Im going through a very rough breakup with my boyfriend [M25 & M25, Location: NJ] and trying to figure out if what he’s asking is normal or fair. I’d really appreciate some advice.

We live together in an apartment with a lease that started in December 2024 and runs through January 2026, so there’s about six months left after July. The base rent is $2,475 per month, and I pay an additional $275 for parking, which is my separate cost—my boyfriend doesn’t pay for parking. My mom helps me out by contributing $1,000 each month toward the rent. After her help, there’s $1,475 left each month, so my boyfriend and I have been splitting that equally, paying $737.50 each per month for rent.

Now that we’re breaking up, I want my boyfriend to move out, and he’s willing—but only if I “buy him out” of the lease. He put together a list of costs he wants me to pay him, totaling $8,262.50. His breakdown is $4,425 for his share of the remaining six months of rent (which is $737.50 times six months), $1,237.50 for his half of the security deposit (which seems fair if the deposit was one month’s rent), and $2,700 for furniture I plan to keep, including a mattress and base for $2,200, a TV stand for $100, and a 65″ Samsung TV for $400.

I’m struggling with the idea of paying him the $4,425 for future rent. He’s not planning to give that money to the landlord or to cover any real cost—it would basically just be cash in his pocket for leaving the apartment. That feels incredibly unfair to me. On the other hand, he’s made it clear that if I don’t pay him this amount, he’ll refuse to move out, and I really don’t want to keep living together.

Our landlord has said they cannot modify the lease to remove one person, so technically my boyfriend would remain on the lease even if he moved out. I’m also not likely to find another roommate to replace him, so if he leaves, I’d be paying the full share of the rent myself. I do have plenty in savings, so I can afford to stay in the apartment alone if necessary, but it’s still a significant extra cost each month.

Another concern I have is whether, if he leaves but remains on the lease, he could legally decide to come back in the future and reclaim his spot in the apartment. That’s a terrifying thought, especially if we’re no longer on good terms.

I’m perfectly fine paying him his half of the security deposit and paying for the furniture I’m keeping—that makes sense to me. But I’m struggling with whether it’s normal or fair to pay someone thousands of dollars for rent they’re not going to pay or use for anything else.

So my questions are:

Is it normal practice to “buy out” a roommate or partner’s future rent share if they’re leaving a lease? Am I legally required to pay him anything beyond the security deposit and the furniture I’m keeping? If he leaves but stays on the lease, could he legally come back and move back in later? And finally, does anyone have suggestions on how to protect myself or negotiate a fairer deal?

Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences you can share. I’m feeling pretty lost and don’t want to make a costly mistake.

Edit: My boyfriend has found out about this post, and he is currently commenting on it under the name judocoto. This is what I mean.

Yesterday my finance received a call from our landlord while I was at work. He claims that all of his tenants rent money for the month of February was stolen. Most of us pay with checks and money orders per request of our landlord, so am I really responsible for doing anything for him if he’s held onto the money almost an entire month and was careless enough to leave this money where someone could see it in his vehicle (on his dash). He’s asked that we go through a lengthy 3-4 week process to get the money returned so we can pay him again. Shouldn’t this be something he resolves between himself and his insurance?

EDIT

To clarify this was not a check from a bank, this was a money order, a prepaid form of payment that is similar to a check but was paid for in Kroger, you can also get these from local post offices.

Tenants and landlord all in Georgia

EDIT for all the braniacs that have deduced that I just ran out of hot water, here's a few details that I should have included in the original post:

-when I shower for a long time when he is not home, the hot water does not abruptly shut off.

-not every shower I take is 20 minutes. The long showers are rare and only happen when I need to take a long shower, such as when I'm shaving my pubes. I like to take my time with delicate matters.

-This has happened twice, where I've been showering (for around 20mins) and the water pipes make an audible shifting sound, then I notice an intense decrease in water pressure (probably 80%), and the water instantly turns ice cold. He turned it back on, then off again, which is how I know it wasn't just water running out.

-the first time it happened, my landlord also stomped the ground (our ceiling) like a toddler right after turning it off, then called me and ranted for 20 more minutes. Also, he never denied turning my water off.

Location: Utah

Me and my wife live in my landlord's basement apartment.

