Tragedy struck a home gardener when her disrespectful landlord sprayed chemicals all over their hard work. The poster wrote about the unfortunate incident on Reddit, hoping for advice on how to hold their landlord accountable.
Almost everyone can empathize with landlord issues, but this Redditor had tons of time and money wasted after their well-kept container garden was destroyed.
"I am fighting back tears and rage as I type this. We rent an apartment with a large yard. I spent many months this summer building my first garden. I have three raised beds (hand built) and several grow bags," they said.
"This morning, without notice, my landlord had someone spray weatherproofing/chemicals on our back deck and stairs as well as some type of thick brown stain. All my plants are destroyed."
The poster then asked how to handle the situation.
"My main concern now is the $200 worth of soil I invested in this garden. I am worried I'm going to have to completely throw it out due to chemical contamination. I am absolutely furious. Does anyone have any experience with this?"
This is unfortunately an all too common experience for tenants. Landlords seem to have a vendetta against gardeners, with stories about gardens being mowed or getting torn up.
This practice robs tenants of their time, hard work, and money, not to mention the potential bounty of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Gardening can be healthy and save you money, and landlords should not be able to deprive tenants of this joy.
Folks with landlords or HOAs can check out our how-to guide on changing bylaws. While landlords have the upper hand, tenants have rights and can exercise them to protect themselves and their property.
The post has a plethora of comments commiserating the loss of the garden. One poster said, "Can you talk to your landlord about property damage? It also seems legally questionable that the weatherproofing happened without enough notice for you to protect/cover your crops."
Another replied, "What a totally thoughtless thing to do. I am upset just reading it. I have a container garden and I feel your pain. I would ask for compensation. Just add up the total and ask him for it."
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