Tenant increased apartment value by tending to neglected garden, landlord attempts to ‘kick’ tenant out to profit from the fruits of his labor

Author image for Sienna Varady
Sienna Varady
Apr 3, 2024 12:00 PM EDT

Landlords could end up being your best friend or, in contrast, your biggest enemy. However, how would you respond if your landlord attempted to profit from the fruits of your labor? Would you silently submit or fight for what's right?

The story that follows is the story of a clever tenant. After residing in his apartment for some time, the Original Poster (OP) decided to remodel his yard in an effort to make his house feel more like a home. The garden was finally finished, with stunning foliage and blooms, after months of labor. When the landlord discovered what had been done to the once-horrible backyard, he decided to 'kick' the tenant out of the apartment and relist it for a higher fee because the magnificent garden that the tenant had been caring for had boosted the value of the house.

Having said that, it is clear that OP was not satisfied with the landlord's decision and decided to take matters into his own hands by exacting petty revenge. Therefore, be sure to read the story below if you're interested in learning how OP got even and whether the landlord was able to find new tenants. After you're done, don't forget to read the story of the housemate who settles the score with a cheapskate roommate who refuses to pay the bills by filling up the entire apartment with bubbles!

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  • 01
    "What goes around comes around..."
    via canva
  • 02
    Landlord decided to kick out a tenant with a beautiful garden that the person had planted himself, and use the garden to increase rent? well get f db h
    via u/randomgoesbrrrr
  • 03
    found this subreddit through the click, thanks dude This isn't mine, i found it on twitter and decided to share it here, cuz it fits quite well. "Friend is being kicked out of his flat that has a garden because the landlord wants to charge much, much higher rent. Friend has carefully removed every single thing he planted. Landlord: "it's worth more with all
    via u/randomgoesbrrrr
  • 04
    the f ing plants, how am I meant to get more rent now?!" The best bit is that he wanted until landlord had taken loads of photos of the garden for the advert, had people round to view and been told contracts have been signed by the new tenants. Who are expecting a beautiful garden, as opposed to the bare patch of dirt
    via u/randomgoesbrrrr
  • 05
    that now exists. Muting this because lots of you seem to really love landlords and some of you think I should chastise my actual friend who is being kicked out of his home *specifically* so the landlord can make more cash. Cr ed. cr: charlottor (on twt)
    via u/randomgoesbrrrr
  • 06
    On happyf incakeday. 4 hr. ago Lol. I read an almost identical story a while back. This gal rented a mid house with a big backyard but the backyard was mostly dirt or concrete. She was a gardener and had tons of pots and a couple raised beds that she built. She had everything from flowers to herbs and vegetables back there.
    via u/happyf**incakeday
  • 07
    The landlord decided to "renovate" (aka, legally kick someone out of their home) to charge more rent. Gave the tenant notice they would not be renewing their lease. The gal did what the guy in this story did and removed every plant and raised flower bed, THAT SHE MADE FROM SCRATCH!
    via u/happyf**incakeday
  • 08
    Same thing happened, the landlord got PI ED and threw a big tantrum. They had already posted photos with the backyard beautiful and lush and green everywhere. Maybe this is one of those stories that gets passed around the internet in a million different variations. Maybe it's
    via u/happyf**incakeday
  • 09
    a coincidence. The world may never know but I've thought about this story more than a few times since I first read it years ago.
    via u/happyf**incakeday
  • 10
    • Lumpy_Marsupial_1559 3 hr. ago I've had this happen to me, but I was the one moving in (found out later the landlords ked and had sc wed over the last tenant). The beautiful garden with flowers, herbs, and vegetables (corn, there was corn O) that I'd seen at the viewing had been removed.
    via u/Lumpy_Marsupial_1559
  • 11
