Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: “I Almost Lost It Right There”

Ah, renting—where the only thing more uncertain than your lease terms is whether or not your awful landlord will enforce them. Unless you end up with a scrooge, like Reddit user GalwayGuy24 did when he was studying abroad. As time went by, it became obvious to him that the man was determined to squeeze every last penny out of his tenants. Frustrated by the constant manipulation, the Redditor knew that when he needed to move out, he could wave goodbye to his deposit—so he decided to teach the cheapskate a lesson.

Landlords have an innate ability to get under your skin

Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: "I Almost Lost It Right There"

Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Especially when their main focus seems to be finding ways to take more money from you rather than providing a decent place to live in

Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: "I Almost Lost It Right There"

Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: "I Almost Lost It Right There"

Image credits: GalwayGuy24

Conflicts between landlords and tenants are pretty common

It sounds absurd, bet similar stories are abundant. No wonder, according to the latest LendingTree survey of more than 2,000 respondents, 58% of renters say they’ve had at least one landlord they didn’t like, with 1 in 4 (25%) disliking their current one.

Among those who disliked a landlord, the bad blood was mainly due to maintenance (68%) and communication (53%) issues, or a lack of respect and professionalism (42%).

Additionally, 31% of renters say a landlord has entered their home without permission, while 21% have had a legal dispute with theirs.

Still, almost half (48%) would rather rent from an individual than a corporation, with the main reason being that renters believe it’s ultimately cheaper (49%).

At the end of the day, renting is all about hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Hopefully, you too can keep a cool head if things go sideways.

As the story went viral, its author answered some questions in the comments

Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: "I Almost Lost It Right There"

A lot of reactions included people’s similar experiences

Landlord Left Fuming After Realizing His Scam Backfired: "I Almost Lost It Right There"

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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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I am a Visual editor at Bored Panda, I'm determined to find the most interesting and the best quality images for each post that I do. On my free time I like to unwind by doing some yoga, watching all kinds of movies/tv shows, playing video and board games or just simply hanging out with my cat

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What do you think about the landlord charging a full set replacement for minor damages?

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Binky Melnik 5 days ago

The people in high dudgeon because the kids didn’t sue either can’t read or they’re stupid. Or both. Kids coming from Accra, Hyderabad, Cairo, Kolkata, France, and Taipei first of all don’t know the rental laws here and haven’t time to learn them. And then on their ways out the door as they return to Accra, Hyderabad, Cairo, Kolkata, France, and Taipei, they’re expected by these nimrods to go to court for relief. All of this is unreasonable and these kids need some kinda justice. If they’re being charged for items, then taking ‘em because they PAID FOR THEM seems completely logical to me. (To the dingaling who refuses to sleep on a mattress she doesn’t 100% know the provenance of, I’m wondering how she goes through life never having stayed with a friend, a family member, or in a hotel, and hasn’t the brainpower to remember she’s reading about FOREIGN STUDENTS who’re been jerked around by someone with no scruples.)

20points

Sarah Léon 4 days ago

When I had my first appartment, my mother told me to never give the last month and tell the landlord to use the deposit for it. I did it everytime, never giving any choice to the landlord, using that month to move out and clean the place. I usually leave before the end of the month so the landlord has al the time to find another tenant or make any adjustments. It works fine this way.

2points

Ken Ristine 4 days ago

First, be clear about your state's laws. A security deposit is not the same as a damage deposit. Landlords often don't know the difference either and just take money from whatever deposit they got from a tenant. For example, in our state a security deposit is against payment of rent. If you're current on rent, you get all your security deposit back. A damage deposit is against damages to the rental property, and as many people have noted, damage is more than reasonable wear and tear. It's interesting that in the case outlined, the landlord never threatened legal action. This was probably because he knew he was skirting the law.

1point

Bob Brooce 4 days ago

This is a great story about why you probably shouldn't pay the last month's rent if you paid a security deposit - the landlord already has the last month's rent. Even if you only paid a damage deposit, it's very unlikely that they're going to get you evicted in 31 days. They can always come after yo f they have a legitimate claim for damage.

4points

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