Apartment Management Fuck-ups, WWDD

[KidPresentable]

I figured I’d post this hear since we have Dan Druff, the customer service agent’s worst nightmare, and I’m looking for some feedback. Obviously everyone else welcomed to chime in, too.

Sorry this is a long post.

To make a long story short, we recently moved from one apartment to another in our complex to save $400-500 month on our rent (despite the two apartments being the same floor plan, square-footage, etc.). It was honestly a clusterfuck and the assistant manager of the complex was awful to deal with and could be described as incompetent at best. We eventually met with the manager of the complex who made some modest concessions for us like not charging us for cleaning our old place (the new one was filthy and obviously never cleaned after the previous tenants, as we discovered in the walkthrough before moving in, and they didn’t clean it, despite the assistant manager saying they would). We told him we would document all the crap we had to deal with in an email.

After getting moved an settled in, we made a handful of maintenance requests to address things that did not work or needed to be cleaned by the apartment management. These included a puddle of grease on our balcony, the dishwasher not actually drying dishes, medicine cabinet with effectively no shelving (there were two shelves that did not fit, and there are supposed to be four anyway), and a front door that leaked air (could see daylight through the frame and the door) and was also incredibly difficult to close.

The maintenance guy comes while I am still home before leaving for work. I let him in and we walk around to go over each thing. He makes an excuse for every single one.

- the power washer doesn’t work right now so he can’t clean the balcony. I ask when it’ll be fixed or replaced and he can’t even come up with a half-assed answer.
- the heating element in the dishwasher turns on so therefore it must work properly.
- the shelves in the medicine cabinet are the ones that came with it...despite the fact they obviously don’t fit and there aren’t the right number.
- the door issue is because the building settled. I had to laugh at this one and tell him, I don’t think that’s the case, and even if it was, our door is still fucked up.

While he (begrudgingly) starts to work on fixing things, I have to leave for work.

A few hours later I get a single phone call that I later determined to be the apartment complex, but I could not answer as I was in a meeting. They didn’t leave a voicemail. They call my wife one time and she is also unable to answer due to being at work. They leave a generic voicemail that says “it’s [the assistant manager] from [the apartment complex], please call me back when you get a chance.”

Well, turns out the reason they called is that these idiots didn’t have a working key to the apartment. They decided they’d just have to leave the apartment unlocked the rest of the day and make this half-assed attempt to let us know. We only even found that out because my wife was able to call back later that afternoon.

She arrives home and no only is the door unlocked, it is open almost a foot! Luckily our pets were still there, no one was inside, and none of our stuff was gone.

I immediately called the higher up manager on his cell phone and left a voicemail describing the exact issue and asking him to call me back. I later sent an email describing this. It took him almost 3 days to respond via email, and the response was focused more on our description and complaints about everything else that had gone on and not this. Just sent him a follow up asking to meet with him.

What do I ask for here?

[sonatine]

respectfully, none of this is even eyebrow raising. thats how people live in apartments.

the exception being expensive apartments and even then its a crap shoot.

you can try to get some sort of concessions but at the end of the day, there are half a dozen section 8 recipients who will gladly take the unit if you bail.

[KidPresentable]

Unfortunately, this is an expensive/higher end apartment. If I was slumming it, I guess I wouldn’t be as pissed off.

I do unfortunately have to agree with you that it’s somehow not surprising.

[unchainedghost]

I have to laugh, that sucks. High end condo buildings are a pain in the ass. Hopefully you end up talking to someone who can help

[sonatine]

Unfortunately, this is an expensive/higher end apartment. If I was skimming it, I guess I wouldn’t be as pissed off.

I do unfortunately have to agree with you that it’s somehow not surprising.

thats super frustrating, im sorry. making matters worse, sosh media reviews are always useless.

poors tend to leave revenge reviews when they get evicted and there is nothing the property managers can do about it, so there is no real way to determine if your managers are vampiric scumbag incompetent parasites or nah until its too late.

