Scummy Landlord Demands Extra Month's Rent On Move-Out, Wants to Keep Deposit Too, Guy Shuts Them Down

This predatory landlord has attempted to extort their tenant out of an additional month's rent and employed shady strategies to try and keep their deposit.

This story was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by Reddit user u/YerTime, who shared the story of their compliance with their landlord's exploitative terms. The story strikes many similar tunes to this story that was posted to the r/ProRevenge subreddit

Comments focused on the legalities surrounding this shady practice, which far too many opportunistic landlords utilize.

"In some states what they did is blatantly illegal," commented darthcoder. "In MA if they don't put your money in escrow, you are eligible for triple damages. If they don't itemize the damages or return your deposit in 30 days, triple damages."

At the university I attended, many university apartment complexes would utilize similar strategies to try and cheat student tenants out of their deposits. It was a given that, no matter what condition you left your unit in, you would never see your deposit again. They would always find some way to justify keeping it. In the apartment I lived in Junior year, we took extensive photos that showed we had left the unit in same-or-better condition. Yet, we never saw a dime of our deposit. This practice becomes even more predatory when you consider the fact that you need references from previous landlords to secure future housing. So, fighting for your deposit almost ensures that you won't be able to use them as a reference in the future.

My understanding is that this is extremely common in university towns and suburbs. Do you have a similar experience?

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Posted by Brad Dickson