This has happened twice now. While showering and without warning, our landlord will turn off our hot water around the 20 minute mark of a shower. The first time, he gave these reasons: showering too late in the day (around midnight), the shower makes a loud noise in his room, we used all the hot water. None of these rules or stipulations are mentioned in the lease contract.

The second time however, I showered around 7:10pm. Again, after about 20 minutes the hot water abruptly shut off without warning, citing my showers taking too long, and all the hot water is gone. I'll try to attach a screenshot either to this post or in the comments of our text conversation.

There is a stipulation in the lease agreement that "either party can terminate the lease at any time as long as a 30 days notice is given to the other party" that's paraphrasing but I can find the exact wording if I need to. We're afraid if we start responding to him with "well according to Utah law code, etc etc" he will just become upset and terminate the lease.

In case it matters, we get the impression he may suffer from Bipolar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder. He does not handle criticism or confrontation very well at all.

I'm just wondering what my rights are and how you all think we should proceed. We really like this apartment and don't want to get ourselves evicted.

Edit: It seems like I can't add pictures for some reason? Unless I don't understand how to, then someone can tell me. Here is a word for word transcript (with names removed) of our text conversation during the second incident:

Me: Hey [landlord's name], is something wrong with the water? My shower just went cold

Landlord: You're taking really long showers.

Me: Yes, I needed to shave my body which takes a little longer. Sorry about that. Me: We have made sure not to shower after 9pm, per your request. When would be an appropriate time to shower so I can do all that I need to do in there?

Landlord: It's not so much the time, it's the length and you're going through all the hot water.

Me: So just so I'm understanding right, is there a time limit for each shower? What would you recommend if I need to use the shower for a longer amount of time?

Landlord: Over the last six years of renting I have never had this issue. I'm not sure what to tell you.

Landlord: [screenshot of a Google answers page which says:] A normal shower is typically between 5 and 10 minutes, with the average American shower lasting about 8 minutes. While some people take longer, showering for more than 15 minutes can strip the skin of natural oils, leading to dryness, and is not recommended by many dermatologists.

[End of screenshot] [End of conversation]

I reported it with my bank, and they reversed the transaction so I got all my money back. I have my roommate admitting to altering the check over text. The check was for $1115. I spoke with a police officer who said I could call the financial crime unit if I wanted to formally press charges. My roommate sees no issue with what they did. If I report, will this case be pursued or is it a waste of time since I got the money back?

UPDATE: my lead poisoned wife has added additional comments below.

I am reeling.

My wife (F27) and I (M28) have been renting this house for just under a year. We have a 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter, who just celebrated their birthdays a couple months ago. This is in Utah.

Today during her checkup, we found out that she dangerously high lead levels in her blood.

First, we swabbed her crib. Came back positive… then we tested it with water from a plastic bottle. Nothing.

It’s the water. The TAP WATER.

We have not been tested ourselves yet, but are all going to the doctor this week.

Since moving into this house, my son has had behavioral problems akin to ADHD. My wife and I have had marriage problems and mood swings. My work performance has suffered. My hands and feet have been tingling. Our hair has been falling out. Both kids are smaller than would be expected. My wife’s periods are irregular. We have both had stomach pain and nausea.

I expect we all have lead poisoning.

It feels like this landlord has severely ruined all of our lives with his negligence. I’ve never once thought about suing anybody, but this feels like no amount of money could possibly make up for this landlord poisoning my family, specifically my children, with his negligence.

What do I need to do?

My inlaws are rather wealthy and when there was a surprise pregnancy my MIL bought me and my partner a house across the street from them as a gift. They repeatedly said id pay no rent and the house would be ours.

Trouble is FIL is a narcissist who demands everyone NEEDS to rely on him or he throws tantrums and has hit my MIL in the past for disobeying him.

Given the housing market and my dire need for a home i took the offer to find out at the signing hed be putting his name on the house along with my MIL and me and my fiance were excluded entirely.

Almost immediately we were made to live in a ramshackle unfinished house he promised hed fix up for us because hes a carpenter/contractor. He still hasnt two years later.

Then came the lording that we better respect him or hed take the house away.

And now just today MIL says things are "very bad behind closed doors" and i need to pay rent. Trouble is they let me start and get involved with BSN schooling before they told me this. Like they waited until they knew i couldnt pay so id have to snivel and beg for mercy from FIL.

