Former real estate agent and landlord Michael Bordenaro has seen a lot of rentals. Standing in a park in Larkspur, California, he decided to take a break from the serious news and walk through 22 screenshots of the laziest and cheapest landlord moves out there.
He says it hits home because he did “a ton of rentals over the years” and has seen some version of almost all of them. His YouTube countdown takes them one by one.
Bordenaro is quick to say he is not out to demonize landlords. He thinks landlords provide a crucial service by housing people who cannot or do not want to buy, and rent is often well below the cost of buying a similar place. “You have a few bad actors that give a bad name for everyone,” he says, “and that’s what this list is all about.”
His advice for frustrated renters: remember your rent is probably a good 30 to 50% cheaper than buying a similar place. Save the difference to get ahead. And if you fix something yourself, ask for a credit first. “I’ll fix it, I’ll replace it with whatever I want, I’ll just take it off the rent. Sound fair? You give them the receipt.” Not every landlord will agree, he notes, but it is worth asking.
1. “I’ll Just Paint Over It” Was One Landlord’s Answer To Mold
Bordenaro saw plenty of mold in humid South Florida. Paint over it and call it done, said this landlord. He says special mold-killing paint may handle some mold but “definitely not all of it.”
2. Tenants Were Told To Pull Their Window AC Units Or Else
A landlord texted tenants that window air conditioners were banned as a liability issue. Bordenaro’s question: “Are you going to install central air?” He notes a portable unit with a hose through the window is the usual workaround.
3. The Furnished Apartment Vanished Between The Viewing And Move-In Day
At the showing there was a nice sofa, a lamp, curtains and a rug. On move-in day it was all gone. He calls it “bait and switch.”
4. A Broken Washer Was Replaced With One That Barely Holds Two Items
The tenant asked for a new machine and got a much smaller one. That means more loads, and more electricity, gas and water on the tenant’s bill. All so the landlord can maybe save “a hundred or 200 bucks,” he says.
5. A Landlord’s Chatbot Told A Tenant To Shut Off The Toilet Water First
A tenant texted that the toilet would not stop running and got an automated reply with steps to try before a maintenance request. Bordenaro says he can already see how problematic it will be when landlords outsource everything to virtual assistants. “It’s not going to be pretty,” he says.
6. One Tenant Suspected Paying A Neighbor’s Gas Bill
A tenant wrote to the utility company about a high gas bill, asking whether the downstairs unit’s use was linked to their account. Bordenaro says shared billing is a pet peeve of his own as a renter in California. His building splits water and trash for the whole complex, adding close to $200 or $300 a month to his rent.
7. “They Might As Well Have Chopped The Tree Down”
A big branch fell off the nice front tree, so the maintenance crew came to prune it. The after photo shows the tree stripped of nearly everything.
8. A Lock Installed Sideways, From The Cheapest Brand On The Shelf
He says he has seen this one often, and his own rental has a lock cylinder that twists loose. As a former landlord he knows Kwikset is the lowest priced lock you can buy. When things are so cheap they barely work, he says, “it’s just kind of gross.”
9. Part Of The Address Fell Off The House, So Someone Taped On A Piece Of Paper
A handwritten note replaced the missing address numbers. Problem solved, in the landlord’s mind.
10. A Board Over The Crack Fixed The Parking Lot Wall
The wall was cracked and broken. The repair was to cover it with a board. “It’s fixed,” Bordenaro jokes.
11. A Penny Stuck Under The Paint Because Nobody Moved It
The painter could not be bothered to pick up a coin before painting. It is now a permanent part of the wall. He says he saw this kind of thing a lot in Miami.
12. A Microwave Installed Where The Door Can’t Open
It sits right against the corner in the kitchen, and the door hits the wall. “Nobody thought to measure any of this stuff,” he says. He blames too much outsourcing, including property managers who do not do a great job.
13. The Nails Wouldn’t Hold The Fence, So In Came The Zip Ties
The fence fix was a handful of zip ties. The fence is not falling down yet, he says, so the landlord will probably wait until it falls apart.
14. The Front Door Was Painted Brown, Except For A Strip Around The Edge
Nobody opened the door before painting. Once it swings open, an unpainted band shows all around it.
15. Paint Covered The Entire Security System
“This landlord made sure not to miss any spots,” he says. He guesses the system probably no longer works.
16. A Loose Closet Rod Got 100 Nails As A Shim
The tenant’s clothes kept falling down, and the fix was to pound 100 nails in as a shim. It might last a little longer, he says.
17. An Entire Outlet Painted Shut
He calls this the number one thing he saw in Miami rentals, especially older ones that have been painted many times. Whose job is it to fix? The tenant is left to take it all apart and likely buy a new outlet and cover, because nobody covered it with tape first.
18. “Central Air” Turned Out To Be A Wall Unit With Makeshift Ducting
The landlord claimed the apartment had central air. What it had was a wall unit with homemade ductwork trying to blow across the whole house. Bordenaro says, “That’s a new one for me.”
19. The Nice Floor Was Ripped Up And Replaced With Plywood
A tenant reported problems with the new floor. The landlord’s answer was to tear it up and lay down plywood. “Some of these people really don’t care,” he says.
20. A Broken Toilet Seat Replaced With A Foam Throwback
If you are under 30, you might not know the soft foam seats his grandparents had. He hasn’t seen one in about 20 years. He says soft-close seats are cheap and there’s “no excuse” not to have one.
21. A Furnished Bed Was Swapped For A Folded Lawn Chair
The landlord replaced the bed and mattress in a furnished rental with something that looks like a folded lawn chair. He says it is not even as nice as a military cot, and it comes with “about a 30-year-old pillow to match.”
22. The Last Screenshot Was The Nicest Mail Slot He Has Ever Seen
The landlord cut a mail slot into the door. Bordenaro jokes it is the one upgrade on the list that looks decent. His conclusion is that the only sure way to avoid this stuff is to own a home and do things yourself.
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