It’s only a matter of time before most renters discover a “landlord special” lurking somewhere in their rental. It could be in the form of holes in the wall concealed with painted-over sheets of paper or a mirror being hung with painter’s tape.
Landlord specials are tactics landlords use to cut corners in an attempt to save time or money. TikTok user @sweetbbyjingles recently discovered a landlord special in her own apartment when attempting to clean it. “Me thinking the landlord special couldn’t be that bad at my apartment,” she wrote via text overlay to kick off her video, which was viewed over 423,000 views within 24 hours.
She then showed a painted-over wad of hair in the corner of the apartment. “Like yall knew what you were doing how am supposed to clean that?” she asked in the caption.
@sweetbbyjingles Like yall knew what you were doing how am supposed to clean that #apartment #landlordspecial #badpaint #apartmentlife #funny #cleaning ♬ VETTE SUM (SHANNONGRAM) – BBY GOYARD
The Daily Dot reached out to @sweetbbyjingles via TikTok comment. Viewers shared their own landlord special discoveries and gave suggestions on what @sweetbbyjingles’ next steps should be.
“Call ur landlord and make a list of complaints. Either they fix them or u negotiate to a lower rent price cause that’s just nasty,” one proposed.
“Take lots of pictures of how it at looks at move in and send them to trusted people and the landlord. Don’t let them rob your deposit,” another urged.
Most landlord specials viewers listed involve the landlord painting over things that should not be painted over, like water damage, black mold, flies, and even a hornet’s nest. “My old apartment had huge holes in the cabinets. Landlord duct taped over them and painted the duct tape to (almost) match the cabinet,” one viewer said.
Discovering landlord specials can be especially upsetting when taking into account the cost of living or when property managers of big complexes go through great lengths to hold onto renters’ security deposits. Thankfully, TikTok provides the public with a ton of useful information, and one TikToker recently shared her trick that helped her avoid getting allegedly swindled by her apartment.
