"He's also a landlord for another property and knows that you need to keep heat on at least 60 to be legal and up to code."

When you’re renting, you never expect to be stuck footing the bill for long-term upgrades on someone else’s property—especially when it comes with a hefty price tag. That’s exactly what happened to one couple who casually mentioned to their property manager that it would be nice to have grass in their front yard instead of dirt. When they moved in, they were told the dirt yard was due to pipe maintenance and thought that was the end of it. But soon after their impromptu conversation with the la…

City living is a different beast than other kinds of living; the high-density population leads to close proximity to other people at pretty much all times. Also, offering the unique opportunity to live in an apartment directly above a business like you're in some sort of 90s sitcom. While living in a sitcom sounds nice, the fact remains that in this type of living situation, even in your own bed, you're only really a few feet away from another person, either next to, above, or below you—separat…

The roommate was given three separate warnings... can't really blame the woman at this point.

"I told them I'd take that recording to the dean if they didn't make things right."

"Using the legal background of my fiancé, we send a strongly worded letter building on my input. As a result the landlord paid the deposit in full two weeks later and I never heard back of him."

It's always best not to let money come between friends, and it's even better not to let money come between distant acquaintances because, in those situations, you don't even have that tight of bond to keep things even-keeled when the going gets tough. Making matters worse is the fact that you're not complete strangers who can handle business without letting it get personal. You're better off not knowing them at all so that all parties can remain objective because you're never going to look at f…

“Slumlord” landlords really don't do much good for anyone. Sure, they “provide housing” in the barest sense, but really, their landlord is just an extra convenience for them in addition to the land banking they're partaking in, the fact that there happens to be a barely inhabitable We found ourselves living in one of these places just out of university, desperate to find any available housing with our lease expiring and new jobs set to start. It was a pretty dingy building in an otherwise nice…

“[He left] a note stating if I can't do what was agreed upon he would evict me.”

The rent is too high these days to be forced into petty drama.

For some reason, there's a log of predatory landlords going on in and around universities. Something about the melting pot of higher-density areas, where tens of thousands of desperate students are vying for limited accommodation. The entire system further holds student tenants hostage based on the fact that they need references from previous landlords to get accommodation for the upcoming year. The problem is that, as a young student, you're very limited in your options for previous references…

Never underestimate your opponent

The best part about being a renter is that you're not liable for explosive home malfunctions. However, if you're stuck with a lazy landlord...

It's never a good sign when your errant and aloof landlord suddenly takes a keen interest in shaping the place up. In almost every instance, it's likely that this means you're going to be looking for a new place pretty soon as they're either aiming to move back in themselves, renting the place to a relative—or even selling the place and cashing up. They probably won't divulge this to you directly, fearing that advance notice will lose them their income (—you). In the meantime though, there will…

“Just because you don’t get along with someone doesn’t mean you can steal from them kiddos!!! Careful who you live with…”

The 'World's Worst Landlord' Award goes to...