I live on the same property as my landlord; he rents out his old house and lives in his much nicer one. Both are situated on a farm, and he has a small herd of gorgeous Belted Galloway cows.

One afternoon, I am just finishing up work when he calls me to say that a calf has escaped, and he is closing the gates while he looks for them. Since his farm is just off of a busy road, I offer to head out and check around the neighborhood. The edge of the cow pasture is right next to the backyard of a row of houses on the next street over, so that’s where I head first.

Granted, driving slowly down a no-outlet road while gawking at everyone’s backyard can seem suspicious, but I figure if anyone approaches me about it I’ll happily explain the situation, and they can also keep an eye out for this poor calf. I go down the road and scan the left row of houses, and then I turn around and am about to scan the right side when a resident comes out of their house and flags me down.

Resident: “What are you doing?”

His tone isn’t friendly at all. He sounds grumpy and irritated as if he is seconds away from calling the police on me for… driving slowly.

Me: “Oh, one of my landlord’s cows escaped. I was just checking here while he’s checking the other side of the property. Have you seen—”

Resident: “He was already down here three times, and he sent his drone over my house. The cow. Isn’t. Here.”

I am hardly confrontational, so I just reply:

Me: “Oh, okay. I didn’t know he had already looked here. Thanks!”

He is already walking back to his house the second I open my mouth — presumably to complain to whoever will listen about how annoying it is that someone would so thoroughly look for a lost animal.

I drive around a few more places before heading back to my landlord’s house to see if he has any updates. I tell him I went down the road next door and tell him about my encounter with the grumpy guy.

Landlord: “Oh, that guy. He’s so miserable! He saw my drone flying over and called me to complain about it, even after I told him why I was using it.”

Me: “Sheesh. He just made me feel like I was doing something wrong. I’ve been on that road lots of times, and everyone seems so friendly, except for him.”

Landlord: “He’s the worst. Every time I talk to him, he’s either complaining about me or complaining to me. I can barely stand it.”

Me: “Oh, do you have to deal with him a lot?”

Landlord: “At least once a year during the holidays. He’s my cousin.”

We did find the calf, almost six hours later!

Our fridge is clearly on its last legs. It’s so old that it’s faded to a yellow color, it barely keeps things cold, and most terrifying of all, it’s started screaming — not really screaming, but making a very loud, high-pitched noise that doesn’t stop unless we unplug it. The noise is so loud it hurts our ears after a while — and apparently, the people in the apartment next to us can hear it, too!

I message the landlady about it with a video attached.

Me: “Hi, [Landlady], our fridge is being strange again. I’m sending you a video so you can hear the noise it makes. The neighbors have also said they can hear it in their apartment.”

Landlady: “Okay.”

Me: “It’s also not keeping our food cold, and no matter how much we clean it, these weird stains aren’t going away. I think it might be time to replace it.”

Landlady: “Hmm. Well, you know, not everyone has a fridge. Maybe you should be grateful for what you have.”

Me: “Yes, I know. I was homeless for two years. Thank you for the reminder. But that doesn’t change the fact that we need a new fridge.”

We got a new fridge two days later, and she never told me to be grateful again.

Last year, my family all flew to Chicago to spend Christmas with my brother. Because my brother lived in a smaller apartment that wasn’t really made to accommodate four other adults for an extended period of time, my dad reserved a rental for the rest of us using a popular website/app where people can list rooms and houses they own.

The place was nice and everything, but it was right across the street from a couple of clubs. They were closed at Christmas but opened right back up. After we left, my dad left a review.

Dad’s Review: “Decent place, not quite downtown, but easy access to various tourist areas. The stairs were a little steep, so be aware. The biggest issue was the clubs right across the street. The unit is probably best for people who are trying to have a guys’ or girls’ weekend but probably not ideal if you’re a family with young kids who are trying to sleep because of the lights of the clubs and the noise.”

That was it. He only pointed out that if someone had young kids, having them stay right across from the clubs might not be conducive.

Apparently, the owner of the rental wasn’t happy with the review. He started messaging my dad and demanding that he update his review. My dad wouldn’t because there wasn’t anything wrong with the review. The owner then started blasting my dad and complaining to the rental company about it. They reached out to my dad.

Company: “We’ve received a report that some items were missing from [Location] after your stay.”

Dad: “And?”

Company: “The owner is claiming you took them. So, you need to cover the replacement costs.”

