Not flushing wipes and other non-toilet-paper items down the drain is usually common sense, but at one rented property in New York, someone was quite the rebel. Reddit user Unique_Initial_8159 posted a screenshot of their landlord’s tenant group chat on r/LandlordLove. Apparently, someone had been flushing things they shouldn’t, and now the septic tank is clogged with paper products, leaving the owner with a costly, messy predicament.
In the chat, the landlord understandably has the right to be upset, especially after he allegedly performed some renovations that allegedly cost $12K. However, this clogged septic system sent him over the edge, and now he’s going to punish everyone for the culprit’s mistake. “I will not be renewing anyone’s lease!” he exclaimed, then threatened to deduct all tenants’ deposits for what happened.
OP Claims He Wasn’t Guilty of His New York Landlord’s Accusation
Unique Initial wrote in their defense: “For context I was not flushing paper towels and wipes, this was a group text sent to all the tenants.” To be clear, the landlord is threatening eviction; he said he wouldn’t renew anyone’s lease and would also decrease their deposit. “My lease ends last day of Nov so Dec 1 to be out,” OP wrote.
People in the comments felt that Unique Initial should defend their lease, even though they weren’t the person who damaged the tank. “Not real advice but it’d be funny to respond ‘see you in court,’” suggested one commenter. “I’d be sorely tempted to reply, ‘collective punishment is prohibited per Article 33 of the Geneva Convention,’” added another.
“NY is very tenant-friendly. And it’s about to be cold! Good luck getting a judge to evict,” expressed a third. Several others called the landlord “delusional,” accusing him of not actually being fair to his tenants despite his $12K maintenance argument. Still, there’s no doubt that a clogged septic tank is a hassle to deal with, which is why a few commenters understood why he’d be upset over it.
New York landlords have the right to refuse renewals, though they have to provide proper notice within a certain number of days. In addition, tenants covered under the state’s Good Cause Eviction are given further protection unless the propery owner has qualifying cause. Since Unique Initial doesn’t mention their city, it’s hard to say, though the whole shared-blame deposit deduction threat could turn out poorly for the landlord.
