When moving out, some landlords make their tenants abide by strict lease terms.

After a petty dispute about the timing of a paint job, this tenant decided to comply with the landlord’s demands in the most unexpected and creatively sinister way possible.

Read on to find out what they did.

Make him repaint for no reason? You’ll love the result

My friend had a long-term lease on a home (5 years) which stipulated that he has to repaint every room the day he moved out.

So he found popular neutral paint colors, hired a handyman, and had the place freshly painted the day before his moving truck showed up.

Well, his landlord showed up waving their contract, yelling.

The tenant’s efforts were not satisfactory.

The wording said the DAY he moved out, not the day BEFORE.

The landlord was convinced that the movers would scuff up the walls. He wanted the house left pristine.

He really was ready to take the case to court.

This left the tenant in a really rough spot.

My friend was crushed. Between painting, moving, and the deposit on his new place, he had no money to repaint or to go to court.

I was furious with this landlord.

I went to the house and saw the paint job was fine, not scuffed.

This resourceful friend hatched a devious plan…

My friend and I met that night at the old house.

Per his contract, we repainted every wall. SOLID BLACK.

We even did some ceilings.

Would’ve done them all if we had time.

But they didn’t just stop there.

I don’t know if it’s just me: I have a fascination with hidden images.

I took clear glow in the dark paint and illustrated demons in the closet walls and in shadowy corners.

They were all pretty shadowy by the time we left.

They made sure the landlord knew they followed their instructions.

We left a copy of the contract for the landlord. Walls freshly painted the day he left.

He never specified the color.

We also had before and after photos printed out.

Bet the landlord regrets pushing them on the paint job now.

What did Reddit think of this act of petty and creative revenge?

This story is a win for renters everywhere!

The new paint job would totally play well with the right crowd.

The intrusive thoughts won on this act of petty revenge.

Rather amateur move on the landlord’s part.

Sometimes you get exactly what you ask for, just not in the color you expected.

Now there’s a haunting reminder to not mess with a tenant who reads the find print.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.