The relationship between landlords and tenants is ever shaky. They are not all that bad, but several factors can strain these relationships in an instance. Some of the main issues between tenants and property owners have to do with disagreements related to repairs or late payments. Most of these disagreements get sorted out without incident, but others spiral out of control.
Landlords are considered the villains in the housing industry because of the bare minimum they do for their tenants. They neglect repairs until the very last minute or force the tenant to dig into their pockets to cover some of these costs. Worse yet are those who have mastered the art of evading their renters when the need arises.
An All-Coverage Faucet
Leaky faucets are among the common plumbing issues that most tenants experience at one point or another. Some faucets come with sprinkling mechanisms, but this is a luxury, not every home enjoys. This renter made the mistake of asking their landlord for a sprinkling faucet, and that’s what they got.
Perhaps they should have been more clear about what they needed by providing photos for reference. The tenant now has an all-coverage faucet. On the plus side, at least they have a hands-on homeowner who obliges their request even if they get it all wrong.
Reducing Energy Consumption
Standby energy refers to the small but constant energy used by plugged-in devices. Microwaves are some of the electronics that make use of this energy source, and it might be small but still impacts your electric bill at the end of the month.
It looks like this landlord found a way to prevent their renter from enjoying too many TV dinners hence lowering the power consumption. They installed the microwave in such a way that makes it difficult to open. Whether it’s a careless mistake or oversight, this tenant must despise using the microwave.
The Mother Of All Messes
Ceiling issues are on the list of problems you don’t want to deal with as a tenant. They can make life a misery, and they also tend to attract significant fixing costs. The problem is that most landlords seem wired to believe that the tenant is exaggerating the situation.
We imagine this renter complained several times of a leaking ceiling, but the landlord did nothing about it. Eventually, it caved in and resulted in the mother of all messes. The question we have is who gets stuck with the cleanup job?
Fix-It With A Bandaid
Most of our moms believed that a bandaid could fix just about anything. From cuts, scrapes, bumps, and even broken hearts, trust our mothers to fish out a bandaid as the perfect solution to soothe the pain. However, we doubt that they would recommend bandaids to patch up bullet holes.
The same applies to property damages. A band-aid isn’t the first thing you would grab to patch things up. On a lighter note, bandaids make great crafts items for kids who are not quite ready to handle sellotape and other binding agents.
Fire Detectors Go On The Ceiling
Smoke detectors make a world of difference when it comes to curbing indoor fires. Anyone familiar with these devices knows that they come with a sticker where you can indicate the installation date. This helps when it comes to replacing them because most have a 10-year shelf-life.
One landlord didn’t know what to write on the sticker, and they indicated where they installed the device. Laws vary from one location to the next when it comes to smoke detectors installation. In the US, one consistent law requires the installation of smoke detectors near every bedroom in a private residence.
Just Water It Down
Still talking about preventing residential fires, one other requirement that helps curb the issue is a fire extinguisher. The law requires each apartment complex to provide at least one fire extinguisher. Now, what happens when a fire breaks and you find a small bottle of water instead of a fire extinguisher?
Water can extinguish fires, but depending on the nature of the flame, it could aggravate situations. Most jurisdictions even require a fire extinguisher fitted in airplanes, certain classes of motor vehicles, and watercraft. Also worth noting, there are different types of fire extinguishers to handle various classes of fire.
All Robbers Are Welcome Here
When a landlord puts their tenant in danger, that’s where we draw the line. This homeowner, for instance, didn’t prioritize fixing the door to their rental, and he figured that this note would suffice. For one, they’ve just announced to all and sundry that there’s a broken door.
They are kind enough to ask everyone who reads not to close the door or rob the premises. We are yet to hear about an intruder who is gracious enough to respect a note asking them not to burglarize the place. We hope that door got fixed that day.
When An Idea Rings In Your Head
We’ve seen innovative home decor ideas, but this is the first time we see a faucet with a phone-shaped handle. It somehow looks like a toy phone that conveniently provided a solution to fix a broken tap handle.
We wonder if this is the only telephone-themed item in the house or if the theme runs throughout the house? It would be cool if the handle also sprinkles out some water. Either way, it looks like a whimsical and fun addition to have in your bathroom. If this is the guest bathroom, it must make for a great conversation starter.
When Plumbing Leaves You Floored
We all use the facilities an estimated 2,500 times every year. Crunch the numbers down, and it translates to making 6 to 8 daily trips to the bathroom. By the time we complete our lifetime, we would have each spent about three years in that room.
