r/LandlordLove

For context, I signed a lease for a rental some months ago through TurboTenant but when I entered the rental, there were dozens of dead bugs around the area (wasn't there initially when I was touring). I was never able to move in and I notified my landlord with proof of the infestation. My landlord was supposed to send in someone to take care of the infestation, but I'm not sure on which dates or what exactly they did, and I'm pretty sure you're supposed to send a clear notice 24 hours beforehand for entering the premises.

Eventually I told the landlord that I wanted to end the lease early and I would return my keys ONLY IF it meant getting my rent and security deposit back. They said they would accept my keys but didn't confirm that I would get a refund, so I did not return the keys. They ended up rekeying the house without telling me. Later they did refund the rent but did not refund the security deposit, saying that it would be used for the rekeying fee. The TurboTenant lease states that the tenant will be responsible for the cost of rekeying if all keys are not returned upon vacating.

The landlord never sent me the itemized receipt of this security deposit until much, much later (specifically they only sent the receipts more than 21 days after I moved out). They added the receipts to TurboTenant and now they are pretending it was here all along. The receipts also include numerous typos, the wrong address, and blurry pictures.

Now they are also asking for additional money because apparently the rekeying fee was more than what my security deposit covered and they're telling me to cover the fee within a time limit. Not only that, but they're saying that I owe them another fee (around one months' rent worth) for terminating the lease early. In the TurboTenant lease, it states that if a tenant terminates their lease early, they must pay a termination fee but there are exceptions, such as if the rental was uninhabitable. I consider the rental to be uninhabitable due to the widespread cockroach infestation that was there when I entered. It feels like they're tacking on these additional fees they never brought up before as a form of retaliation for trying to get my security deposit back.

I'm thinking of taking them to small claims. Do I have a case with this? I'm worried that they will pretend that the itemized receipts were there all along and try to dodge returning the money but I know California often sides with the tenant.

Edit: TurboTenant sends emails when the landlord shares receipts. I rechecked it and it definitely was way past 21 days when they sent the receipt.

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I have lived in my current apartment for 3 years. It is a shithole and a constant stressor and health risk. When my lease is up in November, I am sprinting away from this place. Some highlights from the past 3 months include an ongoing mold issue that can't be solved by cleaning, ventilation, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers (we're pretty sure its under the wallpaper), windows actively falling out of the frame when the wind blows too hard, and cockroaches. Management refuses to address any of it and its all been on us to try to manage.

Whenever I've made any comments to my neighbors, they defend everything and pretend nothing is wrong.

A few months ago we had a sewage backup into our apartments. They took 4 days to resolve it and refused to provide a cleaning crew for the active biohazard. It soaked into our wooden counters. It was awful. Mine and my neighbor's pipes flow into each other when this happens, and when I expressed frustration to them because we couldn't shower without flooding the other person with human waste, they just said the apartments are fine and maintenance is doing their best. I could literally smell the sewage when I walked past their door because they got the worst of it.

When we first started seeing cockroaches, we asked another neighbor if they had seen anything. They insisted that no, they've never seen a roach there. For one, we share walls and pipes, so I highly doubt that, and for two we have watched them run in through the gaps under our doors to outside. I am sure we are not the only ones dealing with them.

Its so small but it feels like I'm being gaslit about the quality of our apartments. Like I know it's probably pride or just bordering on bootlicking but how are people just accepting this?

I called my landlord this morning to let him know the toilet in my apartment is running constantly and likely needs a quick valve replacement.

Instead of scheduling a repair, he actually asked me if I could just head down to Home Depot, buy the parts, and swap them out myself over the weekend. When I asked if he was going to deduct the cost of the parts and my time from this month’s rent, he said:

"Well, no, but it's good practice for when you eventually buy a home! Plus, plumbers are just charging unreasonable rates right now."

You charge me market-rate rent every single month under the explicit agreement that maintenance is your responsibility. The second a basic maintenance issue comes up, suddenly hiring a professional is "too expensive" and you want me to do unpaid manual labor on a property I don't even own.

If I wanted to fix my own plumbing, I’d be paying off my own mortgage.

Hello,

Recently I have been dealing with property management overlooking/being dismissive of small maintenance issues in my apartment, mostly appliances having nuisance issues but still being functional. While I shouldn’t necessarily have to overlook those, there is an issue that has appeared in the last few weeks that I am legitimately concerned about as a habitability issue.

Near an entryway door, I have noticed increased wasp traffic in and out of the siding. I reported it the end of last month and they said “we’ll take care of it”

Fast forward about a week, and they said “well we’re not sure how invasive we want to get here”

Another few days later, it still was an issue and I followed up again asking for remediation and they said they’d check again over the weekend. As I had no update after today (Monday) I reached out with a video I sent from Sunday of more wasp traffic. The most recent response was “we think these are bees, and will get a volunteer group to move the hive”

I responded with a zoomed photo from the video as it was clearly a yellow jacket, and am awaiting response.

I looked into the state laws and apparently it does not matter what type of insect it is given the location. If I do not receive a response in 24 hours I want to take the next course of action, but I’m trying to tread carefully with my options.

Technically, my apartment violates a (dumb, but still in effect) occupancy ordinance of more than 3 unrelated in a unit so I don’t want to involve the city board, but i do have the landlord’s contact information.

