Landlord accused of releasing scorpions into apt. building
I once had a landlord whose only fault was talking too much.
She was a kind, old lady, but you couldn’t ask for a copy of your rent receipts without getting 40 minutes on how the city knocked down your branches when they were fixing the hydro lines and how their customer service line is a nightmare for your rotary phone.
But what she never did, no matter her intentions unbeknownst to me, was this.
She never released live scorpions into my apartment in a bid to get me to leave.
What’s that, you say? Live scorpions? Yes, allegedly, that’s what passes for landlord misconduct in China, where one particularly surly property owner has been accused or letting “several thousand” of the arachnids loose in a building.
*Bing: What are your rights as a renter in Canada?
According to ShanghaiDaily.com, the landlord is trying to force residents out of the building so it can be torn down to make way for a new construction project.
From the news report:
“A resident surnamed Chen woke up early Monday morning and discovered a scorpion crawling on his body. Chen turned on the light and was astonished to see the bedroom full of scorpions, which have a poisonous sting … Chen woke up his family and together they captured several hundred scorpions in his apartment.”
Suspicions initially arose about the landlord when a man was spotted pouring a bucket with unidentified contents into windows of the building. A female witness, according to Shanghai Daily, said the street near where the man was seen was later crawling with scorpions.
Certainly, such a story, however it may truly be, is uniquely Chinese (you might see cockroaches in a bummy residence here, not poisonous scorpions). But that’s not all that signifies this tale as a gem from the Far East.
Even the landlord’s development company’s denial is wonderfully Chinese – articulate and thoughtful in its prose.
“The move was too despicable,” a manager said in rebuffing the scorpion claims. “We wouldn’t lift a stone only to have our own toes squashed.”
Tell us: if not releasing scorpions into your bed, what’s the worst a landlord has ever treated you?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Veronica | Aug 24, 2021 4:17:36 PM
wow! I thought I had it bad...they're trying to kick me out of the bldg to make more money with this apt. and fix it properly for $150. more, so they blame me for the smell of the "pot" on this floor where I live. pathetic!
Posted by: Ben | Aug 24, 2021 5:51:55 PM
It didn't happen to me but I was told of a landlord who removed the front door from the apartment of tenants who didn't pay the rent :)
Posted by: Landlorder | Aug 24, 2021 6:37:08 PM
As a guy who rented and then switched to being a landlord I have seen been both sides. Reasonable people will act reasonably, unreasonable people will be a pain. Most people are reasonable...
As a renter the worst I faced was after a marathon cleaning on moveout I had a landlord bound and determined to charge me extra. She looked amazed at how I had cleaned. She got this smile and look under the fridge and was shocked I had even cleaned there. She eventually got me because the outside of the windows weren't clean. Yup the outside. When I suggested she give me 5 minutes she said no and promptly charged me $60.
As a landlord it has been more interesting. Of the 12 tenants I have now had 9 have gotten 100% of their deposit back (with interest), 1 got 30% back and 2 have gotten $0. I even had one hire carpet cleaners on her own accord. Of the bad ones:
1. One emailed me on the 2nd of the month he was moving out with no notice and breaking our contract. He tried a bit of cleaning but I never heard from him again so he knew his deposit was gone.
2. One set gave me 2 weeks notice and then did no cleaning. I hired cleaning staff and took 2 weeks notice out of his deposit leaving him with 30%
3. The last group takes the cake. They moved in and told me how happy they were. Then they found out that a unit in the basement was going at 60% of what they paid. They flipped out. It didn't matter my unit was larger, was furnished, had Satelight TV and included utilities, and was a 2nd floor corner unit with a balcony and a view; they still wanted to pay less. I offered to reduce the price by removing the furniture and ending the TV but they then wanted even more concessions. They started paying less than the contract.
I moved to evict (a first for me). They agreed to leave only if they got 100% of their damage deposit back. I indicated that they could only get their damage deposit back after a property inspection (it was crafty but I never did say they would actually get their damage deposit back, only that they couldn't get it without the inspection). We inspected the unit then the locker downstairs. While downstairs I got them to sign the inspection report and return their keys thus officially ending their tenancy.
Meanwhile Upstairs a friend was replacing the lock. They then asked for their deposit and I handed them the act indicating I had 2 weeks to mail it to them. At the end of the 2 weeks I mailed them a bill as the lost rent, short rent and cleaning costs (why can bad tenants never clean well) were 2X their deposit. I never got any more money but the unit wasn't damaged and I could rent it again.
I have got to say it was a little tense when they ran back upstairs to get back into the unit after finding out their weren't getting the deposit. They found the door locked. They were a little upset but asked to talk to me further downstairs. I was fine with this. They got the last roommate to come back with an "extra" set of keys. When those didn't work however it got a little nastier.
Long story short the cop who responded (who I happen to have talked to earlier that day and who had given me a great rundown of my rights as he was also a landlord) could actually see the humor in the situation. He actually winked when they suggested he break down the door so they could reoccupy the unit. All my documents were in order so they were eventually asked to leave the property (landlord 1, renter 0).
Posted by: Khrum | Aug 24, 2021 7:00:05 PM
Had a bad experiance with a landlord.we lived 10yrs at the same place he never painted or change lino or carpet.When we decided to move because the familly was getting bigger I rented a carpet cleaner and did them 2 times to make sure it was clean.We washed the whole place from top to bottom.When it was time for inspection he tells me that even that i cleaned the carpet and wash all over he was keeping the deposit for reno.
Guess what?Hell came on him and fast.We went to court and it costed him lots.All my expense for lawyer and miss wage with overtime.After 10 yrs you cant expect lino carpet to be the same.The judge was so mad he almost sent him for a pay holliday in the big house.As for all they other ones I never had 1 issue with them.
Posted by: Jeanne | Aug 24, 2021 9:10:14 PM
Worst landlord was the one who wanted to raise our rent significately after a year because when he came to do his yearly 'inspection' he remarked how much we'd improved the property. We cleaned all the trash left by previous tenant, repaired the damage they caused (that he didn't fix even though he stated he would when we rented) and brought all the landscapping back to life. We objected, telling him we could have billed him for the expense and didn't so he ony raised the rent 5%. We stayed cause the kids liked their school. Three years later my husband was relocated by his employer to another state so I took a letter of intent to vacate to his home, we were only required to give 30 days and I was giving 45 requesting the last month rent we had given as deposit be applied to our last month. His wife, also landlord of record, signed our copy in acceptance. He showed up incensed and threatened to evict us if we didn't pay for the last month because he didn't want to apply our deposit. He was a cop who tried to intimidate me using his position. I had my attorney respond with a letter reminding him it was against the law for him to use his positon as a threat and to cease his harassment or a formal complaint would be filed. At the end of the day, even though we had the entire house professionally cleaned he refused to refund our damage deposit and demanded more. We had a video of the state of the house as well as witnesses so told him to get lost. Our attorney wanted to persue legal action but since my husband's company compensated us we let it go. Postscript, the neighbours made sure that everyone who rented that house knew what he was like and no-one stayed more than 1 year.
Posted by: Dr. Lindon | Aug 24, 2021 9:42:11 PM
I have never had a bad landlord. But I was a landlord when I was a university student. About 1 out of ever 5 tenants were nightmares, i.e. damage property, refuse to pay rent, etc. Unfortunately, it is the few that spoil it for the rest. I now own 4 homes, 2 of them are beautiful waterfront properties, and I absolutely refuse to rent any of them out, not even for $1,000 per day.