One tenant was absolutely gobsmacked when their landlord seemed to deliberately make their front garden uglier.
The post appeared in r/LandlordLove, an ironically-named community where tenants vent and offer support regarding unreasonable landlords. Some find out that they have legal options for addressing the problem — but in other cases, all users can do is shake their heads over landlords who seem determined to make the world a little worse.
"Landlord tore out flowers we planted and left the trash," this Redditor complained, with a photo for proof. The garden bed they showed contained plenty of weeds and trash, but where the flowers had been, there were only conspicuous holes in the dirt.
The tenant also shared their message to their landlord. "I noticed that all the flowers we planted have been picked out," they said. "I'd be less annoyed about that if the weeds, trash, and literal p*** bottle had also been removed. I'm just confused and don't see how this is an improvement … I'd love some clarity about what the goal/concern is so that there can be a collaborative effort to improve it."
If there was any response to that message, the Redditor hasn't shared it.
It's understandable when a landlord ignores a maintenance issue, considering that fixing it would generally cost time and money in the short term. Even if a repair would save money in the long run and protect a landlord from legal problems, it's not terribly surprising when they drag their feet.
But according to this Redditor, their landlord went out of their way to remove the flowers in spite of the benefits of growing them. Not only does well-maintained landscaping raise property values, but gardening is great for getting sunshine and exercise — not to mention that the plants purify the air and provide food for pollinators.
Sadly, these benefits are often denied to renters and those living in HOAs.
"So flowers need to be thrown away but a literal biohazard (human urine) doesn't?" asked a disbelieving commenter.
"It's all about minimal upkeep," another user said. "You might be an amazing gardener, but after you leave it's either asking the next tenants to keep that up or having a dirt patch."
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