Landlord Raises Man’s Rent by $500 – Later Man Teaches Him a Lesson by Making Him Lose $20K

The landlord envied the man's income and increased his rent by $500 for no apparent reason. A few years later, they accidentally met again, and this time, the guy decided to exact revenge on his greedy landlord.

While Reddit's "ProRevenge" sub boasts tons of incredible revenge stories, the revenge story user RockyMoose posted about his greedy landlord might be any tenant's fantasy.

When this landlord thought he'd easily outsmarted the Redditor by raising his rent by $500, the two met yet again years later. Only this time, the landlord paid the price…and it was a hefty one.

In the late '90s, the Original Poster (OP) and his wife were a young newlywed couple who decided to work to save up for a down payment on their house. OP was an entry-level software developer when the tech bubble was advancing, so he was offered a job that paid more in another city.

The couple ran the math and figured they could put a 20% down payment for a house by living economically and only on one of their incomes. Eventually, that's how OP met his landlord, "Hank Wazowski."

OP froze as he recalled writing that name on checks years ago. He rushed to Phil to see if it was the same man who still hounded his memory.

OP and his wife moved to the new city and rented an apartment listed for $950 per month. Their landlord was a real estate agent who OP thought was pleasant and practical with no sense of humor. Of course, OP's perception deceived him later.

Before OP proceeded with their rental agreement, Hank stressed that under no circumstances would he be responsible for maintaining the garbage disposal and that it wasn't a part of their agreement. So, that also meant he wouldn't fix it either. However, it worked out for OP, and he had no issues.

But trouble sparked when OP filled out the rental agreement and the credit check. Hank eyeballed the credit application, and for some reason, he stared at OP's job title that mentioned "Software Developer" and his income that read "$75K."

Although OP felt that was a moderate amount for a 23-year-old in his second year out of college in the late '90s, Hank didn't feel so. "I can't believe how much money you make," he constantly mumbled under his breath.

OP explained that they were saving for a house and would be moving out in a year. "We might stay a few months after the term is over...would month-to-month be ok after a year?" he asked Hank.

The landlord agreed and left after the formalities were closed. OP saw Hank only once during the year and couldn't believe the man still begrudged his salary. OP felt awkward but let it slide. However, he soon realized it was time to put Hank on track.

A year later, the couple found their dream house. They completed the paperwork and were in the process of moving. Meanwhile, the rental lease was up, but the new home wouldn't be ready until two months, so OP called Hank and discussed an extension.

The landlord assured OP it was okay and that he would send him a renewed agreement shortly. OP got the paperwork in the mail, and although the month-to-month clause seemed perfect, OP was stunned when he saw the $500 increase in the monthly rent.

He immediately called Hank and asked him: "Hank, why are you increasing the rent by over 50%? That's too much! That's more than my new mortgage is going to be!"

Hank was patronizing and told OP that it was the amount the apartment would be renting at the time. "I would be losing money by renting it for less," the man explained. OP was floored and argued his point, but Hank's response scarred his mind: "You don't have to like it, RockyMoose. You just have to pay it."

Although the couple tried to move out early, they couldn't. Out of no choice, OP wrote checks for $2,900 and moved out after two months. But Hank's greed didn't stop with that.

Before moving, OP made sure he left the apartment flawless. However, Hank withheld $300 from his security deposit for cleaning charges. OP was annoyed, and his frustration boomed when he saw Hank's ad listing that rented out his vacated apartment for only $150 more than what he paid.

A month later, Hank listed another ad, and this time, he lowered the price to just $75 more since nobody was renting it. OP was annoyed by Hank's greed and assumed they'd never meet again after parting ways.

Five years later, OP's life was great. He had a lovely house and a baby. One day, he heard his co-worker, Phil, talking to a guy at the front desk. For some reason, the name he uttered seemed all too familiar.

"Hey, Mike, I'm expecting someone to drop off some paperwork for me. If a Hank Wazowski asks for me, tell him I'll be right out," Phil told the guy.

