'Stick that letter where the sun don't shine!': Clever renter capitalizes on a contract loophole after their landlord tries to trick them into paying more, ends up living in a self-made rent-controlled apartment for 8+ years

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 16, 2024 9:00 AM EST

This tenant stuck it to their landlord after they tried to strong-arm them into signing away their renter rights. Nice try, evil landlords, you lose this time!

Landlords must feel some sort of power trip when they raise the rent for no reason. Imagine the pure evil required to simply not care about your tenant, while lining your own pockets and giving everything the 'landlord special'. A heavy-handed coat of white paint on every surface doesn't mean you can charge an arm and a leg for a shack just because it's close to a bustling social area. For a landlord, however, that's exactly what that means. So any renter who can secure a rent-controlled apartment, or at the very least, a humanized landlord, you're living the dream–treasure it! 

Not all of us are so lucky, like the tenant in our next story who kept receiving ominous letters from their landlord threatening to cancel their lease until the renter found a clever loophole and some lawyer friends.

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  • 01
    "You should've read the fine print"
    via Alliance Images

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My landlord thought he could pull one over on me, but ended up learning the meaning of "You should've read the fine print before you signed it."
    via karer3is
  • 03
    TLDR: The real estate company that owns my apartment thought they could intimidate my roommates and I into signing a new, crappier contract, but ended up getting bit by their own laziness.
    via karer3is
  • 04
    Some context: I live in Germany, which has extremely strong tenant's rights. I've been living in my apartment for about eight years now. About one year after I first moved in, I got a letter from the company that owns my apartment building. In short, it said this:
    via karer3is
  • 05
    Dear Mr. X, We are cancelling your existing rental contract. If you wish to continue renting this apartment, please sign this new contract [with higher rent] or move out within 30 days.
    via karer3is
  • 06
    This scared the h I out of me. I was living in a city where the rent prices were skyrocketing and I had only just managed to find a long- term apartment I could afford. As soon as I began looking at my options, it became clear that I was
    via karer3is
  • 07
    either going to have to fight what was essentially an eviction or move back to the US and start building my life again just after I had finally found some stability. After I asked around a bit, someone tipped me off to something called a Mieterverein,
    via karer3is
  • 08
    which is essentially a nonprofit group that advocates for tenant's rights and gives its members the opportunity to get legal advice regarding their rights as tenants. I looked one up near me and booked it over to their office. I
    via karer3is
  • 09
    explained my situation, filled out some paperwork, and went to speak with the group's lawyer. I showed her the letter and my current contract and she looked over it for a few minutes without saying a word.
    via karer3is
  • 10
    After what felt like an eternity, she looked at me and said in her most diplomatic German legalese, "You have nothing to worry about. This letter is bulls ' (admittedly paraphrased, but that's what it boiled down to). She then turned to a page of the contract and
    via karer3is
  • 11
    pointed out a single line in it: "No changes may be made to this contract unless both parties consent to the proposed changes." In other words: as long as I refuse to sign the new contract, they can't do anything to me.
    via karer3is
  • 12
    The group's lawyer then sent a letter on my behalf to the company. I received a copy of it for my records and essentially, it told the company that they would find themselves in some major trouble with the government if they continued to pursue the matter further.
    via karer3is
  • 13
    About a month went by and I heard nothing further. Then, one day, a letter from the company arrived. The company basically admitted defeat and tried to cover its tail by saying that the letter was "sent in error" by "an employee who is no longer with the company."
    via karer3is
  • 14
    For the next seven years, it became an annual ritual: Company sends ominous letter telling me I'm getting kicked out, I forward the letter to the Mieterverein, and the Mieterverein's lawyer sends them a letter telling them to stick the letter where the sun don't shine.
    via karer3is
  • 15
    And then, after attempt #8, the lawyer sent them another letter telling them to cut the and stop sending these letters every year. I haven't heard from them since :)
    via karer3is
  • 16
    Candid_Ad5642 • 2h ago Nice Now make sure your neighbors know about this, especially be tenants
    via Candid_Ad5642
  • 17
    SuperSimpleSam • 1h ago • For the next seven years How long was the contract you originally signed for? If they made it open ended that was a huge mistake on their part.
    via SuperSimpleSam
  • 18
    WoodenQuaich • 20h ago I had something similar happen to me. I agreed to take over the lease of a friend who was moving away. The property management company
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 19
    changed the day after I signed the lease so it was a bit of a grey area how I snuck in at the last minute. The apartment was a great little place in the middle of town, right by the river and because it was a basement apartment,
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 20
    it was dirt cheap. I didn't mind because it always stayed cool even in the summer. New property management sent a letter saying "we have reviewed your lease and based on current market
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 21
    value, we're raising your rent by about $400. The rent was 650 and iirc it was going up to 1100 or something. Of course I'm sweating bullets thinking they can't do this, I have a lease until December. I even went to a lawyer and she said I might have to pay it.
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 22
    I was sitting at home one day basically re-reading the entire lease over and over again. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the lawyer I saw is a complete sh -for- brains idiot and I, who has no legal training knows best. I
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 23
    decided to ignore the property management company. I would drop off the rent check in the after hours box at night so I wouldn't see anyone. I even did it 9 days after it was due because my state had a 10 day grace period. That was purely out of spite.
    via WoodenQuaich
  • 24
    The house even sold to new owners. They would send letters and leave voicemails saying, new owners so I have to sign a new lease. All of which I ignored. In the end I always paid the rent that was stated in my lease, moved out and even got a fair amount back from my deposit.
    via WoodenQuaich

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