A greedy landlord is someone that everyone despises. We may all agree to disagree on other issues, but we all loathe the price-gouging practices of our landlords. Many of us may be struggling to pay rent and scrounging to put food on the table, and in moments like this, the last thing we want is our landlord pounding at our door with an eviction notice, giving us only a week or two to grab our belongings and leave.
They may come up with creative excuses to extract money from our wallets, for example, a “pet fee.”
Okay, in cases where the tenant has an aggressive dog or cat, then everything is quite justified – after all, the animal can ruin the wallpaper or furniture, the cost of restoring which can then be borne by the property owner. That is why, for example, many landlords specifically stipulate the ‘no aggressive breeds’ rule in the lease agreement. But sometimes the situation becomes absurd literally to the point of laughter.
A woman has gone viral after she claims her landlord charged her a $200 fee to keep a goldfish – and was told she now has to pay an extra $15 a month in “pet rent.”
A TikToker, named Nick, shared a screenshot of his monthly rental statement on the video streaming platform while sharing his frustration over the fees.
“They’re now charging pet rent for fishes?” she captioned the video, which was posted last week. She told The New York Post she was looking for a place when she stumbled upon listings with “a lot of outlandish fees”.
While the “fish fee was beyond insane,” she told the publication there were other absurd monthly charges in her apartment search – including a “community fee” starting at $100. The woman admitted renters are “frustrated with how landlords are able to get away with charging insane rents”, but adding extra charges such as these is “beyond ridiculous”.
Many people took to the comments section to air their shock over the required payment, with some slamming the landlord for his ‘greed’ and others branding the allegations as ‘crazy’.
“I swear they’ll do anything for money,” wrote one, while another added, “The greed is amazing.”
A separate user agreed, “These apartments are out of control with their damn fees.”
“Are you going to release a barracuda in the hall?” asked someone else.
A fourth comment read: “I didn’t think you needed permission to fish.”
“Next they will ask you to provide proof of spaying and neutering for your fish,” joked another user.
“Someone had some piranhas and it messed up for everyone,” quips one viewer.
Another comment said: “My fish is registered as a sensory assist animal.”
“Are the fish going to get out of the tank and fight with other fish in the community?” asked someone else.
Others spoke of their own nightmare experiences with pets and landlords, with one writing, “I was charged a $150 fee ‘because I had a fish when I walked in and I didn’t disclose it’ because I didn’t think it was important. . The fish died after a week.”
Sources: AWM, DailyMail, The New York Post
