Why do so many people hate landlords?

Question

If you check Twitter it is amazing how many people hate, literally hate landlords. Why? As a landlord I always try to help my tenants and address their issues ASAP. We are not the big banks or wall street who own properties they rent. We, in general, are small time operators and (I hope) take pride in running our businesses the best way possible. I just do not understand the reason for the hatred.

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

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When tenants renew there leases for multiple years, it’s probably proof your are a decent landlord.  There are slum landlords who give the industry a black eye.  They don’t repair things or do a horrible job.  They do the minimum.  Code enforcement is always fighting with them, taking them to court, fining them, etc.  If you do the right thing as a landlord I say your a decent landlord

Unfortunately we mostly only hear negative things versus positive.  I think when you have a serious problem, how you react to it identifies what kind of landlord you are.  I had a boiler go out in the middle of winter.  In the Midwest it makes your building uninhabitable. I put them up in a hotel until it was repaired.  Some still complained.  You can argue whether I was required to put them up in a hotel, but I felt it was the right thing to do.  People will say what they will say.  Repair things when things break and respond appropriately.  Enjoy being a landlord, but it’s not easy.

John Teachout · Answer

Well there are millions of people in the USA that rent their housing. And there are also millions of landlords. So take those huge numbers and you're bound to find dissatisfaction on either side. Some landlords are jerks (as are some tenants). And like other reviews, most people don't bother posting anything online when things are good, it's when they're peeved that they squawk. Be a good landlord and your tenants will be happy with you. We try hard to keep our properties in good order and have low turnover. Another clue you're doing a good job is when your current tenants make inquiries if you have other properties available because their relative is looking for a place or whatever...

Account Closed · Answer

I'd say it's mostly misplaced frustration.  People are taught that they have to go a certain way to acquire the lifestyle they want, including a house (such as using big banks, which many aspiring homeowners can't do), they don't think they can buy a house, they're stuck renting, instead of really looking at their options.

I'm kind of on both sides, which is part of my own cognitive dissonance since I am an aspiring investor, but have had a couple of terrible experiences with landlords.  It barely helps that I would use real estate for good and that I would truly enjoy doing it.  There are a lot of slumlords in my area, and it has made me uncomfortable with networking locally.  On top of that, there are already a handful of people I would loathe to run into out here at events in this field.  It's that bad.

For all of the people who just want to run their business and give people a good service, there seem to be as many people who relish the control landlords have over people's lives and wouldn't hesitate to use it on a toxic whim.  I would also venture that most of these types are property managers and not investors, but I'm just guessing.

I wish more people would consider investing in real estate, as for me, the positives are endless and I feel that it's the same for communities as well.

Jonathan R McLaughlin · Answer

Well, nothing is more personal than your home, and when you rent your home and have someone else have that much control over your life its easy to resent that, especially if its a financial struggle for you. For small landlords you can resent one person and their personality quirks and for big ones you can resent a faceless corporation that prioritizes its own profits over your convenience. How many of us like the cable company?

And lots of small landlords put their worst foot forward further alienate the 80-90% of tenants who are fine out of a (justifiable) fear of the 10% who take advantage. And all this is separate from the simple fact that if rents are going up you are in a harder place.

George W. · Answer

Landlords have a bad stigma in American culture. It's easy for a tennat to tell 10 people they have a bad landlord but what are the odds or them going out of their way to say they have a good one especially on Twitter?

Bob Okenwa · Answer

When does anyone say anything positive on Twitter when reviewing another business? There are over 300 million Americans and you're going to have bad apples from just about every group of people, and even more so when money is involved. Some landlords cut corners and do the bare minimum and some tenants have no respect for the property of others.

Why do so many people hate landlords?

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