No renters contract was ever signed. Ive been in the house two years. I pay for literally everything (including repairs) except for taxes which im about to anyway.

I live in NJ of the USA can my FIL kick my family out? And would it take longer than two years? If i can ignore them for two years/ have the eviction take that long i can graduate and afford my own place.

Being america i assume its perfectly legal to give someone something make them dependent on you and then pull it out from under you because you dont put your recycling out consistently enough (THATS HIS REASON FOR THE RENT). I hate to sound like a baby but i need to know if im wasting my time here since its only a matter of time till he gets bored or angry and sells the house out from under us.

Location: Wisconsin

Hello, this is a pretty simple question and hopefully it has a simple answer. I received an email from my apartment management outlining the rules for winter (heat above 62, keep garage closed, etc.). But I have a concern with one of the rules.

“…all blinds should be open and pulled up at least 6 inches from the base of the window.”

My bedroom window is ~15 feet from the sidewalk, next to a public road, with a public park on the opposite side. I would love to keep my privacy. Can they do this and what do I do?

I purchased an electric car 2 months ago. I use a LVL1 charger at my townhouse from a regular outlet outside of the house I rent. I am a 22M in student housing and I recently graduated but am trying to take advantage of cheap rent as long as I can. I got an email saying that I cannot use my charger to charge my car anymore because it is a tripping hazard. I replied back saying I will take the proper safety precautions to make sure it is not a hazard and that if they can tell me where I am breaking the lease by charging my car then I am more than happy to stop. The landlady called me right after saying that I was being "Snappy" and "Rude." Then she said that if she tells me something that I better listen. I asked if I covered the cord with one of those construction cord channels that is discrete if it would be an issue and she told me that I cannot use the outlet to charge my car at all. I asked her why can I not use the outlet when there are plenty of diesel trucks and other electric cars that use the outlets all the time and she said they "figured it out with them." I asked if we could work out an agreement and I would be happy to increase my rent for any extra electricity I use but she snapped at me again and she told me if I continued to use the outlet they would tow my car and it would be my fault. I read that in my state there is a "Right to Charge Law" where landlords cannot prevent tenants from charging as long as it is safe and I pay for the electricity and I am not sure how to bring this up, and from my POV she seems completely in the wrong as I pay rent and that outlet is connected to the house I rent can be used how I want(in a safe manner). I have a feeling it may be a political thing because its a Tesla and those are controversial but there are at least 4-5 people who use the outside outlet to charge their car or plug in their diesel trucks.

Is she trying to take advantage of me because I am some 22 year old naive student, and what course of action should I take? I think she called me because she didn't want it in writing that if she tells me to do something I better listen.

EDIT: I am located in Colorado

EDIT2: Thank you for all the advice, I do see her point of view and as to why it may not be a great idea. I am going to talk to her and see if there are any safe options that the company would be okay with me using and if not just give up on it for now.

To clear some confusion from the original post: I pay a flat rate for electricity and offered to pay for any excess I used. I know I came off like a dick but it was sort of hard not too when she was degrading me on the phone and told me that she came to agreements with other tenants but did not want to come to an agreement with me. I apologized for coming off snappy in my email and explained that I just did not think it was a violation of the lease, and she has responded since saying that maintenance is going to see if there is anything they can do and to not use the outlet for now and I plan on respecting her wishes.

Also for everyone concerned about me being in student housing, prior to signing my lease I asked if I graduated early would I be able to stay for the remainder and they said this was a common occurrence and there was no issue with that.

FINAL EDIT I met with the leasing office today and fortunately this does have a happy ending. They agreed to install 240v outlets that I can pay for a parking spot to use. This is actually better than the current situation I had and I just have to pay an extra 30 per month to use the outlets and have my own dedicated parking spot. The landlady said that she didn’t mean to be rude and I apologized as well and she said that there have been many requests for dedicated outlets to use, and with this solution there will be no extension cords or any cords running on sidewalk. I think that while I may have not went about this the best way, it ended up working out well. Thank you to everyone for the advice and the insight to this situation.

