My landlady. She’s a nice lady. Very friendly, very kind. Amongst her many kind acts is renting me her basement for well below market value because I’m a friend of her daughter.
She is, however, the most infuriating person on Earth to talk to. Now, I can get past her tendancy to ramble on and on about stuff I don’t care about in the slightest. I can even get past her tendancy to give me instructions from 6 feet above me on her balcony. What I can’t get past is her insistance that I agree with her on every single bloody point.
Sample conversation:
LL: When you leave the house and I’m not home, you think it’s better that you turn the dryer off and not leave it running? In case of of fire or something?
Me: Well, it’s a timed drying cycle, so I don’t see it as a major issue. If I leave it on, it’ll run for 45 minutes or so until it finishes and then turn itself off. It’s not really all that likely to cause a fire.
LL: Well, but you think it’s better to turn it off?
Me: No, I don’t really think it’s better. The risk of a fire is tiny. But if you’d feel better if I didn’t leave it on, I won’t.
LL: But you think it’s better to turn it off? (she’s getting insistent at this point)
Me: No. I do not think it’s better. You think it’s better. Because you think it is better, I will turn it off.
LL: But you do think it’s better, right?
Me: No. I think you’re worried over something that is not a real problem. I will, however, agree to do what you want because I know it will make you feel more comfortable.
LL: But you think it’s better?
Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. (Runs away from stupid conversation screaming in frustration.) (Not really. Actually, we went through the cycle about 8 times, and then I said I needed to go because the things I was carrying were getting heavy.)
Now, I’m willing to do what’s she asking - which is not leave the dryer on when neither of us are home - but I don’t see why I have to agree with her, too. Further, if I didn’t agree with her the first four times she asked, what makes her think I’m going to change my mind just because she asked me a fifth fucking time? And finally, even if I changed my answer after this lengthy and bloody repetitive interrogation about whether or not I think it’s better, it would only have been to make her fucking shut up!
She’s being polite, asshole. She’s your landlady, and she’s ORDERING you to turn the fucking dryer OFF when it’s unattended. And she wants to hear an unequivocal “Yes,” and nothing else.
Sheesh, hostile much, Nametag? In the same situation, I would have posted pretty much the same rant. You want me to turn the dryer off, tell me to turn the dryer off; don’t interrogate me in this numbskull fashion. If she wants to hear an unequivocal “yes”, then she should ask an unequivocal question - “Will you turn the dryer off when we’re not home?”
“Yes. Yes, I will.”
How hard is that?
Nametag, perhaps you might want to re-read the OP. The LL is in no way ordering her to turn the dryer off. She’s asking if jacquilynne thinks it’s a good idea to turn it off. Big difference.
She already got an equivocal “Yes.” The answer given was: “Yes, I acknowledge that in matters of home safety, it is your property and I will do as you ask.”
The problem is that she wanted to be right and win the argument as well.
I had a boss like this once. It wasn’t enough that, after others had voiced opinions, we agreed to do it his way (he was in charge; of course we agreed.). He wanted us all to agree that we had been fools for thinking as we did, for there was just one true solution. Drove me batty.
Read the post. I told her several times - unequivocally - that I would do what she was requesting. I recognized her authority - “Because you think it is better” and submitted to her will “I will turn it off”. She persisted in her repetitive questioning. My agreeing or not agreeing with her logic and reasoning had absolutely no impact on my behaviour.
I’d add, that, frankly, if there is a fire risk from that dryer, I’d much rather that it only ever ran while she wasn’t at home. She’s broken both her hips recently and had surgery on her spine and she just doesn’t move very well. If that house goes up in flames, it will more likely than not take her with it if she’s there. But none of that matters. Because she doesn’t care what I think, she only wants me not to leave the dryer running while we’re both not home, and so I will not.
Are you perchance a landord yourself, Nametag? If my landlord ordered me to to do something that isn’t in my lease, I’d tell him to go fuck himself. If he asked me nicely, explaining why it was necessary, there’s a pretty good chance I’d comply, if it wasn’t too burdensome. But hes not going to get an “unequivocal yes” just 'cause he’s the landlord.
The only damn thing my landlord gets to order me to do is to pay my rent on time. That’s it. All my obligations (and his) are spelled out in the lease. There is nothing else he is entitled to order me to do.
