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...

Don't mess with college kids–what they lack in financial resources, they make up for in social alliances.

Another day, another greedy landlord trying to collect.

While renting, it's generally up to your landlord to maintain the premises and repair anything that breaks. But if you've ever dealt with a landlord, you'll know that they're often reluctant to do so, regarding any such request with disdain and thinly veiled hostility and insinuation at the fact that you're somehow responsible for their 20-year-old dishwasher breaking a week after you moved in. So, over time, you get in the habit of just doing things yourself, even if they're not your responsib…

So like… Are the roaches the landlord painted over gonna pay rent too or what?

This family has to have one of the worst neighbors out there. After over ten months of their ongoing feud, the family's Karen-neighbor finally got what she deserved. Evicted. It all started when this family got a new neighbor to share their duplex with. They knew nothing about the person who moved in, but her true character quickly came out in their first meeting. She was a middle-aged woman with lots of cats, whom the Original Poster (OP) nicknamed Karen, for good reason. When they first met,…

Landlords have a nasty little habit of thinking they own you. As a renter, you're obligated to pay their mortgage and puff up a landlord's retirement fund, but at the end of the day, we owe them nothing but what's written on our lease. No landlord is entitled to claim your property–ever.

If things like ‘cleanliness’ and ‘mutual independence’ are important to you, don't be like the Gen X couple in our next story who got stuck being a runaway 18-year-old's new mommy and daddy.

One of the core principles of renting a house is that it might be your landlord's house … but you're paying for it to be your home . This is something that gets missed, soaring right over their heads… and smacking into the poorly painted white wall behind them. Of course, there are laws in many (many) places regarding the rights that your landlord has to enter their property, and the rights that you have to privacy. Many jurisdictions will require the landlord, or property manager, to give a ce…

When it comes to the housing market and the renting world, life seems unjust. It seems like the landlords are always coming up, while the people just trying to live their lives with a roof over their heads are always on the down. It's simply unfair. However, sometimes things work out for the underdogs, like for these renters recently in L.A.

Always double-check your paperwork because you never know what sorts of sneaky evils lurk in the fine print. Unfortunately for OP in our next story, he found himself in a sticky situation after signing a lease with a money-grubbing landlord.