[SPIT this]

What would Druff do? Buy a house probably

[Ryback_feed_me_more]

I figured I’d post this hear since we have Dan Druff, the customer service agent’s worst nightmare, and I’m looking for some feedback. Obviously everyone else welcomed to chime in, too.

Sorry this is a long post.

To make a long story short, we recently moved from one apartment to another in our complex to save $400-500 month on our rent (despite the two apartments being the same floor plan, square-footage, etc.). It was honestly a clusterfuck and the assistant manager of the complex was awful to deal with and could be described as incompetent at best. We eventually met with the manager of the complex who made some modest concessions for us like not charging us for cleaning our old place (the new one was filthy and obviously never cleaned after the previous tenants, as we discovered in the walkthrough before moving in, and they didn’t clean it, despite the assistant manager saying they would). We told him we would document all the crap we had to deal with in an email.

After getting moved an settled in, we made a handful of maintenance requests to address things that did not work or needed to be cleaned by the apartment management. These included a puddle of grease on our balcony, the dishwasher not actually drying dishes, medicine cabinet with effectively no shelving (there were two shelves that did not fit, and there are supposed to be four anyway), and a front door that leaked air (could see daylight through the frame and the door) and was also incredibly difficult to close.

The maintenance guy comes while I am still home before leaving for work. I let him in and we walk around to go over each thing. He makes an excuse for every single one.

- the power washer doesn’t work right now so he can’t clean the balcony. I ask when it’ll be fixed or replaced and he can’t even come up with a half-assed answer.
- the heating element in the dishwasher turns on so therefore it must work properly.
- the shelves in the medicine cabinet are the ones that came with it...despite the fact they obviously don’t fit and there aren’t the right number.
- the door issue is because the building settled. I had to laugh at this one and tell him, I don’t think that’s the case, and even if it was, our door is still fucked up.

While he (begrudgingly) starts to work on fixing things, I have to leave for work.

A few hours later I get a single phone call that I later determined to be the apartment complex, but I could not answer as I was in a meeting. They didn’t leave a voicemail. They call my wife one time and she is also unable to answer due to being at work. They leave a generic voicemail that says “it’s [the assistant manager] from [the apartment complex], please call me back when you get a chance.”

Well, turns out the reason they called is that these idiots didn’t have a working key to the apartment. They decided they’d just have to leave the apartment unlocked the rest of the day and make this half-assed attempt to let us know. We only even found that out because my wife was able to call back later that afternoon.

She arrives home and no only is the door unlocked, it is open almost a foot! Luckily our pets were still there, no one was inside, and none of our stuff was gone.

I immediately called the higher up manager on his cell phone and left a voicemail describing the exact issue and asking him to call me back. I later sent an email describing this. It took him almost 3 days to respond via email, and the response was focused more on our description and complaints about everything else that had gone on and not this. Just sent him a follow up asking to meet with him.

What do I ask for here?

My advice is find out what the landlord tenant laws are where your from. Truthfully the landlords assume renters are ignorant of the law and what they can be held accountable for and not and what can be done to withhold rent (you would pay rent into escrow with local court after giving them (the landlord) written and proof for delivery of them being in material breech of the lease.)

[Jayjami]

I don’t know what your “play” is, but I will tell you your landlord’s if you’re on a month to month. Totally agree with you. I’m going to renovate it. Here’s your 30 day notice. Problem solved.

[KidPresentable]

This is California.

From what I’ve read in my brief research, the owner/landlord is legally required to protect the safety of the tenants and the property and are liable if their actions could have foreseeably led to/allowed criminal acts. “Shockingly” this isn’t specifically enumerated in the lease agreement. I also guess they can always just say pound sand because we have no damages since, by some miracle, everything was okay.

This place is a newer development that’s operated by a decent sized corporation, so we’re probably fucked.

I guess I’ve spent too much time lurking here and listening to Druff on the podcast because I’ve never wanted to get anyone fired before, buuuuttt between the incompetence, negligence, and lying from the assistant manager, she definitely deserves it.

[Dan Druff]

You're probably not going to like my answer here.

