Seems to me this is all US stuff again. You guys voted for freedom and all that s**t, because god forbid there are rules to protect people, so this is what you get. None of this happens here in 'socialist' Europe.

We once rented out a property we owned. We assumed we'd hit a patch where the house would be empty for at least 3 months (between tenants, economic glitch, etc.). So we set aside part of the rent into the "cushion" fund, against times when this stuff happens.... And we're just two shmucks. So I think these corporations are either bloody bad at business or stupid, and some of the individuals? Didn't read Landlording 101: Don't rent it to someone else if you can't afford it yourself, b/c at some point, the property will be empty, and you will have to pay.... *headdesk*...... Also, what jobs and other places are people going to FIND?!?!

these landlords can definitely think about how to conduct their behavior and business better, but let's not forget they have financial obligations as well - otherwise it'll be the banks that starts bullying them around. it's just the way life is. people in here need to realize nothing in life is free.

Can't speak for anywhere but the U.S., but document everything. Sue. Win. Buy your rental property. Safeguards and laws are in place, no matter what dirtbag landlords say and do.

Okay, thank you boredpanda, writers, and commenters to share many sides of this greed virus. We need humor and we need to see the awful side of things we would have missed. We need to think about how we are obtaining our money and where it’s going. It’s tough but at least directly and as much as possible we can choose who we support, who ends up getting more powerful and rich from others’ hard work and labor. We can’t be enabling these monsters. We need to band together and fight for each other. Universal health care, labor protections, affordable housing, and (please add more to this list). We’ve been hearing these issues for years, and now it’s in our faces and the fears are worse than we thought. Sorry, it’s a bit of a tangent. I just woke up as a person. Finally getting sleep after 8 months, and today hopefully getting back to a regular sleeping routine. I swore a lot in my comments today. I’m sorry for the offense.

Landlords who raise prices or threaten eviction are huge idiots. Never mind that it's illegal and abominable to do those things. They might THINK they are winning now, but eventually the pandemic will be over (and I know this isn't meaningful compensation if you are going through this right now), but the people will remember, and when they have their power back (to take these things to court, or move out and stop giving money to these monsters) the awful Scrooge's will suffer in the long run.

Best country ever never fails to disappoint. How was that quote? You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany. I feel deeply sorry of the intelligent and good people there.

There are two sides to this coin. Renters and landlords. Both deserve protection, both are capable of great injustice and no doubt both have bills to pay. People need to negotiate a happy medium here.

Man am I glad we were finally able to purchase a home last year. Being a renter is so hard and 99% of landlords are just absolute scum

Lot of generalizations happening here. My family heavily depends on the rent we charge because we are still paying property taxes, maintaining the small number of houses we manage, etc. We're not wealthy. "Landlords" are not evil by nature. We want, with all our hearts, to exempt the few tenants we have from paying rent - that means taking it in the pocket ourselves, instead of them. This is affecting all of us.

I saw a lot of "that's illegal" comments. The problem is, unless your rental contract explicitly spells out some of this, a lot of what is happening is, in fact, legal due to loopholes. Slumlords, as I like to call them, put vague verbiage into rental agreements they know the tenants won't fully read or won't fully understand, and many renters sign the lease expecting to be treated fairly.

The most our landlords did was freeze rental amounts for lease renewals. Which is why we're moving out and into a new place. I'm also moving because we live near a golf course and I'm tired of finding dents on my car because the local golf course doesn't want to install nets to protect neighboring properties.