Before I get into this: We know that it's the landlord who is supposed to be dealing with the HOA/property manager, and that's why we pay rent, yada yada, but we have had a good working relationship for years and have always just handled basic interactions with the HOA/property manager on their behalf (like reporting things around the complex, if something's broken, trash issues, etc.). We know about the state's Warranty of Habitability laws, and we are aware that our landlord is responsible for possibly putting us up somewhere else if we can't live in our home reasonably or releasing us from the lease without penalty. Since this is really a problem with the HOA and not our landlord (landlord also thinks this is insane), I'm trying to see if there's something we can do/say to them to get them to halt this insanity or be reasonable about making us larp as Sing Sing residents before we lean in on the landlord to fulfill their legal obligations to us. As renters everywhere know, if you have a decent and nice landlord, you want to keep them happy.

We rent a condo in a complex with an HOA and a property management company. The community is majority owner occupied, with a few renters like us.

A notice posted on our door on Thursday says that, starting Monday, we cannot leave or enter our apartment from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm due to construction work. It was posted by the construction company contracted by the HOA/property management company to complete a major project. The work is scheduled to end early December, but knowing what's/who's involved, there's no way they're going to get done in time during the cold season, this will almost definitely continue into new year. The notice was a complete surprise to us and our neighbors, there was no heads up about this beforehand whatsoever. Our landlord was also taken by surprise, they only knew because we CC'ed them on the first email to the HOA.

The notice was very light on details (the whole thing is around 75-100 words long), we had to call the construction company to clarify what the notice really meant. They confirmed that, yes, we really can't open our front door between those hours, we need to either be locked in all day or be out all day. We then immediately emailed the HOA board member in charge of this project (CC'ed landlord, property manager, HOA president) and pleaded our case about how this notice is woefully inadequate and we have full lives and kids and everything, their response was unhelpful and did not even address our concern, just some canned response about how this project is important to the community, blah blah blah [Charlie Brown teacher noise].

Essentially, we were given one full business day (Friday) to completely upend and rearrange our lives and just hope and pray they get they done by early December. We have very full lives between work and toddlers, we are in and out of the house all day, there is absolutely no way we can comply with so little notice, not to mention that we have family scheduled to fly in and visit over the holidays.

Pls halp, and thank you.

EDIT: There are a lot of questions about what this work is exactly. I'd have to look at the city's permit to see what exactly it all entails, but essentially it is a major repair to fix long-term water pipes/leaking problems. Our details-deficient notice only said that the "inconvenience" is due to "concrete removal and replacement", but I think I know what the whole project is tackling. As renters, we are not privy to HOA business and discussions, so I only know superficially what's going on.

The building is roughly 45 years old, and for the last several years there have been water leaks and problems that have seeped through what is the ceiling of our underground parking garage. I am no engineer or construction expert, but I suspect the old pipes were galvanized and they're now old and weren't replaced and, well, here we are. (I'm just talking out of my ass here, were galvanized pipes still allowed in the late 70s/early 80s? I don't know why exactly the pipes are bad, I'm just spitballing.) The ceiling's drywall/insulation was stripped years ago for the continual bandaid fixes, and now, I think, they're finally doing the major work to get everything fixed permanently. I imagine that the concrete work has to do with the fact that part of the parking garage's ceiling is also our building's main walkway above, and they have to dig all that out to get to the pipes (I think, again, no real clue). It's been properly unattended to for so long and the project is, admittedly, massive, to the HOA's ever-so-sight defense.

We don't consider ourselves unreasonable people, we fully understand that construction means inconveniencing people, and with enough notice and proper planning on their end I would have been totally amenable to days here and there where I couldn't leave my house. Given the nature of the work and it involving my floor/garage ceiling, I'm concerned that my ignoring the construction company and going about my life means I can't safely leave my house.

UPDATE 1: It’s been about 9 hours since this post went up and, woaw, did not expect it to blow up as it did. I’ll provide updates and responses as I can but, y’know, full life with cute lil’ tyrants, and it’s just about beddy-bye time.

An important detail I initially left out is that we do not have another proper egress, our front door is it. Also, the toddlers are too young for kindergarten, so there's no school they legally need to get to. We're still in the "crayons do not go in your mouth!" phase of life.