You probably aren't going to get anyone fired, and you're not likely to get anything for your trouble. The rental industry doesn't work that way. Unless you can show real damages, landlords never give you money off for your inconvenience. Let me say that I totally feel for you and your situation, and I would also be pissed off if I were going through it. I have helped various friends and girlfriends over the years with their rental issues, and I know that some landlords can be awful. (At the same time, plenty of tenants can also be awful, unreasonable, or shady, though I doubt that's the case here with you.)

Regarding the door being left open, that's one area where you could have gone after them, but only if you had damages, which fortunately you didn't. It's definitely something to mention when you talk to upper management about, but you're not going to get anything for it.

Regarding everything else, I go over them one by one:

the power washer doesn’t work right now so he can’t clean the balcony. I ask when it’ll be fixed or replaced and he can’t even come up with a half-assed answer.

If it was documented when you moved in that there was existing grease on the balcony, you can force them to clean it. Since this is not an urgent problem (you can live just fine with the grease being out there), you need to give it a reasonable amount of time, such as 30 days. If after 30 days they haven't done it, you can hire a cleaning company and deduct it from the rent, provided the charge is reasonable and customary.

the heating element in the dishwasher turns on so therefore it must work properly

This, of course, is BS. That's like saying a car must run properly just because you can start it. You need to make a two videos -- one of your dirty dishes being loaded in and the dishwasher starting (say the date and time as you do it), and then one as you open the dishwasher and inspect the dishes (again, say the date and time). If you can show they are clearly not cleaned well, they need to replace the dishwasher. Again, if they do not replace or repair the dishwasher in a timely manner, you can replace it yourself and deduct the cost from the rent. However, once again you need to give them sufficient time to replace it themselves, and you will want to get some sort of documentation that they are denying it, if possible (like an e-mail chain). Check the lease that there's nothing about the appliances being your responsibility (there usually isn't).

the shelves in the medicine cabinet are the ones that came with it...despite the fact they obviously don’t fit and there aren’t the right number

Not much you can do about this one, except ask upper management to intervene and get this done properly.

the door issue is because the building settled. I had to laugh at this one and tell him, I don’t think that’s the case, and even if it was, our door is still fucked up

You have a right to have the door to be fixed, as this is essential, and relates to "habitability". Again, if they refuse to fix it, you can get it done yourself and deduct from the rent. However, you will want to get this documented through e-mail conversations.



Now, there's one catch to all of this. They can refuse to renew your lease, or if you're month-to-month, give you 30 days notice. While California does have a law against "retaliatory eviction" -- basically making you leave because you attempt to assert your rights -- the law is fairly weak, and only protects you for 180 days. So even if you threaten to sue over a retaliatory eviction if given notice, they can simply wait 6 months and do it again, and you will be powerless.

Bottom line is that, as others have said here, you need to decide how important it is to stay in this place. You need to balance your desire to stay there with your desire to get this shit fixed. Don't let them walk all over you, but at the same time, they can get rid of you fairly easily if you're too much of a pain in the ass to them.

I would ask once again for a phone call from upper management, and keep pressing for that. Try to keep calm on the call, act reasonable, and make it clear you simply would like these things fixed. Say things like, "I'm not one of those guys who usually complains. I just really need these things fixed", and "If you'd like to come over, I can demonstrate all of these things to you. They're very obvious. I wouldn't be calling you if these weren't all very real probems".

Try to tone down the complaints about the manager. Definitely mention it on the phone, especially about the open door, but don't make that the main focus. Just keep pressing for them to nail down a date when they are going to fix/replace these things. Be firm but polite.

You may want to honestly consider just moving elsewhere. Crappy landlords or management teams rarely get better over time, unless the owner fires them and replaces them.

Good luck.

[KidPresentable]

My wife and I were actually just able to meet with a manager who is in charge of a couple properties managed by this same company. This manager actually helped us when we dealt with the previous round of bullshit from the same assistant manager and comped our last week of rent from the old place due to her giving the run around and lying about cleaning the new apartment (we had to do it ourselves the night before we moved).