LOL! We must rent from the same folks. I’ve had nearly the exact same converstaion with my landlord regarding my dryer. He also leaves me little notes reminding me to clean my lint trap.
Here is another:
The landlord, an older gentleman, has stopped by to examine the home exterior. I step outside, greet him and begin…
malaka: Hello! Hey, I was wondering… My lease will be up in a couple months. I would like to stay another year, at least. Is there anything I need to do? Any papers I need to resign?
LL: No, no. You’ve been a good tenant, there is no need to resign any papers.
malaka: Great, thanks!
LL: However, when you do plan on moving, please let us know a couple months in advance. Also, it would be nice if you could avoid moving in the winter months as we are usually on vacation.
malaka: Not a problem! I’ve moved in the winter before and its something I’d never do again.
LL: Because, you see, we usually go on vacation in the winter and it makes it difficult to deal with new tenants as we’re out of state.
malaka: No problem! I promise I won’t move in the winter and I will give you at least 2 months notice when I do plan on moving.
LL: OK, so a couple months notice, as long as its not during the winter would be great.
malaka: Yes sir! Again, not a problem.
LL: We’ve had previous tenants that moved during the winter and we had to cut our vacation short. So, please, try and avoid moving during the winter months.
…this goes on for 2-3 more minutes. You get the idea…
Nametag Let me be the latest in a long line to advise you to chill out. Interestingly, my in-laws left the dryer running when they weren’t home. The house burned down. Strangely, I still scoff at my wife’s demands to turn the dryer off when we aren’t home. Color me the contrary sort.
[sup]Disclaimer: I am replying to LLM’s post and in no way mean to imply that the OPer did or said anything worthy of eviction.[/sup]
LMM, as a landlord, I can assure you, you are dead wrong. If a tenant lives or behaves in such a way as to cause fire, pest or safety hazards, they can not only be ordered to remedy said behaviour, but they can be evicted, too. And not just for refusal to comply. They can be evicted with no warning and without opportunity to remedy the problem. Trust me, I just evicted someone for living in such squalor that his apartment posed a threat of vermin, fire and accidents. He was not given an opportunity to clean it up – he was just evicted. Period.
So, though Nametag might not be a landlord, speaking as someone who is, if I ordered you not to run appliances unattended – particularly ones that are the 3rd leading cause of home fires – and you told me to fuck off, you’d be the one fucking off right onto the sidewalk.
[sup]Again, I know this is not what happened to the OPer or what she was ranting about.[/sup]
Hrm…I’d appreciate warning before eviction; then again, my landlord is not allowed to enter my apartment without my express permission except in cases of emergency – say, if it’s on fire.
Now, I’m a nice and clean tenant. If I was evicted for leaving my dryer running, I’d raise nine kinds of hell. But if my landlord came to me and said:
“Miss Ninja, I’d appreciate it if you turned off your dryer when leaving the house. It’s a fire hazard. Do you empty out your lint catcher?”
“I empty out the lint catcher every time I dry a new load, Mr. Landlord. And if you’d prefer it if I turned off the dryer when I leave, I’d be glad to.”
As for the loony landlord in the OP, though, I’ve talked to people like that. I wonder if they know that people answer back.
Well, while you might indeed appreciate warning before eviction, Little Plastic Ninja (as would we all, I’m sure), legally you aren’t always necessarily entitled to it. And you may be wrong about your landlord’s legal right to enter your apartment (landlord/tenant law varies from State to State and you don’t list your location, so I can’t make a definitive statement of fact).
In this case, we had a reported finding (with visual confirmation) of a termite infestation in at least 2 other units. Advance, written notice was provided to all tenants of upcoming pest control company inspections. It was upon entry for the purpose of “assessing the need for repairs” that we discovered the unsafe conditions of this man’s apartment.
The building owner was unwilling to risk this man staying any longer than required by law. He was served a 60-day Notice to Quit. He was not legally entitled to advance warning. In similar circumstances, you might not be either, much as you might appreciate it.
Last summer I was living in a double, with my landlord in the other half. I went home to take a shower nne Sunday and smelled smoke in my kitchen. I walked out back and there was smoke billowing from the roof on their side. She had left clothes in the dryer. Oops. I never thought of that as a risk until then.
I called the fire dept. and pretty much saved the day. Nonetheless the bitch kept my entire deposit even though I left the place spotless. I guess I should have let it burn down. haha.
