When will landlords respect that people are trying to enjoy their lives? A tenant took to Reddit to express their annoyance with a list of things banned from rental units.
In a photo shared to the r/vancouver subreddit, one tenant lamented the rules imposed by their unreasonable landlord.
The picture shows a list of banned stuff, and the text reads: "NO PETS, NO SMOKING, NO PLANTS!!!"
The poster added the caption: "Landlords: okay, today in our rental property we will ban... *spin the wheel* PLANTS!!!"
Everyone should be able to have plants in their home, owners and renters alike. Houseplants are beautiful and beneficial in many ways. According to a famous study from NASA in 1989, plants are a great way to clean and filter the air in your home. The study showed that plants have the ability to reduce harmful chemicals in the air in just a couple of hours.
In addition to the air-filtration benefits, indoor plants are said to improve your physical and mental well-being.
The Washington Post reported: "Blood pressure measurements were much lower among people who handled plants, suggesting that plants have the potential to mellow the body's fight-or-flight response."
Unfortunately for some renters, there are not a ton of options to fight back against unreasonable rules. One tenant was told they couldn't hang dry their laundry, while another was told they couldn't have "excessive plants."
In certain cases, landlords and homeowners are enforcing strict HOA rules. HOAs can be helpful for neighborhood maintenance, but they can have overbearing restrictions. These organizations try to regulate everything, from the way your yard looks to your ability to install solar panels.
One tenant was forced to pay a fine imposed by the HOA over some milkweed — even though they weren't notified in a timely manner.
Cases like these may be a good time to check in with our HOA guide, which lays out ways to work with your HOA to advocate for less strict rules and more flexibility for eco-friendly choices like pollinator-friendly plants. In many cases, renters must work with their landlord to reach the HOA, so it's best to try to stay cordial in these disputes.
Unsurprisingly people in the comments of the Reddit post had thoughts about these rules. One commenter said, "That's just ridiculous."
Another person wrote, "My landlady and I [wage] wars over houseplants."
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