response (very AI sounding as well) that is profusely apologizing, but insisting they never received notice of the A/C going out. Which is impossible- I didn’t call HVAC myself!! Also, my two previous maintenance requests, which were about a different matter, and more polite and formal, were never investigated, then unjustly marked as done. So I was also very done with them.
It took a week, but they finally got someone out here who worked on it, but apparently messed it up. So now we have to wait for another technician. I’m starting my cycle, so I’m extra emotional and have a horrible attitude. I’m mostly writing this here to vent my anger so I don’t strangle anybody. Thank you for reading if you got this far. (Also new to this sub, so not sure if the flair is appropriate, sorry if it’s not)”
31. “This Is What Is Considered An Acceptable ‘Repair’ When It Comes To Student Housing. Seriously?”
32. “Requested Deposit Return, $945 Landlord Sent A Text Saying I Owed $12,000+?!”
“Should I sue my previous landlord for wrongfully withholding my deposit? I just moved out 21 days ago, tomorrow.
Background: Unexpectedly had my boyfriend stay with me (6 months). The rent agreement specified guest limitations. The landlord verbally approved and allowed him to stay multiple times. Good went bad, and he (&his fiancée, who lived there part-time) began changing rules/making things difficult, so we moved out.
When I requested my deposit back, he is now requesting back rent for my boyfriend being there. We stayed in the room 90% of the time, cleaned, and did our best to keep up with landlord requests: more chores, etc. There was never an issue until suddenly, 4 months in, he began requesting my bf not to stay as much, which we respected and followed. Other complications happened, which forced an sooner move out for us. I let him keep my ‘last month’ $945. Not worth staying in the discomfort they created. He now says I owe him almost $13,000?! “Based on hotel fees/damages,” I also talked to 2 other previous tenants, and they still have not been given their full deposits 6+months later. I’m massively discouraged and enraged. I don’t want to be taken advantage of. But should I try to move forward legally, or cut losses and block/not respond?
Unfortunately, I believed his good intentions at first and took him at his word when we discussed my bf’s staying/updates. I have limited texts/photos/records of the room and our conversations.”
33. “I Was Denied A Viewing For This Apartment Because I’m A Guy”
34. “Landlord Thinks It’s ‘Unbelievably Disrespectful’. I Did A Radon Test In A Garden Unit. Advice Or Thoughts?”
“For some more context:
I’m in Denver, where there are strict Radon laws. This includes that the landlord must legally disclose any prior inspections, tests, or abatements before a tenant signs a lease. I didn’t get anything from my landlord.
I’m an Environmental Engineer, and due diligence and testing are just what I know. I was in no way trying to be disrespectful by doing a couple of mail-in radon tests. Could I have let them know? Sure, but then they would have just said they had the place inspected in 2023 and that it was fine, when the test says there is a health risk.
Also, note that although we like our place and the location is nice, the apartment itself certainly is not. It’s affordable, you could say, and it shows in the interior. This isn’t a large complex or anything, either. Just a person renting out a house in a top and bottom unit.”
35. “Landlord Took $1850 Out Of Our Deposit For Carpet And Cleaning”
36. “First Time I’ve Seen This Tactic”
“Very kind of them to allow the opportunity to reveal how much more we can afford to have extracted from us. Current rent is $1550. Better appointed comps in a few block radius are $1400-1600 with MANY listings older than 30 days. Our average energy costs are about $270/month, and the A/C can’t even hold 73 degrees in summer because of extremely poor insulation. Non-desirable northeastern US city.”
37. “This Is My Landlord Special”
38. “This Water Pipe… ‘Not Related To Rats'”
“That our landlady insisted was nothing to do with the “mice” in our house. We have rats. We have seen them. We hear them constantly, and the “bait” that’s gone down does absolutely nothing despite them eating it constantly.”
39. “This Appeared Over Night”
“I was hoping someone could tell me what they think this is. It wasn’t there yesterday. My landlord has been promising to do repairs for over 2 years and is reluctant to do so. I’ve sent him the picture and am waiting for a reply.”
40. “Landlord Trying To Charge 600$ For A Replacement Toilet”
“The first week we moved into our new place, I was sitting on the toilet, and it cracked at the tank when I sat up. It was already very loose and wobbly. The whole toilet had to be replaced, and now they are trying to charge 600$ for the replacement. Tell me if I’m crazy, but normally toilet tanks don’t break unless there is already an issue, like a crack. Am I nuts for saying I shouldn’t have to pay? An image is attached below”
41. “Roof Was Leaking So My Landlord ‘Fixed It’. Pictures Are It Being Finished”
42. “Landlord Has Zip Tie On Fire Extinguisher, Isn’t This A Fire Safety Hazard?”
43. “My Oven Hood Fell Off The Wall Randomly Today”
“I was sitting in my room and heard an extremely loud burst of banging. I ran out to find this. My heat also randomly stopped working today, and then the window of my car wouldn’t roll down during a drive-thru.
Also, I rent, so I’m guessing this was put up with the landlord specifical.”
44. “Landlord Installed Ethernet Cords Throughout The House, But They’re Useless”
45. “Came Home After A Work Trip To This Window Crushing My Plants”
“My landlord just said, ‘Uh, yeah, you should’ve checked the tape’. It was taped outside, didn’t notice when I did my move-in inspection.
RIP to two of my plant babies.”