While a lot of it was just rehashing exactly what happened, we also expounded on our concerns, particularly going forward since we will undoubtedly have some other maintenance issue that comes up.

He indicated he’s already scheduled meetings to interview the maintenance person and assistant manager to get their account as well as meeting with his upper management.

So, we’ll see. I’m sure I’ll be disappointed.

[KidPresentable]

If it was documented when you moved in that there was existing grease on the balcony, you can force them to clean it. Since this is not an urgent problem (you can live just fine with the grease being out there), you need to give it a reasonable amount of time, such as 30 days. If after 30 days they haven't done it, you can hire a cleaning company and deduct it from the rent, provided the charge is reasonable and customary.

Oh yeah, when we saw the state things were in during the walkthrough, we documented everything. I took a bunch of photos while we cleaned the place (which they allegedly did) before move in. It was bad. Your young son could have done a more thorough job.

the heating element in the dishwasher turns on so therefore it must work properly

This, of course, is BS. That's like saying a car must run properly just because you can start it. You need to make a two videos -- one of your dirty dishes being loaded in and the dishwasher starting (say the date and time as you do it), and then one as you open the dishwasher and inspect the dishes (again, say the date and time). If you can show they are clearly not cleaned well, they need to replace the dishwasher. Again, if they do not replace or repair the dishwasher in a timely manner, you can replace it yourself and deduct the cost from the rent. However, once again you need to give them sufficient time to replace it themselves, and you will want to get some sort of documentation that they are denying it, if possible (like an e-mail chain). Check the lease that there's nothing about the appliances being your responsibility (there usually isn't).

I used that exact same analogy. Good advice on the documentation of the dishwasher not working. I will do that next time we run it.

the shelves in the medicine cabinet are the ones that came with it...despite the fact they obviously don’t fit and there aren’t the right number.

Not much you can do about this one, except ask upper management to intervene and get this done properly.

Yeah, this one I just included for effect. It demonstrates the lack of effort that was put forth during this fiasco.

the door issue is because the building settled. I had to laugh at this one and tell him, I don’t think that’s the case, and even if it was, our door is still fucked up.

You have a right to have the door to be fixed, as this is essential, and relates to "habitability". Again, if they refuse to fix it, you can get it done yourself and deduct from the rent. However, you will want to get this documented through e-mail conversations.

I’m drafting a follow up email to our meeting and was already planning on including this in there.

Now, there's one catch to all of this. They can refuse to renew your lease, or if you're month-to-month, give you 30 days notice. While California does have a law against "retaliatory eviction" -- basically making you leave because you attempt to assert your rights -- the law is fairly weak, and only protects you for 180 days. So even if you threaten to sue over a retaliatory eviction if given notice, they can simply wait 6 months and do it again, and you will be powerless.

Bottom line is that, as others have said here, you need to decide how important it is to stay in this place. You need to balance your desire to stay there with your desire to get this shit fixed. Don't let them walk all over you, but at the same time, they can get rid of you fairly easily if you're too much of a pain in the ass to them.

I would ask once again for a phone call from upper management, and keep pressing for that. Try to keep calm on the call, act reasonable, and make it clear you simply would like these things fixed. Say things like, "I'm not one of those guys who usually complains. I just really need these things fixed", and "If you'd like to come over, I can demonstrate all of these things to you. They're very obvious. I wouldn't be calling you if these weren't all very real probems".

Try to tone down the complaints about the manager. Definitely mention it on the phone, especially about the open door, but don't make that the main focus. Just keep pressing for them to nail down a date when they are going to fix/replace these things. Be firm but polite.

You may want to honestly consider just moving elsewhere. Crappy landlords or management teams rarely get better over time, unless the owner fires them and replaces them.

Good luck.

All good stuff. Thanks.

[Sanlmar]

Moving is one of life’s worst experiences. Just has to be said here. Everyone can relate. You will move many more times too. Each is a valuable experience.

In the future some dishwasher is gonna be yours. You are not going to call a repairman for every little problem. Hit YouTube and try to nuke it out using the make and model. Look for a manufacturers tag on it with that info.
See if you can noodle out what the problem is.