OP froze as he recalled writing that name on checks years ago. He rushed to Phil to see if it was the same man who still hounded his memory.

Phil told OP that Hank was a real estate agent whom he planned on hiring again to sell a condo he'd purchased through him several years ago. The truth finally dawned on OP as he realized it was Hank Wazowski, his former landlord, and he told Phil.

Just then, the front door opened, and Hank walked in carrying a folder of papers and met with Phil. He failed to recognize OP, who stood in disbelief and silence.

A few minutes into their discussion, Phil finally introduced OP, saying: "Hank, this is my friend RockyMoose. I think you may have already met?"

OP greeted Hank and reminded him that he was his tenant years ago. The landlord finally remembered everything, shook hands with OP, and asked how he was doing.

"Oh, we're just fine, thanks for asking. Phil says that you're his real estate agent. Small world, isn't it?" OP responded. Hank nodded in excitement while OP did the quick math in his mind.

He estimated the total transactions from the condo sales and asserted: "An agent getting 3% on the sale AND the purchase is getting around $20k for his trouble. That's a good commission for the agent, isn't it?" OP's statement muted Hank while Phil couldn't decipher what was happening.

But Hank diverted the topic and told Phil to send the papers quickly. He shook hands with him and nodded vaguely at OP. As he exited and the door was still closing behind him, OP shouted loud enough for Hank to hear: "Phil, don't sign anything just yet. I have a story to tell you."

Phil was a bit annoyed by OP's behavior. But when OP narrated the whole story, he understood. Although he thought Hank was an honest man, he was convinced otherwise, so he asked OP, "What do you want me to say when I fire him?" after they plotted sweet revenge against the man.

A day later, Phil called the landlord while OP stood behind in silence, listening to their conversation.

"Hi, Hank? It's Phil calling," he said while Hank listened. "Yeah, about that. I've decided to get some other quotes from other agents. I'm not going to sign up with you..."

Hank, seemingly shocked, suggested a discount to Phil. But to his disbelief, Phil refused the deal he offered. "You'd be losing money if you did that," he told Hank, who tried his best to convince him.

At this point, OP could gather that Hank was asking why Phil decided to drop him.

"No, this is just a decision I've made . . . no, it has nothing to do with RockyMoose," Phil was saying.

And after a heated back and forth, Phil finally gave Hank some parting words the greedy man was very familiar with: "Well, you don't have to like it, Hank. You just have to accept it. Goodbye!"

With over 37K upvotes and counting, OP's story set the discussion on fire after several people raced to share their thoughts.

The post's top-voted commenter lousyarm said: "This is so satisfying. I feel like it's everyone's bad landlord fantasy."

"Now I have to figure out what my landlord does for a living. This was a fantasy on how to get even with bad landlords," user applejack21 stated, adding:

"My landlord, when I used to live in NY, refused to install an AC in the middle of summer and told me to get one myself...and she hiked up my rent 200 dollars extra and told me I needed to pay 50 for electricity."

OP was pleased after getting back at his greedy landlord through a random meeting years later. "And it was the greatest revenge I could have ever imagined...Hank got screwed out of twenty thousand dollars in easy commissions," he revealed.

In the end, OP was overly pleased with his little payback. "And the best part is Hank absolutely KNEW it had EVERYTHING to do with RockyMoose!" he proclaimed.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think the landlord would regret being greedy and never trick another tenant into paying more in rent?

When OP realized his former landlord was dealing with his co-worker's condo sales, he decided to teach him a lesson for increasing his rent by $500 years ago. The landlord's greed cost him his $20K commission after he lost the condo sales deal, but it's still guesswork if he would come to regret his mistake and not swindle more money from his tenants.

If you were OP, how would you teach the landlord a lesson?

Apart from increasing OP's rent, the landlord also withheld $300 from OP's security deposit for cleaning charges during clearance. His grudge towards OP's income and his outlook that OP could afford the increment in rent cost him big time years after he met OP by chance. How would you teach the landlord a lesson for his greed if you were OP, and do you think it would mend him?

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