He was already good to go with the rent renewal agreement when the property management company said he needed to pay $100 more for monthly rent. But that’s just not going to work for him!
Rent at Your Own Risk
When OP (Original Poster) relocated to a new city, he signed a one-year lease for a townhouse in the “downtown core.” It was a nice area, and he enjoyed where he lived.
However, the townhouse appeared to be “slightly less nice” than he anticipated in the showing, but it was okay; “Caveat emptor,” he said. The good thing was that the lease stated that the security deposit would be used for the last month’s rent and would not be held as a damage deposit.
Rent Renewal Process
A year has passed, and OP only had a few problems, including the water heater going out mid-winter. Thankfully, OP was able to stay at a hotel for three nights and offset the cost against his rent after having a verbal agreement with the landlord.
By the end of the year, the landlord asked OP if he wanted to renew, and he said yes. Then, he was presented with a one-year extension for the same amount of rent, so he signed it and sent it back.
Late Payments or Mistakes?
Two weeks later, OP still hadn’t received a copy of the lease contract signed by his landlord, so he inquired with the management company. According to them, the landlord was angry for not receiving rent payments on time.
OP wrote, “I asked what they were talking about because I always paid on or ahead of time, and they said that while I paid the management company on time, as required by the lease, the management company hadn’t gotten it into the landlord’s hands in time.”
Extra Charge
OP told them that it wasn’t his problem, per the lease. However, the management company requested $100 more monthly on the extension to compensate for the “inconvenience.”
The management company even told OP they would send him a new contract reflecting the additional $100, which they definitely did.
Searching for a New Place
Because of that, OP hurriedly went out and found a condo unit in a “similarly ideal location.”
Apart from being “much nicer” than the townhouse he was currently renting, rent was also $75 less than his existing rent.
Rendered Invalid
OP went through a background check for the unit, and they sent him a lease to sign. But before doing so, he sent a certified letter to his landlord and management company.
He stated in the letter, “My previous signature on the new lease, which had not yet been counter-signed, was revoked and ineffective because of their counter-offer and no longer capable of acceptance.”
It’s Their Loss!
After that, OP signed the new lease for the condo unit. By then, he only had 10 days left on the existing lease.
It wasn’t long after that the management company and the landlord called him. They were going crazy as they wouldn’t be able to find a new tenant in time and would be losing revenue.
I’m Out of Here!
However, OP couldn’t care less. After all, it wasn’t his problem.
He hired a moving company, cleaned up the place, and returned it to them in the same condition he received it.
Insights From Redditors
Redditors think what OP did was only right. For them, it wasn’t even some sort of revenge but something that prevented him from being financially abused.
A commenter said, “I mean, this doesn’t even sound like petty revenge. It just sounds like you did what you were allowed to do so they couldn’t f*** you over like they were trying. Petty revenge would be if, after the fact, you stood outside the property, hoping to catch them showing it to potential renters so you could tell them how bad the management company is.”
Null and Void
Some people said that OP’s lease had been automatically voided when the management company decided to charge him more for rent.
A Redditor said, “Well, actually, the lease he signed became void once the management company said they were increasing the rent.”
Another person added, “They sent the tenant a new lease with the increase after the lease extension was signed by the tenant, thereby voiding the original lease extension.”
The Real Villain
Some blame the management company, saying they were taking advantage of OP without the landlord knowing.
Someone wrote, “Hold on. You pay early or on time, the management company hangs on to the money and is late giving it to the landlord, the landlord is upset at not getting his money on the first of the month, and somehow, in the management company’s mind, this obligates you to pay extra to soothe the landlord’s feelings? What the actual f***? Was the landlord aware of the management company’s f******?”
The Landlord’s Generosity
Some commenters stated that OP’s landlord was nice enough to pay for his hotel when the water heater went out during winter, and they think that might be the reason the management company’s requesting more money from him.
A commenter wrote, “The landlord paid for a three-day hotel stay for a water heater being out for a few days? That’s actually extremely generous. They—the scum management group—probably realized that and then tried to get you to pay it back in veiled installments along with the cost of a new water heater, and failed.”
There Are Still Good Ones Out There
OP’s story even caught the attention of some landlords on the thread, and they have clarified what landlords are really like.
One said, “Landlord here. Good for you! I hate landlords that pull s*** like this. Most of us are honest and want to have mutually beneficial relationships. People like this are predatory and should go out of business.”
You Just Did What You Had to Do!
People said that they would’ve done the same thing that OP did if they were in his situation.
“Why would you agree to pay $100 a month more for something that’s not your fault? I would have done the same thing you did. Hope you enjoy your new place,” a Redditor said.
What do you think? Did OP do the right thing?
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This post first appeared as A Property Management Company Pinned the Blame on Him, Adding an Extra $100 to His Rent for the “Inconvenience” His Landlord Experienced. So, He Decided to Teach Them a Lesson! on Quote Ambition.
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