However, if this was the floor in our bathroom, we don’t see how we would want to spend more time than necessary in there. This tenant had to live with their bathroom in this state while waiting for the landlord to honor the promise about redoing the room.
A Dripping Mess
This is another prime example of a landlord who must have put off fixing their tenant’s leaking ceiling until it caved in. The renters noticed the bulge on their ceiling and notified the homeowner asking how they could stop it from falling.
The landlord responded, but he didn’t bother helping them solve the problem for two weeks leading up to the dripping mess we see in this photo. They just woke up one morning to this sight. We imagine that the tenant also dealt with the massive clean up themselves.
Keeping A Watchful Eye
Unfortunately, most of us have to worry about losing our belongings or suffering even more damage when we leave the landlord in our house doing maintenance. The fear is often that they’ll make alterations
The thing you don’t expect is to come back home and find that Big Brother has installed a surveillance camera in your home. The homeowner doesn’t seem to have attempted to hide this fact because they placed it on the top of the kitchen cabinet. If it was for the benefit of the tenant, that’s one thing, but the landlord hadn’t informed the renter about it.
The Stair Master
Most of us always say that we should take the stairs more, but we never get around to doing it as often as we’d like. Tenants in this building don’t have a choice because they only have 60 free elevator rides before they start paying a hefty $35 each month for the luxury.
The math doesn’t add up; say you leave your house for work in the morning and get back in the evening, that translates to at least 60 elevator rides. That means that you have to pay for it or accept that you have been forced to use the elevator.
Cats Also Need Pizzas
Some lessors are more than willing to do fix-ups or alterations to accommodate their renters’ desires. Take this tenant, for instance, who just wanted a cat flap to allow their furry friend to enter and exit the property easily. The landlord promised to get the job done personally.
The tenant got back home to a cat flap alright, only that it was one of the shoddiest DIY jobs they had ever seen. On the one hand, the image on the pizza box must prove attractive to the feline resident, but we know that the renter expected a professional job.
Throwing Caution To The Wind
Some tenants have had the opportunity to stick it to their inconsiderate property owners. Like this renter who had it with enduring the freezing days indoors and decided to get creative. With -40 degree weather, the lessor saw it fit to turn off the heat at that time.
Only that the landlord picked up the tab on the electric bill, so the tenant found a smart way to go around the issue. With a running fan placed next to the stovetop, they managed to get some much-needed warmth around the apartment.
Privacy Is Overrated
Even when you are within the privacy of your home, you still want some alone time when you are in certain rooms. This especially applies to those moments spent using the facilities, but this landlord had other ideas.
They installed the toilet too close to the door, and they had to cut a section of the door so that it could open. The issue is the cutout section on the door robs anyone using the toilet of their privacy when the door is closed. The message this landlord is sending is that privacy is overrated.
Storage Is Always A Problem
Storage is always a problem in an apartment, and that’s why we are always looking for creative solutions to solve the problem. Asking your lessor for an extra cabinet or two to solve the issue might fall on deaf ears.
Now, if you have space but using it is a pain, then that’s a whole different issue. Like this tenant, whose landlord didn’t get dimensions right or overlooked things and didn’t bother to fix it. The tenant either fixes it themself or learns to live with storage space they can’t use.
A Horrifying Entrance
Doorbells breakdown at times, and often it’s just a matter of changing the battery to get it functioning again. Sometimes the issue needs replacing the unit, and that kicks off the cat and mouse game with the landlord.
This tenant who loved hearing the sound of her doorbell ring came up with a temporary solution as she waited for the lessor to fix her doorbell. All her guests had to do was connect the wires and voila, the doorbell rings. This eerily sounds like the start of a horror film if you ask us.
Shocking Miscalculations
Circuit trips and power cuts are natural. You may know a thing or two about fixing circuit trips, but it’s always best to call the professionals when dealing with electricity. This tenant asked the landlord for help, and like most, the lessor decided to take matters into his own hands.
Whether the lessor found the circuits in a mess or he discovered this shocking revelation while fixing things, at least he left a note warning the next electrician about it. That also means that the renter still has to call a professional to sort things out.
DIY Solution
Tiles don’t typically fall off the bathroom wall, and when you start experiencing this issue, it’s time to call the homeowner. The tenant waited for the lessor to bring in some experts to fix the fallen tiles, but things didn’t go as planned.
The landlord rolled up his sleeves and got down to business, armed with duct tape and nothing else. It might not look aesthetically pleasing, but the duct tape held all the loose tiles in place. Hopefully, this was just a temporary fix before the homeowner eventually got around to bringing professionals in.