46. “What Is This Joke?”
“Please… Make it make sense. 80 degrees. 80… degrees. They’ll love that. That’s what it is outside.
Flair because… Truly a landlord special.”
47. “Flipped My Mattress, Big Mold Spot”
48. “Landlady Refusing To Replace The Rubber (Seals?) In The Windows”
“Been noticing a lot of cold around the flat as of late, I know it’s that time of year, etc, but it’s been unusually cold, to the point where you can feel the breeze in the flat when there’s a gust of wind. Now I think I’ve found the culprit. Many of the rubber seals around the windows in the flat have either perished altogether and/or do not sit tight against the windows. My landlady has refused to replace them on the grounds that I did not mention this to her when I moved in 6 months ago. Yeah? Why would I? It was warmer back then, and I couldn’t feel the wind from outside! She is now ignoring me/letting the agent completely in regards of this issue and has told me to replace them myself should I want them fixed. Unreal.”
49. “Accidentally Paid May’s Rent (Auto Pay) When I Moved Out April 30th And Now My Landlord Is Ghosting Me”
“It’s the 13th, and I told her the 1st. I don’t understand how I still don’t have a refund for May’s rent. I can understand the security deposit, but now she is ignoring me. Am I being impatient?”
50. “My Dead Grandma’s Landlord To My Mom After Finally Returning The Security Deposit”
“The security deposit was supposed to be returned by July 31st. She claimed she mailed it, but upon a stern text, immediately sent a test $1 via Zelle and then the deposit -$1 lol
My Grammy died in May, and she has been like this the entire time. If she wasn’t dealing with so much other stuff, she would have pursued something regarding the late payment, but, you know, her mom is gone. If they hadn’t lay down the law with her, she would have never returned it.”
51. “A Landlord’s Solution To A Missing Sign In What Would Be Considered A Fairly Upscale Building”
52. “New Landlords Are ‘Temporarily Vacating’ Everyone To Do Reno, But Really Just Mean Kicking Everyone Out. No Timeline Given On It”
“No details on where to ‘temporarily vacate’ to. Yay.”
53. “Former Landlord Charging Me $4k For Damages. Lease Ended On The 15th”
54. “How Would You Hide This Landlord Special?”
55. “Landlord Says Replace Smoke Detector Battery Myself. I Don’t Have A Big Enough Ladder”
56. “My Landlord Got A Tape Measure To Cut Lemon Bars Equally”
57. “Poor Landlord Is Falling Behind Because His Tenant Can’t Pay His Mortgage”
“Poor fella wants sympathy and advice from poor people because he can’t afford his second property.”
58. “Has Anyone Received A Landlord Note Like This?”
“Landlord left a copy attached to every door in my son’s complex. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it! Are all of those requirements legal? I could understand if it was listed in a lease that was signed, but to come up with a handwritten list of requirements doesn’t seem right.”
59. “Thought You Guys Would Enjoy This Exchange. Does Anyone Know Of This App With The Names And The Places?”
60. “(PA) Unannounced Entry Turned Into My Landlord Destroying My Phone”
61. “My Landlord’s ‘Office Hours'”
“We live in a small apartment complex (9 total units with a property manager occupying one). The property owner is 95 years old. We pay our rent to a trust. The property manager is in his 70s and simply cannot do this job. He dropped off his office hours to us with our new lease today. We honestly don’t care. We have no qualms knocking on his door or calling him regardless of the time. This just irks me that he tried to pull this.”
62. “Whhhhyyyyy Do Landlords Always Pick This Flooring!?”
“We finally got that dip in our floor fixed and they ended up ‘replacing’ the floors (putting new flooring on top of the old one).
I’m so pressed about the ugly millennial grey. Like, everything in the kitchen is yellow, beige, or light wood tones. WHYYYYY would they choose this hideous grey!? Now my kitchen is never going to look right unless they redo the entire thing.
And I promise you, they won’t, not until we move out at best. It took me years to get them to fix a major dip in the floor, they are under no means going to be doing cosmetic fixes on these apartments. Especially with having so many city citations recently.
I’m just so sick of this ‘modern’ look! It’s soulless! It’s ugly! And the guy couldn’t move the fridge properly, so he just put this stop on the edge after knocking my coffee flavor down. It was already hard to sweep in that corner, now it’s impossible because that black thing stands up like a wall.
I’m just so depressed that my apartment got somehow uglier. All I’ve ever wanted was to live in a pretty home, but I just can’t afford it (I’m on no income while I wait for disability, and I’m lucky I have a home at all at this point, so I really should be grateful, and I am, I’m just also sad). I’m so heartbroken. I hate this so much.”
63. “My Landlord Recently Texted Me To Let Me Know I’ve Been Paying My Rent $0.10 Below The Amount Listed In My Lease Agreement”
“TEN CENTS… For the last two months… Fine, whatever.., but then requested the $0.20 be reimbursed in my next check, lmao also I pay a suspiciously high monthly rent for renting a rent-stabilized unit (unrenovated, outdated railroad unit at that). I am just floored at him almost insinuating that this “underpayment” is causing him financial troubles, HIM!!!
P.S. His father just died (my original landlord), and he just inherited all of the properties lol get a real job instead of relying on collecting exorbitant checks from working class folks.”
64.
65. “‘Karma Is Real’. He’d Better Hope Not”