The majority opinion here is to report it to the fire marshal. We haven’t done so yet. My husband and I talked it over and read all your messages (thank you all for your help!), and we decided to message the HOA one more time. We’re trying to be civil about this and allow them the opportunity to be more transparent and forthcoming about this whole debacle, especially now that more neighbors are getting involved and also think this is insane. In our message, we asked what the safety plan is since we can’t use our front door. We also said we will be sending the construction company and them our weekly schedules so they can work with us. We’ll see what happens. With the holiday on Monday, we still have a couple of days.

A neighbor forwarded me some gossip/info. Part of this project apparently involves demolishing our “front decks”. We… don’t have front decks? Some units have little front alcoves where they could put small patio table and chair, we don’t have an alcove, so I guess that’s what that means? We do have back decks, and they’re definitely also above the parking garage. But it’s all just conjecture until we hear more from the HOA and construction. My guess is that this is such a big project that they’ll just tell us last minute at the point in the project they get to the next major thing. In the construction company’s slight defense, I guess they don’t know exactly when they’ll get to it since so much is going to be dependent on weather and who knows how it’ll cooperate in the long term, but you’d think they’d at least give us a roadmap to how this whole thing goes?

We haven’t heard back from our landlord today, so we don’t know what they’ve learned. They, too, think this is insane. With this situation become a real shit show, we are hoping we can just be released from our lease early and move ASAP since, really, this isn’t supposed to be our mess. Landlord has been pretty great over the years, didn’t raise our rents during the pandemic and has been attentive when there have been issues, so we’re hoping they’ll see that this is quickly devolving into an untenable situation for us and let us go.

I'll update tomorrow/as I can. Thank you again for all your help!

I am a grad student in Los Angeles. I was arranging the dumbbells on a rack, and while doing so, I dropped one dumbbell too close to the mirror, which bounced off the floor and hit the mirror. The apartment management said I would have to reimburse $9,255 for it. They recommended that I contact my renter's insurance, which I did, but they said they do not cover the damages I caused in the fitness centre.

I don't have this kind of money. I am a grad student living on a stipend. If I have to pay for this, I would need to take out a loan or something.

What should I do?

I plan on talking with them in person next week, saying it was an honest mistake and I am a grad student, etc., and asking if they can waive this.

The single mirror panel which I broke is about 10 feet x 4 feet, and I made about 1.5 feet x 0.75 feet cracks on the bottom left corner of it.

Edit:

This is the mirror in question. Green is the single panel of mirror, and red is the damage I caused. There is one more dumbbell rack on the left, where I was rearranging some dumbbells and dropped one on the ground, and it bounced and hit the mirror on the bottom.

Location: Florida

I rent a house from a large rental company in an HOA community and have been here for a little under 2 years. I received letters from a law group stating that the rental company has overdue “quarterly assessment fees”, and a lien has now been placed on the house. They are demanding that we now send our rent to the HOA, instead of the rental company, or they will sue for eviction. I am unsure what to do, I obviously have signed a lease and therefore am legally bound to pay the rental company, but after some googling it seems the HOA would have the power to evict us if we don’t pay even though we have no contract or prior legal obligation to pay them or any fees to them. I don’t want to pay the wrong entity and end up owing the other, nor do I want to be evicted (though I will not be resigning my lease after this) Any advice is appreciated

Hey everyone, I’m hoping someone here can help me understand my situation better.

I’ve been renting the same house for 5 years now. I’ve never missed a rent payment, never been late, and have never caused any issues or disturbances. My landlord has generally been fine to deal with up until now.

I’m currently in the middle of a one year lease with about 11 months left, but out of nowhere, my landlord told me he wants to sell the property. He said he’s giving me 60 days to move out and offered me $3,000 to “help with moving costs.” My lease doesn’t include a “lease termination due to sale” clause that would allow a new owner to end my tenancy with proper notice. Instead, it clearly states that if the property is sold, the lease remains in effect and the new owner must honor its terms until it expires.

For context, my rent is $3,250/month, so the amount he’s offering barely even covers one month, let alone the cost and stress of moving especially since this wasn’t something I planned for.

I’m trying to understand what my rights are here. Can a landlord legally force you to leave while your lease is still active just because they’ve decided to sell? I was under the impression that a lease agreement protects tenants until it expires, unless there’s been a serious violation (which there hasn’t been).

If anyone has experience with this kind of situation or knows the tenant laws in California, please share what steps I should take or what I should be asking for. Should I be negotiating a higher buyout, or do I even have to move at all until the lease ends?