Slug Infestation
Landlords seem wired to believe that their tenants’ problems can wait a day, a week, or another month before they get around to solving the problem. These tenants had the same issue when they alerted their landlord about the slug infestation they had.
The landlord said that they had never heard of something like that before. The thought of sharing your house with any bug is unsettling, now imagine having these huge slugs roaming around. All the salt in the world isn’t enough to turn a blind eye to these slithering creatures.
The Greatest Plank Of All
A crack on the ceiling is the beginning of more significant structural issues, and we would imagine that landlords would treat such a problem with urgency. The fear is that the crack could give way to the ceiling caving eventually.
This tenant’s landlord came in to help with a solution, only that they decided to hammer a plank on the ceiling. If anything, that reminds the tenant about the looming problem, and it doesn’t look like a permanent solution. Most homes develop cosmetic cracks, but those that go wider than ⅛ inch point out to structural issues.
Plumbing Solved
Sinks can develop all sorts of issues, and sometimes their support can give in altogether. It becomes an uphill task to keep the sink up, and this tenant knew that it was time to let their landlord know about this dire problem.
The lessor came up with a quick-fix solution by stacking a couple of thick books on a chair to keep the sink up. First things first, we hope those are not the tenants’ books precariously holding the sink, and we don’t know how we feel about this blatant disrespect for books.
Making A Splash
When moving to a new apartment complex, some perks make the place more appealing. Most of us don’t bother too much with site visits, and we’ve moved into apartments just based on the pictures advertising the home.
You finally move into the apartment complex only to find out that one of its advertised amenities isn’t exactly functional. Indefinitely is a loose term, but we can bet that it means forever in this case. Hopefully, the rest of the features and amenities promised lived up to the tenant’s expectations.
Locked Indoors
It’s alarming to think that some homeowners disregard the safety of their tenants to this extent. Even if this apartment is in the safest neighborhood in the world, this door system looks like a siren calling out all burglars.
A chain and padlock seemed sufficient enough for the landlord, who also expects their renter to make peace with this less-than-burglar proof door. Statistics reveal that burglars often operate just within a mile or two within their homes. With only 17% of US homes boasting of a security system, such a lock leaves a lot to desire.
Who Needs Privacy At Home?
Once again, we have a homeowner who doesn’t think that you particularly need that much privacy at home. Fixing a door handle isn’t exactly rocket science, but this homeowner reminds us that not everyone can do the handy tasks around the house.
The rule of thumb is that the handle should face inwards so that when you open the door, it isn’t in the way. This handle prevents the door from closing as it should, and we wonder how this fact escaped the landlord, or perhaps they realized it, but they just couldn’t be bothered to rectify the problem.
Before Things Fall Apart
A drooping deck isn’t something to take lightly, and this homeowner tried to keep it above ground the best way he knew. This is one of those emergencies that a landlord shouldn’t ignore until the deck buckles down.
The longer the lessor takes to work on the repairs, the worse the damage becomes. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), 45 million decks exist across the US, and only 40% of them are safe. Most decks also collapse when occupied or when they are carrying a heavy snow load.
When You Need A Shower Or Three
Most people would instead go the do-it-yourself route before calling in the experts for repairs around the house. That’s the approach most homeowners take when their tenants complain about things that break down and need fixing around the house. Now, this lessor went over the top.
The tenant, in this case, complained that the shower wasn’t working as it should, and the landlord stepped in to install a working unit. Only that he didn’t remove the old one, and now the renter has more showers than they would ever need in the bathroom.
Creep On The Loose
When your landlord is 53 years old, you wouldn’t peg them for anything close to creepy. However, you can expect that they will see it fit to access your house whenever they want and even help themselves to some of your belongings.
Tenants don’t give up the right to privacy when they take up a lease, and typically the landlord should give you prior notice before accessing your apartment for inspections or other reasons. We imagine this tenant gave their lessor the go-ahead to install a microwave only to hear that they ended up taking a photo from the fridge.
The Pointless Gate
Security is a big deal, and we don’t have to stress it enough. When it comes to securing any piece of real estate, a gate doesn’t guarantee safety, but it adds a layer of security. This is a prime example of a renter who needed a gate, and finally, the lessor came around to building one.
The final result proves pointless because it still leaves the tenant unprotected. Anyone can walk around it, and if the staircase is also part of the property, then anyone who can climb up a flight of stairs can do so at any time.