It can be awkward or uncomfortable to have your landlord living next door to you. Here are a few tips for navigating this situation:
- Set boundaries: It’s important to establish clear boundaries with your landlord to ensure that your privacy is respected. This may involve setting rules about when it is and is not appropriate to visit or knock on your door.
- Communicate openly: If you have any concerns or issues, it’s important to communicate them with your landlord openly and honestly. This can help to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts.
- Follow the terms of your lease: Make sure to follow the terms of your lease and pay your rent on time to avoid any issues with your landlord.
- Consider your relationship: If you have a good relationship with your landlord, it may be easier to manage the situation. However, if you feel uncomfortable or have had conflicts with your landlord in the past, it may be more challenging. In this case, it may be helpful to have a mediator or third party present during any interactions with your landlord.
Ultimately, it’s important to remember that your landlord is still your landlord, even if they are your neighbor. Make sure to follow the terms of your lease and communicate openly to help maintain a positive relationship.
First Apartment
This is my story of when my landlord became my next-door neighbor. When I turned 27 years old I was anxious to get out of my parent’s house and get my first apartment.
I looked and looked but most apartments I came across were too expensive or in the bad part of town. By the 3rd month of apartment hunting, I came across a “For rent” sign while on my morning run. The sign also had written the monthly rent and security. It was an amount that was within my budget.
The apartment building looked pretty nice from the outside and had a big parking area for tenants the only thing I was missing was to take a look inside and it would be a wrap.
For Rent
The next morning I decided to give the number on the “for rent” sign a call. A fellow by the name of, Jose answered the telephone and I told him “I was interested in the apartment and I would like to look at it as soon as possible”. He told me to be there in 30 minutes and so I was.
I fell in love with the apartment right away; it was a spacious 750-sq foot 1-bedroom up-stair apartment. The entire apartment complex has over 40 apartments across 2-3 city blocks.
When I gave Jose my first month’s rent and my security deposit he said, “from now on you will be paying with money orders on the 2nd of each month and you will be taking the money orders to apartment #37, that’s where the landlord lives”. I said, ok and went on with my business.
Living Next Door to my Landlord
Living on my own was one of the best experiences I’ve ever experienced. My friends came over at all times of the day (and night), we partied, I played my music as loud as I wanted and the best thing of it all was that there wasn’t anyone to tell me what to do.
Even though I lived on the second floor the unit on the first floor was vacant so I could run and dance as loud as I wanted.
5-6 months into my “apartment freedom experience ” I noticed that someone was moving into the vacant unit undermines. I didn’t think much of it.
The next morning when I was taking my garbage out I saw the new neighbors, I thought to myself “he looks familiar” but didn’t put two-and-two together at that moment, but little did I know it was the apartment complex ‘landlord’.
Word around the building was that he was tired of his old apartment and wanted one of the units that had recently been renovated.
After realizing my landlord is also my downstairs neighbor my sunny thoughts of freedom started fading into a gloomy nightmare. The first few months I took it easy but my birthday was coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to celebrate by grilling on my porch and having a few people over.
The First Warning Given To Me By My Landlord
My birthday weekend finally arrived and I decided to go with my first idea and celebrate in my apartment. Little did I know this was going to cost me my apartment.
Keeping in mind the landlord lives in the apartment right under me I told to guest to keep it down.
After a few drinks, my company started getting loud and rowdy. 3-hours into the party my friend Marco tells me: “there’s a man at your front door, he’s looking for you”.
I knew right away who it was, the landlord. When I opened the front door he stood there mad as could be he told me “you and your guests need to keep it down before I call the police” while he stormed off into the hallway.
The Second Warning Given To Me By My Landlord
Each year around summer time my sister takes a 2-week vacation. While she’s away I usually take care of her 7-year-old cocker spaniel “Baxter”.
Baxter is blind in one eye and has a skin condition that has him scratching every 5 to 10 minutes. When Baxter scratches himself he makes so much noise, he moves his entire body and things around him start to raddle.
My sister calls me and tells me that she’ll be going on her yearly vacation that following week and if I could take care of Baxter, she also says that she hopes that I say “yes” because doggy daycares are so overpriced, I say “yes” and she brings over Baxter, keep in mind that he has a skin condition and he scratches every few minutes.
Thinking I could keep Baxter’s thumping noise by putting down cardboard I had in my closet, I was wrong.
The next day I go to work and the landlord calls me around noon. He tells me “there are loud noises coming from my apartment to keep it down”. At this moment is when I realized that my lease says “no pets are allowed”
I rush home on my lunch break, I pull up to my apartment and there is “the landlord” knocking on my front door while Baxter is barking at him through the window. Just my luck!
Later that week I received an eviction letter on my front door. The main causes of my eviction were:
- Lease violation
- Property damages
- And of course, pets
I ended up moving out later that month. This is my story of when my landlord moved next-door. Click here to learn more.