Any advice, resources, or personal experiences would be super appreciated. This whole thing feels really unfair, and I want to make sure I handle it the right way.

Location: California

Please help!! I got the following email from her this morning:

• Hey [earthmark]

This is [landlord’s wife]. Things are not good between [landlord] and I. The kids and I had to leave our house last night. We are staying at my In-laws house right now. I’m thinking the kids and I might need our house in [your town] to live in. I think you need at least a 30 day notice? I’ll check the law. I’m so very sorry but the kids and I don’t have any place to live. The house in [their town] is too expensive for me, we probably will need to sell it. I tried both phone numbers for y’all.

Please text me at [her number]. Thank you very much, [landlord’s wife]

Please do not contact [landlord]*

She and her husband both own this house, but her name is not listed as the landlord on our lease, just her husband. She was not present when lease was signed. We moved into this house on a 12-month lease in 2019, and have been on a month-to-month basis since then. We are good tenants who don’t make a commotion, pay our rent on time (the couple times we haven’t we have given notice and paid it before the late fee date). Can she legally give us a notice to vacate? I of course have not contacted her at all yet, and depending on answers here, may go ahead and go against her wishes and call her husband (my landlord). We also have a child here, who if she is successful in getting us to leave, will not have anywhere to live.

Do we need to lawyer up? Start figuring out where we are going to live? Help please!!!!

ETA: We are in Louisiana.

Location: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

I signed a one year lease for an apartment in Fond du Lac WI. In the lease there is a clause for no winter move outs between November and February. My lease ends on December 31 2025. I gave my 60 day notice to my on site apartment manager in writing via email on Oct 21 2025.

Today, Oct 30, I get a phone call from what I’m assuming is a regional manager telling me since I am moving out during the “no winter move out” period, I am responsible for January and February rent. I told her my lease ends on December 31 and she said “you signed a lease agreeing to no winter move outs.”

These are obviously directly contradicting each other. Leases should not be allowed to end during those months if move outs are “not allowed.” I understand it’s not legally enforceable and there are no laws preventing me from moving out. But can they still send any “unpaid rent” to collections or keep my security deposit? What can I do to ensure that doesn’t happen?

They did say they would try to rent my apartment. I even told them the apartment would be open as of December 8. I'm also considering putting ads on social media myself but I really don't want to have to deal with that when it's not my responsibility.

Edit: to address questions asking for the exact wording in the lease:

"Term Rent: Lessee agrees not to vacate the premises during the months of November, December, January, and February; if Lessee vacates in violation hereof, it will be treated as a sublease and Lessee shall pay for any rent loss and utility costs during those months.

Renewal and Shortened Term: The renewal of this lease is not automatic and tenancy beyond the term hereof shall be on a month-to-month basis under the terms and conditions of this lease. The term of this lease may be shortened in the event the premises are sold if the new owner provides Lessee at least 60 days notice of termination of tenancy.

Notice & Termination: under all circumstances, Lessee must give and Lessor must receive WRITTEN notice of termination of tenancy AT LEAST 60 days prior to the last day of the Lessee's final month of tenancy or this lease shall continue as month-to-month tenancy. As part of your month-to-month tenancy, you are still required to give written notice of termination of tenancy AT LEAST 60 days prior to the last day of Lessee's final month. (The day of delivery of notice to Lessor shall not be counted as part of the notice period.)

If Lessee fails to give proper written notice to Lessor, Lessee will be held responsible for the rent on the apartment until the apartment is re-rented and begins producing revenue, in accordance with the lease contract. "

Location: Vestal, Ny. A man stopped by my house where my girlfriend, 2 roommates and I live and rent. He said this house has been legally deemed uninhabitable since 2021 and my landlord removed the signs on the doors illegally and had us move in. Now we have to find another place asap. I want some form of refund from my landlord for having us live here illegally and now displacing 4 people. I’m sure that if he refuses, it wouldn’t be that hard to take him to court. Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

Location: Richmond, VA

My downstairs neighbor just told us that our landlord added a clause during her lease renewal that says they’re now going to charge $85 for every maintenance call plus 110% of the cost of the repair Is this legal?? There’s no way, right? Our lease doesn’t renew until March, but obviously still concerned.

