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Frustrated tenant in disbelief after troubling exchange with landlord: 'Can she legally do this?'

"Your duties as tenant must be clearly spelled out…"

"Your duties as tenant must be clearly spelled out..."

Photo Credit: iStock

Landlord-tenant disputes are nothing new, but one tenant in Ohio raised some eyebrows after posting a video of a frustrating text exchange with their landlord that left them feeling blindsided.

In this Reddit thread, the tenant shared that they had been maintaining their house's lawn themselves, but their mower had broken and they were waiting for a replacement. When they told their landlord, instead of offering any flexibility, the landlord hired a neighbor to mow the lawn without asking the tenant — leaving them with an unexpected (and ongoing) bill of $20 per mow.

In the text conversation, the landlord reminded the tenant that lawn care was their responsibility "as per the lease" and that the yard had been "neglected."

However, the tenant wasn't convinced since this was not explicitly in the lease agreement. They further clarified that the $20 wasn't the issue but rather the landlord making the decision without consulting them first.

"Can she legally do this?" the Redditor asked, pointing out they shouldn't be left with a bill for something they didn't agree to.

Some commenters pointed out that the landlord was likely trying to find an affordable solution, while others argued that the landlord shouldn't have made a decision like this without consulting the tenant first.

"So legally, you are under no obligation the pay someone that another person has hired. That's between them," said one commenter. "Can the landlord pass those charges along to you? I would say that if they are valid … [your] lease allows for it. Don't give him a reason to have to hire someone to cut the grass."

While this particular situation is about lawn care, it also highlights a bigger issue that a lot of renters face: landlords putting up unexpected roadblocks when tenants try to make simple, money-saving changes.

Overall, an issue like this raises bigger questions about what landlords can and can't do when it comes to maintenance — and whether they should have the power to make financial decisions without consulting the tenant.

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One commenter shared a link with additional legal information to help the original poster, telling them that it would "cover what the law requires / prevents of landlord. Your duties as tenant must be clearly spelled out in the Lease and whether the [landlord] can have professional services done instead and charge it back to you."

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