AITA for Taking Revenge on My Landlord After 3 Years of Hell? My landlord was the worst honestly, calling him a decent person would be generous. Over the past three years, he made my life miserable. He swiped my dryer and other belongings from the shared area, forced me to pay for a plumbing repair that was clearly regular wear and tear and even attempted to break into my home. When I took legal action after he sent a ridiculous letter about a parking spot, he retaliated by trying to hike my rent by $150 a month.
Despite this, I always paid my rent on time except for one month when I had to cover that plumbing repair, and I was a few days late. The apartment itself was a disaster: illegal plumbing, a porch that was a safety hazard for years, paint constantly peeling off the ceiling, and a gas heater that didn’t meet the code.
When he tried to raise my rent by $500 a month, I knew it was time to get out. Four days before moving, I contacted the building inspector and reported everything the unpermitted porch, the faulty plumbing, the heater—everything. The inspector showed up the next day, and took measurements, and each violation meant a $500-a-day fine until it was fixed. It felt so good to finally put him on the radar.
A week before my move, he tried to force me out at a specific time, but I didn’t engage—he had no right to make that demand. He threatened to call the police if I didn’t comply, so I went to the police first to give them a heads-up. Sure enough, he showed up to harass and threaten me. I called the police, and they informed him that I was fully within my rights.
While I was putting things in storage, he broke into my apartment and nailed the door shut. I called the police again and asked for a supervisorI’d had enough. He left before the supervisor could arrive, probably knowing he’d get arrested.
Now, he’s facing felony charges for breaking, on top of those hefty fines. Lesson learned: don’t mess with decent people.
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AITA for Taking Revenge on My Landlord After 3 Years of Hell?
This tenant endured an ongoing nightmare with a landlord who seemed determined to make their life difficult. Over three years, the landlord engaged in various acts of misconduct, from stealing household items from shared spaces to forcing the tenant to pay for a plumbing repair that was clearly due to normal wear and tear. At one point, the landlord even tried to break into the tenant’s home. When the tenant sought legal advice after receiving an unreasonable letter about a parking spot, the landlord retaliated by attempting to increase the rent by $150 a month.
Despite these challenges, the tenant consistently paid rent on time, except for one month when they had to cover the cost of the plumbing repair, which led to a slight delay. The apartment itself was in terrible condition, with illegal plumbing, a dangerously unstable porch that took years to replace, peeling paint on the ceiling, and a gas heater that failed to meet safety codes.
The situation reached a tipping point when the landlord attempted to raise the rent by $500 a month. Seeing an opportunity to leave, the tenant contacted the building inspector just days before moving out and reported all the code violations, including the unpermitted porch, faulty plumbing, and non-compliant heater. The inspector visited promptly, documenting the issues, each of which would incur a $500 daily fine until resolved. Finally, the landlord was on the town’s radar.
In a final act of defiance, the landlord tried to force the tenant out at a specific time, threatening police involvement if they didn’t comply. However, the tenant preemptively informed the police of the situation. On a moving day, while the tenant was in storage, the landlord broke into the apartment and nailed the door shut. The tenant called the police again, this time requesting a supervisor, but the landlord fled before authorities could arrive, likely to avoid arrest.
As a result of these actions, the landlord now faces felony charges for breaking, in addition to substantial fines for the various code violations. The ordeal serves as a reminder: you can’t treat good people poorly and expect to get away with it.
Let’s Find Out: AITA for Taking Revenge on My Landlord After 3 Years of Hell?
Livy5000 Writes:
35 years ago we live in the middle apartment with a neighbor up top, one down and one to the side. We never ever heard any of them. They were loud too inside but we never heard it. It was the same way with the 2nd apartment too.
I was 10 at the time. But today it seems like no apartment is sound proof.
Heel walkers are the worst. I have an upstairs neighbor like that. During my daughter’s last visit she nicknamed her Stompy-stomp. She was so loud, people on my daughter’s zoom meetings kept asking if everything was ok. Even better is the drunk she lives with. He falls down the stairs at least once a week in the middle of the night.
Eikel-bijter Writes:
We had neighbours with an elephant. The guy was almost 2.00m and fairly chubby and the girl was about 1.65m, super slim and they had a 6 month old baby.
We never heard the baby or the dude, but the lady was named “baby elephant” after the first week. She stomped around like she was doing jumping jacks all day. stomp stomp stomp oh she’s in the bedroom now. stomp stomp stomp oh she needs to pee. Flush. Stomp stomp stomp all fucking day long. It was a true blessing when she got back to working and her parents came over to care for the baby. They were so quiet we called them the “elderly ninjas”.
Now we have new neighbours, two buff dudes, great guys, all smiles, haven’t heard a peep even though they regularly have guests over and small parties.
Sometimes it isn’t the soundproofing, it’s the neighbours who think they’re alone in the world.
CheesecakeAncient791 Writes:
YES! Babies are annoying, sure, but at least they (and the parents) generally can’t help it. Loud booming music? Dance parties at 3 am on a Wed? Elephants stomping on the ceiling? Better soundproofing solves all those, but sadly doing so hurts the immediate bottom line so very few landlords/construction do that.
extravagantbeatle Writes:
As someone who has lived in shitty condos with bad sound proofing, I do wish there were more rules about babies/kids in apartments.
I realize it’s often totally out of the parents control, but it’s incredibly annoying when someone new moves in and you’re stuck listening to their baby cry.