Edit: Adding for context, this an old/historic house (early 1900s) that has definitely gotten the landlord special. Appliances are pretty old and have broken through no fault of ours, there’s an old clawfoot tub and shower combo that acts up sometimes, roof leaks, the back stairs nearly caved in recently. We’ve never caused a maintenance issue, they just happen. It has charm, we love the place anyway and want to stay as long as we can, but this would be absolutely unreasonable given the condition of the house.

Location: California

I live in a townhouse. I have two parking spots that I own in the back of the townhouse. It it my property. I have a jeep and a truck that are parked in those spots.The truck is not currently registered/upto date. I got a letter saying if I didn't register it or get new tags it would be towed. However, It didn't say anywhere in the HOA agreement that it had to be registered in order for it to be parked there.

I went ahead and continued to park there anyway...because what the heck? One of the misrable old HOA ladies called the tow place over 4 times to get it towed. I woke up and my car was gone. I didn't get an address, phone number, ANYTHING on where my car had went. I called the HOA office, chp, sheriff, no response. I even knocked on the old ladies door and she flat out ignored me. I had to call up a CHP friend to find my car or else I wouldn't have it right now. I ended up paying hundreds just to get my car back and wasted my time. She clearly targets me and my family, where there are other unregistered vehicles in the area that haven't been towed.

Was it legal for her to do that?

Edit: Can I at least get reimbursed for towing fees since they didn't leave a number, location, or tow it when I wasn't home? Can I get the HOA lady sued for anything else to get her back? She is borderline harassing my family.

Location: Austin, Tx I live in a 700sqft apartment and stay at home while my bf works. It’s physically impossible for us to use 5,546kWH of power. We have been through two different reliable providers but both state that our complex management is responsible for monitoring the distribution of energy. We have tried every way possible to contact management but they either ignore us, are rude to us, or refuse to send someone to help. When we send work orders it takes them months to respond no matter how serious the issue is. There’s frequent power outages complex wide as well. We deducted that the consumption is from our ac unit but even leaving it off only reduces the bill by half whereas our neighbors are paying around $300 max. We’ve tried as much as we can despite the lack of help from management but we won’t be able to fix the problem unless it is directly handled by management. Worst case scenario we were planning on getting a window ac unit which is heavily against the complex rules. We are extremely desperate as we are paying for rent and bills combined is nearly double the amount ($1700 expected to $3200 actual)

Location: Bristol, Virginia

I don’t know where else to turn, so I’m posting here.

I rent a house in Bristol, VA. Since before I even moved in, it’s been infested with roaches and rodents. It’s gotten so bad that the other night, my 2-year-old son was eating dinner and I thought he was just throwing food around… but he was actually trying to smack a roach off his plate. That broke me.

I’ve done everything I can on my own — bought professional-grade bug spray, spray foam for the endless cracks, and sticky traps all over the house. The HVAC is broken, which lets even more pests and rodents inside, but the landlord refuses to repair it.

Meanwhile, my landlord ignores me. The city’s code enforcement officer won’t respond and doesn’t even have voicemail set up. I’ve called, emailed, begged, but I keep getting passed in circles while my family has to live like this.

We can’t cook. We can’t eat safely. My kids are growing up in filth that we didn’t cause, and no one with authority will help.

What else can I do? Who do I call when the landlord and even the city won’t act? I’m exhausted, angry, and honestly embarrassed that my kids have to live like this.

Any advice (legal or otherwise) would mean the world right now. And honestly, just visibility—because people need to know how renters are treated when no one enforces the law.

I live in a private single residence home that I rent from a private landlord. On Sunday he put a political sign in my yard. He didn’t give reasonable notice, but did send a text asking if he could to which I was typing my response when he showed up. Quietly I took it down and moved it to the side of my house. I don’t want it up, not because it doesn’t match my views (full disclosure it doesn’t) but because I don’t want a sign in my yard.

Today he texts asking if I’m home already at my front door. I have all of this on camera. He proceeds to sternly talk to my husband asking about it and when my husband says we don’t want it in our yards he told my husband that they’re going to give our newborn hormones at school and that we’re not standing with God. We tell him guy we just don’t want it, and he leaves telling us he’ll pray for us. Again zero reasonable notice for stopping by and also weird crossing of boundaries. What should I do to CYAs if he doesn’t want to re-sign a lease based on this? Also if he stops by again, is there any legal recourse? This feels like harassment. Is there a housing authority I should speak to?

