Landlords are the scum of the Earth. They hike up the rent 10% every month, they paint over your electrical outlets, and they're clearly under the impression that the entire world exists for their profit. They'll scam their tenants out of anything if it means making an extra buck– At the risk of losing our residence, is there any way for us tenants to retaliate?

There's a fragile balance of power when renters hand over a check to their landlord every month. Landlords need that money to come in and tenants need to live somewhere, so there's a predictable symbiosis in their relationship. Usually landlords are the ones with the bad rep, thwarting their power over a renter's desperation, but sometimes, landlords turn on other landlords when they get out-landlorded in public.

This choosing beggar finally got what she asked for. As a student, u/Zelmung got some real-world experience at their law school's student program. The OP shares that the service offered people free legal advice, while the student volunteers helped guide their clients through the process. That is a win-win — people in need can find resources, and students can gain insight into the logistics of a case. But as the OP found out, you can't pick your clients. They need help, and they come to the law…

Mudslinging isn't very neighborly, but neighborhood feuds are more common than affordable housing. In buildings with close quarters, paper-thin walls, and rickety floorboards, it's easy to get swept up in the downright fury of a noisy, irritating neighbor– especially when you have opposite sleep rhythms. For this tenant, it was more than just the tight living conditions that sent her over the edge...

Having your landlord contact you to let you know they're moving into your spare room in a few days sounds like a great premise for a sitcom… but it would be a nightmare to live out in real life. But let's be honest, living with your landlord is never an ideal situation, especially when they go ahead and invite themselves into your living arrangement when you've signed a lease and made a legal agreement that the place is yours to live in for the duration of the agreement. Obviously, there are pr…

Problems arise in apartment complexes all the time; I should know, I lived in one. A lot of complexes use rent payment portals, because they're safe, secure, and allow landlords to collect payments online and keep track of everything, nice and tidy. Or at least, they are supposed to be. OP shared that they lived in an apartment complex that was acquired by a new management company, which switched the resident and rent payment portals. To say that this move caused disruptions would be an underst…

We've all heard plenty of stories about shady landlords, but what about when the tables are turned? It's hard to remember that there are some landlords out there that are just regular people and that there are some tenants out there who are to blame for ridiculous living situations. Sure, sometimes it's the landlord who ignores a tenant's pleas to fix a serious roach infestation or to solve a roof leakage issue (yes, these are all things that happened to yours truly). However, every so often, t…

It's not often you'll find people rooting for landlords; there's not exactly anything about a group of people who have a reputation for milking their tenants for cash, increasing rent for improvements and repairs that they never actually completed, and taking deposits with little-to-no justification, that inspires people to root for them. It's worth recognizing, though, that this generalization doesn't remotely cover every landlord out there. There are plenty of landlords out there who are rent…

There's a special place in the afterlife for landlords who refuse to address serious issues from tenants. When it comes to the rampant issue of bed bugs, in particular, it takes a specific kind of sketchy landlord to ignore those calls and emails. It is no understatement that bed bugs are about as scary as conditions can get for tenants. When even the most difficult and paranoid tenant claims that there are bed bugs in their apartment, no matter how wrong they may be, you do not want to dismiss…

Landlords use their ability to make their tenant's life miserable way too often, but sometimes tenants square up, and landlords need to face the bitter consequences of their actions. People say that petty revenge is for children, but I disagree and don't think that there is a particular age limit to getting so sweet payback on your landlord who owes you some money. In this case, OP had just graduated college and was looking for a place he could rent with a couple of friends. They found an apart…

A lot of people go to study abroad, whether it's because their dream school happens to be halfway across the world, or because they'd like to get out of the little town they're in for a chance at a fresh start, or maybe just to soak in some culture that isn't their own. In this case, u/Lukus-Galaktikus was enjoying his time in a foreign country, studying and making new friends. He lived in an apartment building that was full of other foreign students and got along fine with everybody. That is,…

When you make the decision to brutally and strictly enforce the rules of a written agreement—almost to the point of spite—you'd better make darn sure that you've thoroughly reviewed that agreement yourself. If you want a strict interpretation of something, you'll get it, and anything that wasn't intended to be in there in the first place is fair game. This is your game, don't fault your intended victim for playing it too. Predatory practices from landlords are incredibly common in certain commu…

Your landlord either constantly pesters you, or you see them once a year when they come to collect the checks; there is no in-between. This landlord in particular was renting out a room to OP (who was in college at the time) among a few others, which happened to be in a wooden house. I'm purposely describing the material of said house, as it becomes an important factor later in the story. Now, when OP initially toured the house, she didn't find anything out of the ordinary. After OP moved in th…

Getting robbed is a traumatizing experience. Not only was the privacy of your home violated, but there's also a sense of trust in humanity that gets extinguished. In this case, a tenant who had had it with their living situation was on the verge of moving out when her landlord did the unthinkable.

When you're on vacation, the last thing you'd imagine happening back in your home is other people living in it, as you continue to pay rent according to your lease. OP went on vacation for a couple of months to spend some time with their family, and when they arrived back home, they immediately realized that someone else had been there… a lot of OP's things were missing, which struck OP as odd, as there was no sign of forced entry. After filing a claim with the police, OP asked around, searchin…

Some buildings have assigned parking spaces for residents, which would solve a lot of issues, or so you'd think. In this case, one resident was unable to park correctly, as he constantly parked over the line, eventually denting OP's car. At first, before the denting occurred, OP was annoyed that his neighbor was constantly parking over the line, leaving OP little room to park. But after finding dents in his car, without a note, OP was livid. His neighbor was not only irresponsible, inconsiderat…