Good, kind, and trustworthy landlords are worth their weight in gold. Bad landlords, however, are way too common, and it is a huge problem. Sometimes, their greed gets the better of them, and their tenants, instead of passively gritting their teeth, decide to push back and get revenge. Ruthlessly.
One justice-loving tenant entertained the ‘Pro Revenge’ community with a story about how they claim that they ruined their greedy landlord’s life. The toxic liar, who had always planned to keep his tenant’s deposit, suddenly found himself under the IRS microscope. Check out the full story below, and if you’re renting property, make sure you take notes.
Greedy landlords think that they can get away with anything
Image credits: sergeycauselove / Magnific (not the actual photo)
This tenant shared how they allegedly ruined their former landlord's life after he stole their deposit
Image credits: prostooleh / freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: sergio_pulp / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Image credits: pvproductions / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Image credits: XTremelyTiredofHR
If you can recognize a shady landlord before signing anything, you're saving yourself a world of trouble
You can’t always tell if a landlord will be someone who is decent, honest, and ethical. Sometimes, it takes months or even years for their nefarious plans to come to light. And yet, having said that, there are plenty of common landlord red flags to keep an eye out for. Ideally, you will never be in a situation where a greedy predator tries to trick you into losing your deposit or even more money.
According to Genuine Property Management, the most common warning signs that a landlord might not be trustworthy include the following:
- Slow or inconsistent communication
- Delayed or ignored maintenance concerns
- Vague or incomplete lease agreements
- Disorganized processes or missing documentation
- Pressure to send payments without clear records
Inconsistent and laggy communication is a huge headache for tenants. It should set off your inner alarms if your landlord takes days to respond to even the simplest topics.
Furthermore, it is suspicious if they can’t provide you with clear and complete answers and avoid directly communicating about important topics.
Something else to be wary of is if your landlord delays repairs and maintenance in the property you’re renting. It is even worse if they completely avoid taking on this responsibility.
“When maintenance is not handled properly, it can affect comfort, safety, and overall satisfaction. This is one of the most common reasons renters experience ongoing landlord–tenant issues,” Genuine Property Management explains.
Toxic landlords are awful communicators, dodge their responsibilities, and try to be as vague as possible
Other red flags include vague, unclear, and incomplete lease agreements, verbal promises that you won’t see in writing, and missing details about responsibilities. You should also start worrying if you can’t get clarity on how and when you’ll pay your rent and utilities. Good landlords are structured and consistent, while bad ones are disorganized.
In a nutshell, you can avoid serious problems with bad landlords by being organized and documenting, well, pretty much everything. Keep records of all communications, take photos of the apartment before moving in, and carefully review every single document before signing anything. And if anything sounds vague or suspicious, ask for clarification via writing.
At the end of the day, if your gut and brain are telling you that something is wrong, don’t commit to renting the property. Look at alternatives with, hopefully, better landlords instead.
Meanwhile, the AVLF stresses that evictions are not immediate or final. “There is a legal process that must happen before you can be officially evicted. Keep any notices or papers you receive from the landlord, property management, or the court. Get help as early as possible, especially if you receive anything that mentions a court date, a demand for possession, or an eviction filing.”
What are the best and worst landlords you’ve ever had, Pandas? Have you ever had the ‘pleasure’ of dealing with a landlord who tried to trick you into keeping your deposit? Tell us all about it.
The author interacted with some of their readers as their story went viral
Many internet users were supportive. Here's their take
