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If you ever rent a house, apartment, condo, office space or anything else, there’s a good chance that the landlord will try to keep your security deposit when you move out. In fact, I feel so jaded by it, that if I were renting and moving out, I probably wouldn’t even bother cleaning and just let the landlord keep the security deposit since that’s probably how it’d end up regardless.

I’m not renting, so this is a non-issue for me, but for the person who wrote this story, it was a very big issue. He cleaned the condo he was renting and even did a walkthrough with the landlord’s friend who verified that everything was perfect.

Yet, that wasn’t good enough for the landlord.

Keep reading to find out the epic revenge the tenant gets on his former landlord when he refuses to give him the security deposit back.

I Reported My Former Landlord To The IRS For Tax Fraud As Revenge For Him Making Up Lies On Me To Keep My Deposit. He Had To File For Bankruptcy and Lost His Condo!

I’m glad he lost his freaking house!

I found this guy on craigslist a few years ago.

I like renting condos from private owners as opposed to renting apartments. Typically by renting a condo, it’s safer, you have more caring residents, you get to have a luxury apartment style home with all the amenities and you can negotiate pricing, etc.

It started out okay.

I am an excellent tenant and anyone who I have rented from will tell you that.

I paid a $1000 deposit to move into this guy’s condo. I was on a year lease.

He lives in another state but we were on the same time zone.

Then there was a big problem.

On month 8 of my lease, I came home to a door that wouldn’t open. I couldn’t get the door unlocked for anything!

I had two keys on me. As much as I tried to turn them, I couldn’t. One of the keys even broke in the lock.

I waited two hours. I called, texted, and emailed my landlord and he did not pick up!

I thought maybe he had someone to change the locks for some reason. I honestly didn’t know what to think and had no one to help me.

His neighbor seems nice.

The lady who lived across from me saw me in distress as she was going into her apartment. I had never seen her but she asked me if I were okay and I explained to her that I couldn’t get into the apartment.

She told me that she’s knows of an on call locksmith. She gives me his number.

I tell her thanks and reach out to my landlord a few more times. No response.

I had no choice but to call the locksmith.

The locksmith was helpful.

The locksmith arrives and could not get the door unlocked with my key. He says he can replace the lock for like $100.

I told him I was renting a condo and couldn’t get in touch with the owner and didn’t know when would be the next time I could get in touch with him.

After he took the lock off, he told me it was faulty.

So he replaced the lock.

I told the landlord this via email and text and voicemail and told him that I could send him copies of the keys if he wanted.

OP eventually moved out.

ok so fast forward to the end of my lease. I demand that he does a walk through with me.

He said he wouldn’t.

I told him that if he didn’t do a walk through I would be notifying the condo office (as he did not have permission to sublease by the association).

He then had a friend to serve as his “proxy” to come meet me and walk through the unit.

The walkthrough seemed to go well.

The place was SPOTLESS! I know how to clean.

I took multiple photos and videos and showed his proxy (who is a police officer) the unit. Actually they are both police officers who used to work together.

We both literally tested ALL the appliances, faucets, checked the blinds, carpets, hardwood…EVERYTHING!

His proxy gave me the “okay” and said that everything looked great.

I give his proxy the keys and later that night left for my new city.

Uh-oh.

So fast forward to a month later, I haven’t heard from him about my deposit. He ignored all my emails and phone calls.

He finally gets back with me two months after I moved out and has all this ridiculous, made up stuff about how I damaged his unit.

Broken blinds

Scratches on the hardwood floor

Now about the door…

He made it seem like I damaged his door by getting the lock replaced

He said there were scratches on the outside of his door

Rust here and there

Broken dish washer

The list continues…

Broken sink

Oven was broke

Broken dryer

SMFH just all freaking lies! I would NEVER leave a unit in that condition!

It’s so obvious what the landlord is doing.

He sent me an “itemized” list of all the “charges” that magically came out to be $1000. The same as my deposit!!

He was always planning to keep my money. He wanted that money to either ball on it or upgrade his condo.

I hated him!

I decided I wasn’t going to go to court because I had moved to a different state and live alone but I thought of something…..

He knew the perfect way to get revenge.

He rented to me under the table and likely didn’t claim my rent payments as earned income.

I had all my wire transfers on my bank statement. I had his routing and account number and a copy of his driver’s license as we agreed to swap id’s when I signed the lease to make sure I wasn’t getting scammed.

I found his out of state address online, gathered all my bank statements, gathered his bank account numbers, and made a report with the IRS!

It really was some pretty epic revenge.

About a few years later, I check up on things and that jerk lost his condo, and lost everything he owned in bankruptcy!

I paid for and downloaded his court records and saw proof that he lost everything including his condo and cars and had his bank accounts seized.

I’m not sure if he has went to jail or anything but I’m so glad that he got his freaking karma!

OP has no regrets.

He stole money from me that I gave him to rent a condo and he ends up losing that same condo to bankruptcy.

Forget him and anyone who calls him a friend!

He can rot for all I care.

The landlord was illegally renting out his condo. All he had to do was give the renter his security deposit back when he moved out, and there wouldn’t have been an issue. You’d think being a police officer he’d know better than to mess with the law.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

There may have been more to it.

Here’s a tip.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighborhood that’s up in arms after HOA and city clash about whether or not homeowners can place cones.

It may have been tempting.

Someone who works in collections weighs in.

All the landlord had to do was pay back the security deposit. Was that really so hard?

It is pretty satisfying that he ended up losing his condo. I wonder what else he was doing wrong because that’s a pretty serious consequence.