'I took detailed pictures and videos of the apartment when I moved in': Landlord demands extra month's rent on move out, tenant shuts them down

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 5, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

It's unacceptable for landlords, or anyone really, to behave dishonestly in order to extort others from their hard earn cash. Unfortunately, the tenancy and leasing process leaves a lot of grey areas where landlords can do exactly that.

Seriously, who thought it was a good idea for there to be a part of the tenancy process where the landlord gets to hold onto a sizable chunk of the tenant's change and then gets to decide whether or not they want to keep it at the end of the tenancy? That's like putting a piece of cheese in front of an untrained dog and being surprised when it gets slurped off the floor faster than you can say, "Bob's your uncle."

As with any relationship, trust and respect are of the utmost importance. When you end up with a really good relationship, it's the best; great landlords are, well, great; it's just too bad that the bad ones are the ones that you remember the most.

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. Readers shared their thoughts in the comments, focusing on the legalities surrounding this shady practice, which far too many opportunistic landlords utilize. 

Next, see this landlord who refused to take a $0.02 charge in change, forcing the tenant to maliciously comply.

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  • 01
    Property - AFITI "I took detailed JEDR pictures and videos of the apartment when I moved in..."
    via Aaron Sousa
  • 02
    Font - Charged me an extra month and don't want to return my deposit? But why lie when I have the receipts ... LOC Obligatory mobile user. The contract of the apartment I've been living for the past year recently ended. I had however forgotten of the 60 days written move out notice until I was reminded by management 10 days before I turned in my notice. Though it is specified in the contract and it is my responsibility as a tenant to maintain them, I was still livid by the fact that they didn't
    via u/YerTime
  • 03
    Font - Since I did not provide the 60 days move out notice in writing, I was forced to pay an extra month of rent that regardless of my moaning and crying was not waved. Throughout my panic, they kept reminding me that it was in the contract and that they couldn't do anything. Since I had to pay an extra month, I decided I was going to do everything in my power to get my deposit back, cueing the malicious compliance. I went through the entire contract.
    via u/YerTime
  • 04
    Font - The contract specified that I was allowed to be present during the inspection as long as I provided a written notice in advanced (no date specified) and that I had the right to any information extracted from the inspection. The contract also specified that the apartment has to be left in the same condition it was received and that I was responsible for any cleaning fees from services they'd have to use.
    via u/YerTime
  • 05
    Font - Before I actually start the juicy part of the story I have to mention that I took detailed pictures and videos of the apartment when I moved in. Unfortunately mine was incredibly dirty, even food on the carpets. I requested it to be cleaned by they never did anything so I took care of it since I am terrified of confrontation lol but I still saved and recorded anything that was not okay regardless of how mild it was.
    via u/YerTime
  • 06
    Font - The day I read the contract, I emailed them requesting to be present during the inspection and that I wanted a copy of everything obtained from that inspection to compre with my notes. They didn't respond that day so I took upon me to email them everyday for the next 4 days until the got back to me with the following reply,
    via u/YerTime
  • 07
    Font - "Per the rental agreement section ## Move-out inspection You may be present at move-out inspection if you notify us in advance in writing of your request. [my name], you turned your keys into the drop box on 5/30/22 and never requested a walk thru. The walk thru inspection was already completed this morning."
    via u/YerTime
  • 08
    Font - So I obviously forwarded all of my previous emails asking if those were not considered "in writing." They then offered to "re-do" the inspection with me present but I was out of town so I requested all the data they obtained from it instead to which they agreed.
    via u/YerTime
  • 09
    Font - To this day I have not received anything from the inspection but I did find out that they didn't actually do it until three days after they started they did on that email via the bill they sent charging me cleaning fees and no deposit back. I was like, okay... since you're not going to send me what I asked for I'm going to send you what I have...
    via u/YerTime
  • 10
    Font - I highlighted the part where they lied to me about the inspection date, attached pictures of how I received the apartment compared to how I left it (very clean) - and I made sure to include their time stamps. Advised that per the contract there is no reason for them to charge me cleaning fees since it was in better condition than received. I also demanded my deposit back and sent them receipts of all products I used to clean the apartment, including a new vacuum so they could refund me at
    via u/YerTime
  • 11
    Font - I did leave a review in every site I could find but the Google one got removed for some reason.
    via u/YerTime
  • 12
    Font - darthcoder +2 In some states what they did is blatantly illegal. 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. ↑ 3.6k Reply Share
    via u/YerTime
  • 13
    Font - Moneia +3 In some states what they did is blatantly illegal. While, yes it never seems to stop scumbags doing it. They're relying on naivety or lack of time\effort on the renters part to keep the cash. 1.1k Reply Share
    via u/YerTime
  • 14
    Font - DaibhidhmacD Repost the Google review, and continue to repost it every single time it gets taken down. 328 Reply Share
    via u/YerTime
  • 15
    Font - stromm +2 the fact that they didn't have to courtesy to remind me all the three times they contacted me about renewing my contract and me declining. If any of those contacts were prior to the 60-days, you DID give notice simply by stating you were declining. 169 Reply Share
    via u/YerTime
  • 16
    Font - jbp191 Leave it again and get any willing friends to do likewise. Reference this post as well. Reply Share 190
    via u/YerTime
  • 17
    Font - Aegisman17 Follow through and contact corporate anyways 133 Reply Share
    via u/YerTime

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landlord malicious compliance landlords tenancy rent renting malicious-compliance-reddit neighborhood-drama landlord-stories
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