Dad: “Can we get a breakdown of what was taken?”

The list of items taken? A carbon monoxide detector. That was it. 

My dad got into a fight with [Rental Company], one, because he had specifically purchased the extra coverage/insurance for just such a possibility — not that we go around taking random detectors but just in case something happened —  and two, because we didn’t steal the detector.

They finally settled things, and my parents didn’t have to cover anything. But my dad was extremely frustrated, especially because when [Rental Company] reached out, it was the middle of January and the owner was claiming he’d found the detector missing sometime in the first week of January. We’d all left by about the 28th of December. So, he either didn’t rent out his unit or even visit it at all during that time, or he was just trying to be a pain because of my dad’s review.

It definitely made sure my dad wouldn’t use that location again.

We rent out an apartment on one side of our house. The tenant is a great guy; he’s easy-going and quiet, he pays his rent on time, etc. We have a pool on our side of the property. [Tenant]’s lease agreement states that he’s allowed to use the pool but his guests are not. The reasoning behind this is a liability issue; I don’t want my home liability insurance premiums to skyrocket if anything happens.

A few months ago, [Tenant] had a coworker pitch up who didn’t ask and just assumed that he could bring his young daughter with him to swim. Once the guy and his kid arrived, [Tenant] quickly came to ask for permission for the girl to swim.

Me: “Unfortunately, it’s a liability issue, so I can’t allow that — especially since that kid looks like she’s around six years old. She wouldn’t even be able to stand in the shallow end.”

The kid’s father insisted on speaking with me.

Father: “Come on! Please let her swim. I already promised that she could swim!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I really can’t do that.”

Father: “You b****!” *To his daughter* “This mean lady won’t let you swim. We have to go home.”

Kid: *Whining and starting to cry* “But you promised!”

Sorry, kid. I’m not required to keep to the promises your dad makes.

[Tenant] was very apologetic. He didn’t even know the guy all that well. The guy just pitched up and demanded that his kid be allowed to swim.

My last apartment was old and very worn down. In the beginning, I called the landlord over and over begging them to fix or replace things, but nothing ever happened. If I managed to get hold of a manager, things would sometimes get a little better, but most of the time, I had to deal with maintenance, and they refused to do anything but the bare minimum. Eventually, I just gave up and kept careful documentation of things that were already damaged when I moved in so I wouldn’t be held responsible for them. 

Then, I unexpectedly got a job in another city and had to move there pretty much immediately. I had three months’ notice on my lease, but I figured it was worth paying double rent for a few months just to get out of that place. 

So, I moved out. I didn’t have a lot of money to spare, so I decided to do the final cleaning myself instead of hiring someone. It took a week, and when I was done, it was certainly much cleaner than it had been when I moved in. I couldn’t be there for the final inspection, but I left a list of things that weren’t working properly and needed to be replaced.

Then, I got a call.

Inspector: “Hello. I just wanted to tell you the result of the final inspection of your apartment.”

Me: “Oh, did you see my notes? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but I just started my new job.”

Inspector: “No, I’m calling to tell you that since the bathroom wasn’t properly cleaned, we’re going to need to send you a bill.”

Me: “Excuse me? I went over the place with a toothbrush; it is as clean as it can possibly get.”

Inspector: “There were stains inside the toilet bowl. You’ll have to pay to get that fixed.”

Me: “I spent an entire day trying to get it clean. The enamel’s just too worn down; those stains aren’t coming off.”

Inspector: “Still, we need to hire a professional cleaning company before the next tenant can move in, and we’re sending the bill to you. It’s in your contract.”

Me: “Tell you what. You go ahead and hire a professional cleaner, and if they’re able to get that toilet any cleaner than it already is, I’ll happily pay your bill.”

I hung up. A few days later, I had another call, this time from a manager.

Manager: “Hello. I’m calling regarding your apartment. I understand you spoke to [Inspector] a few days ago.”

Me: *Sigh* “Yes. Do they still want to send me a bill for failing to clean thirty years of ingrained s*** off a toilet?”

Manager: “No. Actually, I’m calling to let you know we’re breaking the lease early so you won’t have to pay the remaining two months’ rent. The bathroom needs to be completely redone before we can have anyone else move in.”

Me: “Oh, you mean the same thing I’ve told you for the past three years?”

I’m so happy to be rid of that place — a little bitter that I didn’t get to enjoy the new bathroom, though.

Related:
This Is Why People Have Big Feelings About Landlords