Imagine renting an apartment, and the lease states that the landlord is responsible for fixing any defects. If you noticed a problem that needed to be fixed, would you be willing to fix it yourself, or would you insist that the landlord needs to fix it?

In this story, one tenant was in this situation and insisted that the landlord needs to fix the problem. When the landlord refused, he called his uncle, who happened to be a professional electrician.

The landlord was not happy when he found out how the tenant went about fixing the problem, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Keep reading for all the details.

Abide strictly by the lease terms? You got it.

About a month ago, I found myself in the need to move (yet again) because my current landlord decided not to renew the lease. He gave me plenty of notice, and even let me stay one week past my lease expiration.

My new landlord, however has been less than pleasant to deal with.

I have one cat, and I really wanted to get a dog. I specifically searched for places that would allow both pets, and after a lot of digging, I found one. The place is nice, within my price range, close to work, and a brand new builing.

We arranged a meet and show, and I was sold.

There was one part of the lease that could be a problem.

Over the next week, I turned in all the required paperwork, and waited for the lease sign date to be set.

One Monday, my new landlord informs me that I must make the downpayment prior to signing the lease. So I did, and that’s the last I heard of him for about 5 days.

He finally answers my texts, and a few hours later, I get an email with the lease attached. Going over it, I noticed he included that one (1) cat was allowed in the apartment.

I asked him right away if that meant I couldn’t get a dog down the road, and he said he “preferred I didn’t get one”.

But it was too late to back out.

I was pretty angry, and I told him I didn’t agree with that, plus it was not our original arrangement.

He doubled down, and insisted to abide by what the lease stipulated.

I was out of options, I had already overstayed the term of my last lease, and had my move scheduled and paid for.

So, I moved in just last week.

But there was another problem.

I hadn’t been in the apartment after dusk, therefore I hadn’t realized that the power suddenly spikes and dims.

Down here, the law states that latent defects fall on the landlord, and should the landlord not fix them in a timely fashion, I could go to the leasing company and renegotiate my rent, or make the repairs and have the rent be proportionally compensated to reimburse me.

I brought this up the day after through whatsapp, and he told me he would “prefer if I installed surge protectors on every plug” rather than having an electrician access the situation and fix it as needed.

I reminded him that we would abide strictly by what the contract stated, as he had said, and that I intended to hold him to it.

He doubled down again, and told me to “fix the problem yourself”.

He decided to fix it in the most expensive way possible.

And here is where the MC kicks in.

I called my uncle, who is an electrician, and had him come over. He told me a power regulator with a surge protector for the apartment would fix the issue. The kind that are installed on the breaker box.

I told him to quote me the most expensive one, to quote me for his full fare, no discounts at all, and install it.

I took screenshots of my WhatsApp convo with the landlord, and contacted the leasing company. I gave them a rundown of the issue, and told them the landlord had approved of the repairs being made. I sent the screenshots.

He had the proof the leasing company needed.

Leasing company had me hold, and when they got back, they said the landlord had cut them off and told them to talk to me about it.

I sent the quote my uncle had given me, they OKd it, and that was that.

About 3 hours later, I get an email from the leasing company, which states that as part of the repairs being made, my rent is covered for the next month and a half (rent is like $400).

10 minutes later, a call from the landlord.

Let’s see how the landlord reacted.

He is angry, how dare I, he told me to fix it myself.

I told him I did, and because the contract stated he was responsible for any latent defects, I would be reimbursed in the form of rents in my favor, as per the contract.

He’s been very much docile for the past few days. He has been very attentive, making sure that the pending delivery of my garage door remote was done on time, and has asked multiple times if I’ve found any other defects.

None so far, Mr landlord, Thank you.

OP still can’t get a dog, but at least the repairs will be done as per the lease from now on.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a landlord who learned the hard way not to try to keep a security deposit he should have paid.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

This person thinks OP did the logical thing.

Another person thinks something doesn’t sound right.

One person is skeptical that the problem is really solved.

Another person comments on the pet rule.

Hiring his uncle was a good decision. Not only did he get revenge on the landlord by making the bill as expensive as possible, but he also supported a hardworking family member who he could trust to fix the repair. He made a great decision.

I love that the leasing company was on his side and supported that he made the right decision considering the lease and the texts from the landlord. He did fix the problem himself by hiring a professional. I wouldn’t feel comfortable fixing an electrical issue myself. It’s safer to let someone who knows what they’re doing do the job so there isn’t an even bigger problem down the road.