    I managed to sc w the landlord back before I moved out a couple of years later and did something similar, except I did it BEFORE the viewing. He put up the rent an insane amount, knowing I couldn't afford it. The garden, etc, was back to looking gorgeous. The day before the first viewing (I was still there), I got out everything I could,
    via u/Lumpy_Marsupial_1559
  • 12
    stored them at friends, dug things up, had a box of the front giving things away, made it all be gone. Then I borrowed a friend's industrial mower and took what was left down to the dirt and roots. Inside, I arranged furniture, etc., so the faults (cracks in walls, missing tiles, and ceiling mould in the
    via u/Lumpy_Marsupial_1559
  • 13
    bathroom, doors and a window that didn't close properly) were visible and highlighted with very bright blue/white light bulbs. The whole place looked stark af. His face was... not happy. He tried complaining at me, and I pulled out the photos I'd taken when I moved in and pointed out that the property was much tidier than
    via u/Lumpy_Marsupial_1559
  • 14
    when I'd moved in and there was nothing missing. The three couples who came for the viewing all left without putting in an application. The place ended up sitting empty for 3 months, and he had to lower his asking price. D
    via u/Lumpy_Marsupial_1559
  • 15
    sidewayseleven 2 hr. ago. A similar thing happened to me. We rented a house with a backyard and a blank space where a garden bed was growing some weeds. We asked if we could plant flowers and were told we could.
    via u/sidewayseleven
  • 16
    Fast forward a year later and we are moving out conducting the final inspection and the landlord says he never gave us permission. That it would cost up to $600 to remove all the things we had planted. I told him if that was the only issue
    via u/sidewayseleven
  • 17
    then I would remove them myself - immediately. I had grabbed about 5 double handfuls of plants and yanked them out of the dirt before he asked me to stop and leave the rest alone
    via u/sidewayseleven
  • 18
    BeautifulPhantom1 · 4 hr. ago . edited 4 hr. ago Now that's funny. Landlord thought he would cash in on the tenent's sweat equity. Good on the tenent for removing the plants he paid for. Edited to add, how is the landlord meant to get more rent now? By hiring a landscaper that can match the pictures he took. LOL
    via u/BeautifulPhantom1
  • 19
    Crafty_Meeting2657 2 hr. ago This is superb, and the landlord deserved it. The tenant was merely restoring the property to its original, move-in condition.
    via u/Crafty_Meeting2657
  • 20
    MaleficentCoconut458 · 3 hr. ago In any other situation, things left behind will be disposed of & the tip fees taken out of your bond. The tenant was just doing the right thing & ensuring that nothing was left behind that the LL might have to dispose of.
    via u/MaleficentCoconut458
  • 21
    2_old_for_this_spit · 1 hr. ago That's why just about my entire garden consisted of containers, and I had lots of them. When my rent went up, I took my whole garden with me.
    via u/2_old_for_this_spit
  • 22
    7rustyswordsandacake 2 hr. ago Plants are expensive, I'm on dude bros side
    via u/7rustyswordsandacake
  • 23
    MarryYourSister 1 hr. ago Should have just salted it or threw in some ivy.
    via u/MarryYourSister
  • 24
    • Wise_Improvement_284 · 25 min. ago My parents did this to the next tenant. My mom had changed several things about the property. Then they decided to move (voluntarily) and the laws for social housing in the Netherlands were such that any changes the new tenant didn't agree with had to be removed. New tenant agreed to
    via u/Wise_Improvement_284
  • 25
    everything the first time they came over and loved the garden. Then just before we were going to move out, the new people decided they wanted the interior of the house in it's original state after all. My parents told the neighbors and invited them to help
    via u/Wise_Improvement_284
  • 26
    themselves to any garden plants they wanted while my mom got busy tearing her stuff out inside. The new tenants apparently complained about how unwelcoming that neighborhood turned out to be.
    via u/Wise_Improvement_284

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landlord malicious-compliance-reddit tenant reddit karen reddit story petty revenge entitled people karma clever comebacks entitled Reddit karen story karen entitled people apartment
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