(sub)landlord rented to a thief

[Terry Pratt]

I'm (sub)renting a room from someone (Tom) who is renting the whole house. I buy and sell stuff on eBay, and right after I moved in, an expected package didn't show up.

Tom assured me that he's pretty much around the house all the time (since he's been laid off over a year) and he's never had a theft problem in the house and nobody steals mail.

Turned out that one of the other unemployed guys in the house (not laid off, just living off his father's money) was in his usual spot (watching tv in the living room) when the mail arrived, and he set down my package and proceeded to pile the Sunday paper (which he was reading) on top of it...and then forgot about it thus not telling me. So I got the package a week later when the pile on top was finally removed.

Fast forward a few months, TV Man is gone but now there's another unemployed bum (Joe) in the house. Someone - presumably him - broke into my room while nobody was home (Tom had a medical appt or something) and stole $1,000+ of stuff I had bought and was planning to resell.

Joe is gone and I'm never gonna see my stuff - some of which is rare and irreplaceable - again but I'm sore about the whole thing and I think Tom has some responsibility.

Tom just shrugs and continues to live for free and drink like a fish on my rent money.

What do you think?

[Account Closed]

Your best option is to move to a better quality place.

The landlord has no responsibility for your private possessions. Your renter's insurance might cover the loss if you filed a police report about the theft.

Seriously, are you waiting for someone to hit you over the head with a bat before you get the message that you made a mistake in the choice of your living place?