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Tenant retaliates against landlord for taking advantage of their property upgrades: 'I took my whole garden with me'

This experience is proof that environmentally responsible practices can benefit both renters and landlords.

This experience is proof that environmentally responsible practices can benefit both renters and landlords.

Photo Credit: iStock

We put a lot of time and effort into making our home feel like a special place. From the color of the walls to the rugs for our pets — if we are pet lovers, of course — and even for how we tend to a garden. Gardens give us a sense of peace and activity as we work to maintain them. We can all appreciate a beautiful garden, but how we go about showing our appreciation is another thing. 

One Redditor discovered an occurrence detailed on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which a landlord evicted a tenant, planning to use the tenant's garden as a means to charge more to future occupants. The post on r/pettyrevenge explained that the tenant caught on to the intentions the landlord had for their garden, deciding to remove every plant they grew before vacating. 

"Friend is being kicked out of his flat that has a garden because the landlord wants to charge much, much higher rent," the original post said. "The best bit is that he waited until the landlord had taken loads of photos of the garden for the advert (advertisement)." 

The post has received much engagement from other users voicing their support for how the tenant responded. 

One user related to the incident, commenting: "We rented a house with a backyard and a blank space where a garden bed was growing some weeds. We asked if we could plant flowers and were told we could. Fast forward a year later and we are moving out conducting the final inspection and the landlord says he never gave us permission. That it would cost up to $600 to remove all the things we had planted."

Another Redditor shared how they prepared in case an event like this took place: "That's why just about my entire garden consisted of containers, and I had lots of them. When my rent went up, I took my whole garden with me."

In a release by UNC Health Talk, the health benefits of gardening include strengthening your heart and boosting vitamin D. Additionally, gardens reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, as up to 30% are filled with food scraps and yard waste.  

The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports as much as 31% of planet-warming gases come from the residential and commercial sectors, which should incentivize renters (and landlords) to be part of the solution. 

This Reddit post is proof that environmentally responsible practices can benefit both renters and landlords — just make sure to get the garden in writing first.

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