A lease is a binding agreement, unless, of course, the landlord wants to change something for their own gain.

When a greedy landlord tried to squeeze in extra rent, one renter found a way to turn the tables, and found an even better place to rent in the process.

Read on for the full story!

I left a landlord and property management company with a loss because they tried to nickel and dime me.

After I relocated to a new city, I signed a new 1-year lease for a townhouse in the downtown core and really enjoyed where I lived.

The townhouse was OK, but a little less nice that I anticipated during my showing. Caveat emptor I suppose.

The renter enjoyed living there and, for the most part, they got along with management.

The lease said the security deposit would be used for the last month’s rent and would not be held as a damage deposit.

The year passed with very few problems.

The water heater went out in the dead of winter, but I stayed in a hotel for 3 nights and offset that cost against the rent after verbally agreeing with the landlord to do so.

So when it came time to re-sign, things seemed simple enough, until they never heard back from the landlord.

At the end of the year, the landlord asked if I wanted to renew.

I said yes. I was presented with a 1-year extension for the same rent, I signed it and sent it back.

I waited about 2 weeks and hadn’t received the landlord-signed version back, so I inquired with the management company.

It turns out, things weren’t running as smoothly as the renter initially thought.

They said the landlord was mad because they didn’t get rent on the first of the month most of the time.

I asked what they were talking about because I always paid on or ahead of time, and they said that while I paid the management company on time (as required by the lease), the management company hadn’t gotten it into landlord’s hands in time.

The renter tried to stand their ground, but management wouldn’t hear it.

I said that wasn’t my problem, per the lease, but the management company requested $100 more per month on the extension to make up for the inconvenience.

They said they would send me a new lease reflecting the $100 increase, which they did.

But the renter wasn’t going to put up with this injustice.

I immediately went out and found a condo in a similarly ideal location which was much nicer that rented for $75 a month less than my existing rent.

I went through the background check with them and they sent me a lease to sign.

So they let their management company know.

Before signing the new lease, I sent a certified letter to landlord and the management company of the old location saying my previous signature on the new lease.

This had not yet been countersigned, was revoked and ineffective because of their counter-offer and no longer capable of acceptance.

I then signed the new lease.

At that point, I had about 10 days left on the existing lease.

And they weren’t pleased.

The management company and landlord called me freaking out because they wouldn’t be able to find a new tenant in time and would lose revenue.

I said not my problem, hired a moving company, cleaned up the old place and returned it to them in the same condition I received it.

It’s all their problem now!

What did Reddit think?

The terms of the lease were definitely violated.

This commenter thinks the management company got exactly what they deserved.

Redditors like this don’t think highly of landlords.

Things aren’t adding up in this user’s eyes.

Moving might have been a hassle, but it was well worth leaving behind the landlord’s little game.

When one door closes, another one opens!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.