The gap in the door.... weatherstrip. There are these places called Hardware Stores. See what it’s like inside.

Medicine shelf. Usually glass. Go to a glass shop and have them cut you a couple pieces.

What I have not seen is mention of your previous track record in the first apartment. Were you a low impact tenant? Were you a good tenant? If so say, “I don’t usually bother you guys”.

I am aware I’m on PFA but I’m sure you never gave the maintenance guy a tip at Christmas. A little grease goes a long way. You want a responsive service person? It’s how the world works. It ain’t all coupons and shit that I’m owed.

This is key... your best ally is the maintenance guy with respect to the owner. He will tell you stuff off the record or give you free shit, etc. His life prolly sucks cause nobody respects him. Work with him. Kiss his ass

You and the management company need to be business partners. It ain’t you against them. True, you appear to have a lazy partner but you gotta make the marriage work. Or you can divorce.

You are saving some dough on this new place (which I don’t understand given it’s apples for apples). Don’t be a Jew. Clean the grease yourself. Carpet clean the carpets with a little rental. Talk to maintenance about it.

All of this experience will be revisited later in life. Promise.

I’m not trolling here. I got a million stories as a rental owner and tenant. We all do

[Sanlmar]

PS.

Your short term life goal is to buy a 2 family.

You are gonna tool up right quick on maintenance. The internet is God’s repair center. It’s a brilliant age.

[KidPresentable]

I know how to do basic stuff and certainly am resourceful enough to learn. In this case, it's their responsibility to handle maintenance and repairs, and I also do not want to assume responsibility if something does go wrong if I do it myself. I should also note, this experience with the maintenance guy was weird, as he had always been friendly and done good work in the past.

We basically pay our rent and asked very little of the apartment management over the three years we lived in our previous unit. Some pretty basic stuff like the garbage disposal dying. The only time we ever complained about anything was our upstairs neighbor got a dog and they let it run around and bark at all hours of the night. Even then, we tried to talk to the neighbor directly first and they just ignored us. No complaints about us or anything like that. My wife is big on keeping the place clean and organized, so our place was in good shape when we moved out. At least as good as you can do when you've lived in a place for awhile. The higher up manager acknowledged that from his perspective, we have been pretty ideal tenants.

I know there are plenty of shitty tenants. I've lived next to and with them. At some point during college, I was probably on the shitty side of neutral myself.

And yeah, we want to buy a house. But we live in a high cost area, so it's a work in progress.

[Dan Druff]

Moving is one of life’s worst experiences. Just has to be said here. Everyone can relate. You will move many more times too. Each is a valuable experience.

In the future some dishwasher is gonna be yours. You are not going to call a repairman for every little problem. Hit YouTube and try to nuke it out using the make and model. Look for a manufacturers tag on it with that info.
See if you can noodle out what the problem is.

The gap in the door.... weatherstrip. There are these places called Hardware Stores. See what it’s like inside.

Medicine shelf. Usually glass. Go to a glass shop and have them cut you a couple pieces.

What I have not seen is mention of your previous track record in the first apartment. Were you a low impact tenant? Were you a good tenant? If so say, “I don’t usually bother you guys”.

I am aware I’m on PFA but I’m sure you never gave the maintenance guy a tip at Christmas. A little grease goes a long way. You want a responsive service person? It’s how the world works. It ain’t all coupons and shit that I’m owed.

This is key... your best ally is the maintenance guy with respect to the owner. He will tell you stuff off the record or give you free shit, etc. His life prolly sucks cause nobody respects him. Work with him. Kiss his ass

You and the management company need to be business partners. It ain’t you against them. True, you appear to have a lazy partner but you gotta make the marriage work. Or you can divorce.

You are saving some dough on this new place (which I don’t understand given it’s apples for apples). Don’t be a Jew. Clean the grease yourself. Carpet clean the carpets with a little rental. Talk to maintenance about it.

All of this experience will be revisited later in life. Promise.

