Landlord refuses to fix the appliances in the rented house, so renter sells them off to get his deposit back, and he wasted money: 'I still came out ahead because I pocketed about the same as our deposit'

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Sep 8, 2026 10:30 AM EDT

Landlord got played by a master tenant who, actually, wasn't playing at all.

If you don't provide solutions, solutions will be provided by themselves. If I were in the same situation as this tenant. Suffering through the malfunctions of appliances and getting these dismissive responses from the landlord, not making himself responsible for anything, I would have reacted way worse to everything.  But this landlord brought all this disgrace upon himself. He was the one who said that the appliances weren't a part of the rented home. Then taking them, selling them, or breaking them didn't have any real impact. If they are not a part of the home, then they aren't different from something that they could have found on the street. So selling the appliances isn't inherently wrong. They can do it, as they aren't a part of the home nor the property of the landlord. 
 

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  • 01

    If it's not included, then they could even take them after the rent, as they are not even a part of the house.

    Several years ago we rented a nice house in a nice neighborhood. It came with a laundry room complete with a very premium washer and a gas-dryer. After about a month, the dryer *burned* a load of laundry... It actually singed and charred the clothes. I immediately took pictures and emailed the landlord to try and recoup the cost of our clothes ($300?) and have the dryer fixed. He responded: > "The lease is clear and does not include a washer or dryer. If those appliances are present, they were l
    via OzTheMeh
  • 02
    A new renter with the keys to their new house.
    via Jakub Żerdzicki

    A new renter with the keys to their new house. 

  • 03

    I would have been a lot more mad about the whole situation. Maybe he could have threatened to take the matter to court or something…

    I do not provide which would be documented in the lease." I was pred and I paid out of pocket for the repairs and to replace the clothes. About three months later, we met a few former tenants and started talking about the house. They actually did quite a few improvements to the home and left the home in better condition than when they moved in, and the landlord still refused to refund their deposit. A neighbor confirmed that he hasn't returned a single deposit and suggested we read the lease to
    via OzTheMeh
  • 04

    The appliances, as stated previously by the landlord, were not a part of the house. So there shouldn't be any messages about the matter.

    letter, because the guy was a j about everything. Apparently, it was a nice house because of the tenants, not the landlord. Well, fast forward 10 months to the end of our lease, and I read that thing carefully. **I then listed and sold the washer and dryer!!!** Not even 2 hours after we turned the keys in, I got an angry voicemail demanding we return his overpriced washer and dryer. My response was a simple reply to his email declining his ownership of the appliances:
    via OzTheMeh
  • 05

    Yessss! That is how you respond to nonsense, with more nonsense. Love the attitude.

    >I received your voicemail and I'm not sure which appliances you are referring to. As you stated, the lease clearly states there was not a washer/dryer included and you confirm that below. The lease also states, "Tenant is responsible for all reasonable costs incurred by Landlord to remove, haul, store, or dispose of property left behind." He still refused to give us our deposit, for a plethora of other negligible things. But, I still came out ahead because I pocketed about the same as our depos
    via OzTheMeh
  • 06

    He got even more money than he would have with the deposit. That's a mastermind in my books!

    clothes, and maybe $100 for my troubles. Edit: fixed a typos which redditors can't get past: cinged-singed, her=the Responses to the arguments in comments: The neighbor lady was very friendly and remained friend with some of the former tenants. She had us over for a BBQ and we met two different sets of former tenants. The neighbors all hated him from when he lived there for the
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  • 07

    Landlords who called this tenant a thief do not understand the nonsense of the whole situation.

    two year minimum. We also learned that the LL had a reputation across town for "it's not personal, it's business" and was a was a well known j. Yes, premium washers and dryers fetch a high price. Look at Speed Queen resale values. They arent your disposable Whirlpool/Maytag. I have no idea where they came from; his day job was a realtor, so perhaps he got them from a house he bought/sold? To the landlords that call me a thief: LL denied ownership in writing and the lease states I would be charge
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  • 08

    I think that his resolution was way better than what going to court would have gotten him.

    abandoned property. I was covering my a by disposing of them. No, we didn't go to court here in the Colorado. I honestly doubt 90% of people who say that have ever done so. This was also long enough ago that we wrote down the observed damages instead of pictures, and we clearly missed things. He then hired an expensive forensic-like company to do a full UV scan of the house to document and justify repainting and clean/replace carpet and such. If you haven't seen what a quality short-wave UV ligh
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  • 09
    (it's not that cheap thing you get on Amazon). Now that I am older and wiser, I would fight him on that; back then it scared me.
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  • 10
    A big house seen from the outside.
    via todd kent

    A big house seen from the outside.

  • 11

    You got what you were looking for. That's a win to me!

    Salt-Elephant8531 My last landlord would not return my deposit. So I called, texted, and wrote to him every week. After about 18 months, I finally got a check in the mail for 2/3 of what was owed to me. I figured that was enough of a win and ceased contact.
    via Salt-Elephant8531
  • 12

    Totally! He said it wasn't part of the apartment…

    skovalen That is lovely. Guy gets bt-hurt because tenant sold abandoned equipment that he clearly stated was not his property.
    via skovalen
  • 13
    naughtywithnature Had a landlord like this in college. It was well known they didn't return deposits. Called them on my last month and said I know you won't be giving my deposit back so do you want me to pay the rent and leave the house in disarray or not pay rent for last month and leave it well cleaned and in good condition. They were ped but we settled on don't pay and leave the house nice.
    via naughtywithnature
  • 14

    It's a known thing among tenants that landlords do everything they can not to give the deposit back

    davidtsmith333 So he wanted to claim the washer and dryer he bluntly said wasn't his to begin with eh? Wow. And yeah, Some landlords (most actually) try their best not to reimburse your deposit. Also they like to raise rent regularly and don't like to fix stuff.
    via davidtsmith333
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    restlessmonkey A former landlord of ours tried to nickel and dime us. I sent him a lawyer-drafted letter that said I'd be happy to treble the damages in court. He sent a check saying something to the effect "I could sue you but my lawyer said it wasn't with the trouble". Eff you Holmes!!
    via restlessmonkey
  • 16

    They can, but it's making everything a bigger issue. Not everyone is ready for that kind of thing.

    h2oweenie Why aren't people taking their landlords to small claims? Many of the blue states are tenant friendly and if you document a little bit (take clear photos), you can get your deposit + damages back. Damages can be clothes, time, etc. DOCUMENT. At least where I am, the deposits are not insignificant. But also, this is hilarious and excellent.
    via h2oweenie
  • 17

    This story is definitely giving some tenants some ideas!

    Correct-Calendar-235 This is awesome, I had a landlord that said the dryer and washer didn't come with the unit but in the basement there was two dryers and one washer. We were unit two and the washer was labeled with number two. The number one dryer was good and the number two dryer was a fire hazard and sucked and wouldn't turn on often. The unit one people were cool enough to let us use their dryer if ours wasn't working but I should've sold dryer too or thrown it on the street. Naturally we
    via Correct-Calendar-235
  • 18
    where a washer would go for their unit. We all split water so at most we were paying for their electric cost of running the washer, not a would you big deal. Still. Why the f prioritize replacing a dryer that works fine when there are two, or one and ahalf? We should've liquidated that whole basement of its appliances, like you did. Obviously the landlord wasn't replacing the fed up dryer or the missing washer For us either. Good post
    via Correct-Calendar-235

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malicious compliance bad landlord renting home money
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