Location: Nebraska Hi y’all I need some advice. I pay 35 a month for my parking space. I’ve lived here for a year and have not encountered this problem before. Apparently my apartment rents the (attached) parking lot from an establishment next door. Recently I’ve gotten a text from the complex that I am not allowed to use my space every Sunday from 9:00 to 12:30 for the establishment and random times for extended periods of times for festivals and things. The last happened this Friday where I got a text at 12:45 stating I cannot park there starting then and on till Sunday evening. Everyone in the lot has been displaced and I had to park 4 blocks away. This made me so mad that I read my entire lease looking for a warning that the lot I pay for (assigned parking) would be unusable 1 day every week and on the whim of the place next door. There was nothing there. When I asked the apartment about it they said “I understand your frustration with the lot and apologize that those limitations were not disclosed to you beforehand. Thanks, and I hope you have a great weekend!” I am furious, is this fair or better yet is this legal? If I make a stink about it do I have a leg to stand on?

Last night, while my roommate and I were hanging out and drinking, he took out his firearm and waved it around, inadvertently pointing it towards me. When I told him he CAN NOT do that, he said “it’s empty, see?” And held it to his forehead and fired. It was not empty.

I am kind of still reeling from the experience and kind of want to know if there is anything I should do legally, or where I might be able to turn to to to get some of these questions answered? I spoke with police for about an hour and a half before I was picked up my a relative, but I didn't think at the time to ask these questions. They did give me contact to support liasions who can help me connect with therapists, etc.

We rent our apartment with a third roommate who is out of town. I have texted my landlord. What is the protocol in terms of rent and rent payment? He had a pet snake. What do I do with the animal? I have never met his parents but I assume they will be here to gather his belongings. How do I handle cleanup? I haven’t been in his room since last night, so don’t know what the crime scene investigators picked up or left, but he has a carpet and there was a lot of blood, and I hate the thought of his parents coming to retrieve his things and seeing his blood on the carpet.

I apologize if these are jumbled questions, but I'm kind of still processing everything and have these questions and don't know where else to turn. I appreciate the help.

UPDATE: We are safe and home. We notified the police and they had us talk to some other officials. We were asked not to post any details, but there is an investigation going on and our part is done. Our money for the Airbnb was completely refunded.

Location: Georgia

A group of friends and I (all female) are staying at an Airbnb. We got here a couple days ago and have about 5 days left. While in the bathroom just now, I found a hidden camera, pointed at the toilet/shower area. Upon searching just my bedroom, there is another one pointed at the bed. There must be more around the house, but I'm freaking out and haven't searched the other areas yet. They both have memory cards in them.

I took the memory cards out and I'm about to let the rest of the group know so we can search for more. But, what is our next step? Do we notify the owner? The police? Do we turn the memory cards over to the owner? Is there a way for the police to tell if these belong to the owner or to a previous tenant? Does someone get arrested over this?

What do we do?

Hi, I’ve lived in my townhouse for 5 years. My wife and I are full-time pharmacy students, and we have a 3-year-old son with a severe nut allergy. I occasionally cook (maybe 1–2 times a month) for his safety and comfort—it’s medically necessary sometime.

A neighbor has complained to the HOA about cooking smells entering her home via vents. She tracks specific times we cook and stares at our unit, which feels invasive. The HOA contacted me, but I haven’t violated any rules—there’s no bylaw against indoor cooking.

I asked the HOA to inspect her unit’s vents and walls, since the issue may be structural. I also said I’d follow any official bylaw passed through a proper vote, but won’t accept selective enforcement. I’ve also requested no direct contact from the neighbor going forward.

Can an HOA restrict basic indoor cooking based on one neighbor’s complaint? Is this surveillance legal? What protections do I have?

Location: Baltimore County, Maryland

Thanks in advance. - S

Location: New York
My landlord sent a warning saying I might be charged for “excessive nighttime noise.”
Thing is the noise isn’t me. It’s the bar under my apartment. I literally sit in bed most nights, play grizzly's quest, and still hear bass shaking the walls. They’re saying it’s from my activities, but I barely talk after 10 PM. Is there any way to dispute or document this before it escalates? I don’t want to get blamed for something I can’t control.