Should I start with an email message direct to landlord including evidence of the issue and property management correspondence if they don’t send an exterminator? (I swear, it seems like the manager is allergic to getting one for this)? Repair+deduct and city board are last resort for me so I hope to be able to resolve this generally privately.

Hi there,

I hope this is the correct sub. I’m in the UK.

I am having a dispute over the drain with the landlord. I have been here for two years and suddenly the toilet keeps getting blocked up.
The landlord sent a plumber out in May to unblock the toilet and the plumber identified the drain as the blockage.

I then needed someone out two months later as the drain was blocked again. This time I asked what it was and they told me that the drain is poorly designed and relies on next door to flush to push my waste along. Next door has been vacant since April, which coincides with the timing of the blocked drain.

I have since received an invoice from the estate agent saying I’m responsible as it was due to excessive toilet paper. When I responded saying that toilet paper is normal usage and conflicts with what I was told, they told me the landlord has still decided I am responsible for the repair.

Any advice on how to approach this would be appreciated! I’ve tried to request a copy of the contractors report and my email has not been responded to yet.

If I invest in stocks and the market drops, I take the loss. If I start a business and sales slow down, I eat the cost.

Yet somehow, property owners have convinced themselves that real estate is the only investment on earth where profits must be guaranteed by law, and any increase in their expenses should immediately be passed on to someone else.

Mortgage rates go up? Raise the rent.

Property taxes increase? Raise the rent.

Homeowners insurance premiums spike? Raise the rent.

Deferred maintenance catches up? Deduct it from the security deposit.

When things go well, they pocket the equity, collect passive income, and brag about their "financial savvy." The second an unexpected bill hits, suddenly they are "struggling small business owners" who need their tenants to bail them out.

You aren't running a business if your entire business model relies on forcing someone else to absorb 100% of your overhead costs while you keep 100% of the asset.

I’m so exhausted by landlords complaining about how "hard" their "job" is.

When I called my landlord yesterday about a pipe leaking under the bathroom sink, he sighed, told me he was "extremely busy," and asked if I could just put a bucket under it until next week because plumber calls are "too expensive right now."

Meanwhile, I work 45 hours a week in healthcare, and 50% of my paycheck goes straight to his bank account on the 1st of every month without fail.

If collecting a direct deposit, ignoring basic maintenance, and waiting for property values to inflate is considered "hard labor," then sign me up. They want all the passive income of an investment with zero of the responsibilities of being a provider of essential shelter.

My landlord asked for some help in the yard for some around cleaning after winter this year, gathering sticks, pruning outdoor plants, clearing garden beds of weeds and such. I agreed to help, we got it done together in one weekend. Then, each week he kept asking me when I was going to start weeding again, that they were getting tall. I explained I thought it was a one time thing, that I wouldn't agree to weeding because I work a full time job and am a single mother with my child full time. He then proceeded to call me lazy and said I can't blame everything on my child. I truly help when and where I can, but I never would agree to something I couldn't fully carry out.

Context I rent a room and we share the kitchen and bathroom

After that, my food started to go missing, hair(not myor my kids color) from the drain started showing up on the side of the tub, and since then when we talk about it he says "don't get mad" when I am simply standing my ground on things in conversation.

I called my landlord this morning to let him know the toilet in my apartment is running constantly and likely needs a quick valve replacement.

Instead of scheduling a repair, he actually asked me if I could just head down to Home Depot, buy the parts, and swap them out myself over the weekend. When I asked if he was going to deduct the cost of the parts and my time from this month’s rent, he said:

"Well, no, but it's good practice for when you eventually buy a home! Plus, plumbers are just charging unreasonable rates right now."

You charge me market-rate rent every single month under the explicit agreement that maintenance is your responsibility. The second a basic maintenance issue comes up, suddenly hiring a professional is "too expensive" and you want me to do unpaid manual labor on a property I don't even own.

If I wanted to fix my own plumbing, I’d be paying off my own mortgage.

BEWARE: Corrupt landlords in NYC are now harassing tenants by reporting fake debts when they lose court cases, have any kind of financial dispute, or just don't like tenants to some company called "Top Line Reporting", which will wreck your credit.

Furnishing fake debts to credit bureaus, as well as, leaving them up when they are proven fake is against both state and federal credit reporting laws. If this happens to you, contact the tenant harassment line because Mayor Mamdani is not having this nonsense. You will also have to contact all of the credit bureaus and send supporting documents like court decisions, which is a real pain but the only way to stop this. If any company or Top Line Reporting refuse to remove demonstrably false info you can sue them for thousands of dollars. In addition, you have to sue the mess out of your corrupt landlords for this especially evil form of harassment and financial defamation to stop them from doing this to other tenants!

I’ve always tried to keep things professional and quiet, but this completely blew my mind.

Rent is due on the 1st per my lease. Yesterday (the 26th), my landlord texts me out of nowhere asking if I can e-transfer next month’s rent immediately because his personal mortgage auto-withdrawal is hitting early and he "has a lot of outgoings this month."

I politely responded that I wouldn't have the funds available until my actual payday on the 1st.

He immediately got defensive, started complaining about how stressful managing properties is, and reminded me "how much he does to keep a roof over my head."

You are literally relying on my wage to cover your own debt, but the second I follow the contract we both signed, I'm the problem? If you can't afford your own mortgage without your tenant floating you a cash advance, you shouldn't own property.