I’m not trolling here. I got a million stories as a rental owner and tenant. We all do

Sanlmar is a very interesting poster and can give excellent advice. He's got a great writing style, and he often makes me think. However, this post is one of his rare misses.

Do not weatherstrip the door yourself. That could actually be classified as unauthorized modification to the unit, and they could legally charge you to "repair" it at any point!

Do not attempt to tip the maintenance guy. This isn't a hotel. He's not even supposed to be accepting tips, and they could evict you early if it appeared you were attempting to bribe their maintenance man to do repairs he otherwise was going to reject.

Your history at other buildings might be interesting for us at PFA to know, but it's not the landlord's business, nor do they have a way of finding out. You can say you're a low-maintenance tenant even if you aren't. On your first incident like this, it's always good to throw in something that you aren't looking to make a hassle, but simply want these obvious existing problems fixed.

You also don't want to back down too much and make it appear that you will be their bitch. Otherwise, they will continue to walk all over you. In situations like these, you want to be just assertive enough to make it seem like you want reasonable things done in a reasonable amount of time, but not aggressive to the point where you will seem like an asshole or an ongoing headache. That's the sweet spot you're going for.

I don't want to get into it too much, but let's just say that I have a lot of experience in both sides of the equation here. I know how landlords think, I know how tenants think, and I know what happens if you're either too difficult or too passive. It's a delicate balance.

[Sanlmar]

Do not attempt to tip the maintenance guy. This isn't a hotel. He's not even supposed to be accepting tips, and they could evict you early if it appeared you were attempting to bribe their maintenance man to do repairs he otherwise was going to reject.

Should You Tip the Building Maintenance Staff?
https://www.rent.com/blog/should-you...tenance-staff/

Maybe this is an East Coast thing. Maybe this is a way I’ve chosen to navigate through my relationships with service people.

My Zappos daughter just got a gig in Manhattan. $4k/mo for an apartment. Single girl in the city. You bet we encouraged her to get in good with maintenance and the super. Moving etc., getting some stuff changed.

Otherwise, I was shooting off steam. The DIY advice wasn’t great - just cranky. Yet, I’ve had blue collar guys who were renters offer to fix things for me or mow the lawn etc. I want that guy all day.

I’m from Boomerville. Which is to say I’ve seen far worse real estate eras. The 2 family idea given today’s rates and rental market is exceptionally timed imo.

No one dreams of their first home involving a renter. No one feels confident about maintenance. If you are young it could be the best financial move you ever made.

I know so many working class guys who just killed it with rental units that they eventually moved out of and kept raking.

I contribute nearly nothing to human kind but this is my one rare gift.

Druff knows.

So does Tommy Vu

[Dan Druff]

didn’t read OP... he’s saving $6,000 moving a few doors down in the same complex

I did read the OP.

What does this have to do with anything? He doesn't deserve substandard service because he's moving within the complex to save money. (I do wonder why he couldn't just get the manager to negotiate lowering the rent on the existing one he was in, though, unless it was inferior in some way.)

[Dan Druff]

Do not attempt to tip the maintenance guy. This isn't a hotel. He's not even supposed to be accepting tips, and they could evict you early if it appeared you were attempting to bribe their maintenance man to do repairs he otherwise was going to reject.

Should You Tip the Building Maintenance Staff?
https://www.rent.com/blog/should-you...tenance-staff/

Maybe this is an East Coast thing. Maybe this is a way I’ve chosen to navigate through my relationships with service people.

My Zappos daughter just got a gig in Manhattan. $4k/mo for an apartment. Single girl in the city. You bet we encouraged her to get in good with maintenance and the super. Moving etc., getting some stuff changed.

Otherwise, I was shooting off steam. The DIY advice wasn’t great - just cranky. Yet, I’ve had blue collar guys who were renters offer to fix things for me or mow the lawn etc. I want that guy all day.

I’m from Boomerville. Which is to say I’ve seen far worse real estate eras. The 2 family idea given today’s rates and rental market is exceptionally timed imo.

No one dreams of their first home involving a renter. No one feels confident about maintenance. If you are young it could be the best financial move you ever made.

