I live in Austin and my landlord lost my rent check three months in a row. He kept saying I never paid even though I had the bank statement showing it was cashed. Finally I started using a rent tracking app that sends him a payment confirmation and takes a screenshot. Now he can't say he didn't get it. Has anyone else dealt with a landlord who can't keep track of payments?
Came home to Arlington last Tuesday and found water damage from the upstairs unit, my landlord literally taped a piece of cardboard over it and said 'that'll hold till the plumber comes.' Did yours ever try something that lazy?
Spent $40 on a proper pipe wrench and some sealant from Ace Hardware. Fixed the bathroom sink drip in about 20 minutes. Has anyone else had to DIY something basic because your landlord refused to spend $15 on a real part?
I had a small hole from a doorknob and my landlord said to use toothpaste as filler. Tried it and it cracked and fell out in two days. Switched to a $5 tub of spackle from the hardware store. That stuff holds up way better and you can sand it smooth. Now I just keep a small container for any little wall dings before move-out. Has anyone else gotten weird DIY tips from their landlord that backfired?
Last January my heat went out on a Tuesday night in Milwaukee, and my landlord had a guy here by 8 AM the next morning. He even gave me a $50 credit on rent for the inconvenience without me asking. Honestly it freaked me out more than if he'd taken a week, because I kept wondering what he was trying to cover up or distract me from. Has anyone else had a landlord who was way too responsive and it made you paranoid?
My old landlord in Austin tried to bill me $300 for professional carpet cleaning after I moved out, even though I had receipts showing I rented a Rug Doctor and did it myself for $35. I used to just pay whatever they asked, but now I take time-stamped photos before and after any cleaning or repairs. Anybody else deal with landlords trying to double charge for work you already did?
Got a call from my landlord at 5:45 AM last Tuesday saying a plumber was coming over to fix a leak in the unit below mine. I said there's no water running in my place, I was asleep. He showed up anyway, woke up my whole family, and spent 20 minutes checking pipes that were fine. Turns out the tenant downstairs was running their washing machine at 3 AM and it overflowed. Has anyone else had a landlord refuse to believe you about something obvious and waste your time?
So the furnace went out last Tuesday when it was 18 degrees overnight. I called my landlord and he said his buddy would come look at it. The guy showed up, banged on the pipes for like 20 minutes, then said it was fine. It ran for maybe 4 hours then died again. I called a real HVAC company on my own dime. They found the heat exchanger was cracked and the landlord's fix was just tapping the relay to make it start again. Cost me $120 for the inspection fee that I'll never see back. Has anyone else had a landlord try that kind of bandaid fix on something major?
Ngl, I wish I was making this up. My landlord in Austin came by last month because water was dripping from the ceiling in my bathroom. He looked at it for like two minutes, then went to his truck and came back with a roll of duct tape. He literally wrapped it around the pipe joint and said 'that'll hold for a while.' I told him that's not how plumbing works, but he just shrugged and left. Three days later, the tape gave out and water flooded my entire bathroom floor, ruining the cheap laminate he put in. I had to call a real plumber myself and send him the bill. Has anyone else had a landlord try some backyard fix that just made things worse?
He showed up with a 20 foot ladder, took 3 hours to swap a standard A19 bulb in my kitchen ceiling fixture, and handed me a $150 bill plus a lecture about how I should have called him first.
Last July in Phoenix, my AC went out and my landlord showed up with a regular screwdriver and no tools. He poked at the unit for 20 minutes, then told me it just needed to "cool off overnight." The next day it hit 112 inside my apartment and he still didn't call a professional. I learned that some landlords will do anything to avoid spending money, even if it means you sweat through your sheets. Has anyone else had a landlord "fix" something in a way that made it way worse?
I know this place is for ranting, but I had a landlord at a duplex in Akron who fixed a leaking pipe the same day I called. Took him maybe 2 hours tops and he didn't even charge me extra. Everyone here acts like all landlords are crooks, but mine showed up with a wrench and some PVC glue and got it done. Has anyone else had a decent landlord story that actually went smooth?
My landlady in Austin kept saying the black patches on the bathroom ceiling were just 'old paint spots' even after I showed her pictures from my phone. She sent her brother over with a roller and white paint three times in two months instead of actually fixing the leak. I broke the lease last week and she tried to keep my $1,200 deposit. Has anyone else had a landlord pretend a mold problem isn't real?
Honestly, I thought I was the smart one for years by just ignoring small issues and hoping they would go away. Tbh, I had a slow drip under the kitchen sink for like 6 months and I just put a bucket there every time. Ngl, I figured it was fine because the water bill wasn't crazy high and the floor looked okay. Then last week my landlord came over for a routine inspection and saw my bucket setup. He laughed and said "you know that's just gonna rot the subfloor, right?" and then he pulled out duct tape and wrapped it around the pipe. I felt so dumb. Now I realize I should have called a real plumber instead of pretending it was normal. Has anyone else dealt with a landlord who half-asses repairs while making you feel like the idiot?
My landlord in Portland dropped my $1,200 rent to $900 for 8 months straight with zero paperwork or strings attached, and that convinced me some of them actually care more about keeping good tenants than squeezing every dollar.
Moved back into my unit after a water leak and the bathroom walls had fresh paint. Within 3 weeks the mold was bleeding through again and the paint was peeling. Has anyone else had a landlord try to hide major damage with a quick coat instead of fixing the real problem?
He said real plumbers are too expensive and that tape holds everything together in a pinch, but now I'm dealing with water damage in the cabinet below and he's blaming me for using the sink too much.
Back in 2021 I had a basement apartment in Portland and found black mold behind the bathroom sink. My landlord said just grab some Killz primer and paint over it, it'll be fine. I was new to renting and actually did what he said. Three months later I had a cough that wouldn't go away and a $700 mold remediation bill because it spread inside the walls. Has anyone else's landlord given them dangerously bad advice like that?
I had a slow drip under the kitchen sink for two weeks. Landlord came by, wrapped the pipe joint in duct tape, and said 'that should hold till the new year.' Three days later I came home to water all over the floor and a warped cabinet bottom. He charged me $150 for 'water damage' on my security deposit. Has anyone else had a landlord who thinks tape solves plumbing?
A few years back I rented a place in Columbus and the toilet started making this low humming sound every time you flushed it. I told the landlord about it and he said it was probably just the pipes settling and to give it a week. A week passed, the noise got louder, and I called him again. He sent a handyman who poked at it for 20 minutes and said he'd have to order a part. That part took 3 weeks to show up. Then the handyman came back, installed something wrong, and the toilet started leaking water onto the floor. Another month went by before the landlord finally hired a real plumber who fixed it in one afternoon. The whole thing was just a simple flapper valve issue that cost maybe fifteen bucks. Has anyone else had a landlord drag out a tiny repair into a multi month headache?
I lived in this old place in Cleveland, and for three months I told my landlord about a slow drip under the kitchen sink. He kept saying it added 'character' to the apartment and that I should just put a bucket there (seriously). Then one Tuesday at 2am the whole ceiling in the hallway crashed down, soaking my couch and ruining my rug. He had the nerve to ask if I had renter's insurance after that. Has anyone else had a landlord ignore obvious damage until it became a disaster?
I moved into a duplex in Portland last October and told the landlord about a slow drip in the toilet tank on day one. Four months later, after flushing with a bucket because the bowl kept overflowing, he finally sent a plumber who found a cracked fill valve that should've taken 15 minutes to swap. How do these guys stay in business when basic maintenance turns into a months-long headache?