I know so many working class guys who just killed it with rental units that they eventually moved out of and kept raking.

I contribute nearly nothing to human kind but this is my one rare gift.

Druff knows.

So does Tommy Vu

If you tip the maintenance man $10 because he shows up to fix an emergency plumbing issue at 3am, that's one thing.

However, if he says that he won't fix certain problems and then suddenly you give him a tip (even if not immediately following the refusal), that could be seen as a bribe, and could actually be a cause for eviction. Not criminal action, of course, but the landlord might actually be able to make the case that you were attempting to bribe the maintenance man to change his mind about his decisions.

Now, if your point was that you tip the guy after various routine services over time, maybe you're right that he will eventually become warm to you and future decisions like this will go in your favor. But at this point, KidPresentable just moved in, and he needs several things done. You might make the point that if he had tipped the guy previously, things could be different now, but that's already done. Honestly, maintenance isn't a tipped position, so you should typically get decent service even with no tips given. It's not like stiffing the cocktail waitress at a casino.

I agree that tenants who will do repairs for you can be desirable as a landlord, but it usually doesn't happen because either the landlord doesn't trust it will be done right, or the whole thing about who buys the materials and who pays for them is kinda awkward.

I do think there should be more teeth to the retaliatory eviction law in California. Should be something like 24 months instead of 6 months, if it's proven in court that the eviction or non-renewal was retaliatory.

[Dan Druff]

Interestingly, I had my own story of possibly moving within the same complex to save money.

In 2009, we were fresh out of the real estate crash. One of the hardest hit cities was Las Vegas. Along with sale prices plummeting, so did rents. The high rent I agreed to in 2007, which was also reasonable (and in fact raised) when I signed the lease in 2008, was no longer competitive in 2009.

So my lease came up for renewal, and it was time to negotiate.

My demand was simple and reasonable. I wanted to pay in rent exactly what this unit would go for on the open market. This was easy to see, because it was a large complex, and there were a few other 2 bedrooms like mine for rent which were no better or worse in size or location.

The office conceded a few things. Yes, my unit would go for essentially the same price as those currently on the market within the complex. Yes, the rent would be about $250 cheaper than their offer of renewal to me. But no, they weren't going to lower my rent.

The manager tried to throw a lot of different excuses at me as to why this couldn't be adjusted.

"It's not fair to the other tenants," she said. I told her that it's actually the reverse. It's not fair to me because new tenants were allowed to pay much less for the same unit, even though I'm no longer on a lease.

"If we do it for you, we have to do it for everyone," she said. I told her that's not true. Each tenant has a right to negotiate his individual rent with the landlord, and that negotiation does not have to affect anyone else.

"This would be a violation of fair housing laws to give you this rent and then renew others for the higher price", she told me. I told her that's completely false. I explained that fair housing laws are about discrimination. I told her that I wasn't asking for the reduction due to the color of my skin or anything else which could be seen as discriminatory. I said that there is nothing in fair housing law which prevents landlords from negotiating rent changes with individual tenants.

Finally, after none of these excuses stuck, she threw up her hands and basically told me, "Well, we just can't do it. This is our offer of renewal to you."

I then asked, "What if I switched to one of those other apartments. What rent would I be paying then?"

She conceded that I'd be paying what they were currently asking, as it would be a new lease for a different apartment, rather than a renewal.

I told her that this was absolutely ridiculous to be putting me through a pointless intra-complex move just for this rent anomaly. "If you admit that these apartments are all the same, why not just let me pay the going rate of rent and be done with it?"

She said that wasn't possible. At this point I got pissed and said that I wasn't going through this dumb exercise, and that either they just lower my rent, or I was moving out. I gave a speech that I'm a good tenant in that I always pay the rent on time, am financially stable, and never make noise or cause problems for neighbors. She conceded all of that to be true and said she'd ask her boss. This was a big factor at the time, because the lower rents and bad economy at the time were attracting a worse element of tenant. I told them that if I left, the people replacing me wouldn't be as reliable.

The back office agreed, and I stayed.

Great success.