The different types of landlords/landladies

If you’ve ever rented a house or an apartment, you’ve encountered at least one type of house owner aka Landlord/Landlady. You’ve encountered them in different forms. Today we explore the different kinds of landlords.

1. The ever broke one

Pray that you never come across a broke landlord, the one that’s always trying to make ends meet. These ones can throw you out if they get a better offer. They will even ask for an advance payment when things get worse. “mutabaani, pay your 2021 rent now, I can even give a discount,” they will pledge. The worst of crimes is to get behind your rent for they will haunt you every single day. They will send constant reminders on Whatsapp, make phone calls and even drop messages. At all costs, avoid a broke landlord.

2. The absentee landlord

This one constructed the houses, and then went off to do other things. They will never call you, let alone send a messenger. They will never remind you about the due date for the rent. The silence itself will haunt you. You may think some of these built rentals as a hobby, not as an income source. The only downside to them is that all repairs, all renovations and improvements will have to be undertaken by the tenants. They don’t want to be involved in small issues of calling national water or umeme to rectify any fault.

3. The lawyers

We all love some form of structure or organization, but you don’t want it to get to the extremes. Some landlords take it to the extremes. They will document everything, from the rules to the rental agreement. They will even demand that rent is paid to a bank account by a specific date without fail. When you miss the payment date, they will serve you a notice to vacate. These ones will even monitor the house every two weeks and send you a quotation for the repairs. These lawyers will demand to see your bank statements, and your source of income. Above all, they have a monthly tenants meeting with a clear agenda. It’s rules after rules, act after act.

4. The preying mantis aka hyenas

These ones have scavenging genes. If they see a beautiful girl, they will be hitting on her through favours. If they see you have an awesome car, they will start borrowing it or asking for lifts. If you have all the sports channels, rest assured they are coming by to watch the football matches. For these ones, there is no separation between Landlord and his tenants. Whatever the tenant owns, they presume to own the same things.

5.  The short-tempered

Almost close to the lawyers, except that these ones are always in reaction mode. They will go to extremes with their short-tempers. If you delay remitting your utilities money, they will get a plumber to block the water piping to your house. If you delay paying rent, they will place another padlock on the house. They have zero patience. They don’t expect to see extra people living in the house. If you said you’re a single man, they don’t expect to see girlfriends coming around to visit you. In case of any visit, you are required to notify them in advance lest they blame you for filling up the septic tank.

6. The “I don’t rent my house to this or that…”

Some landladies are married to their biases. Life has humbled them and thus they live by a few stereotypes. They won’t let their house to certain tribes or religions or people who look a certain way. Some will tell you, “me I don’t let light-skinned girls and Subaru drivers.” They have funny rules such as; “don’t return late while living here.” You find men in the bar rushing home simply to beat the curfew at their apartments. These landlords will even monitor your visitors. They are very particular about the people you host. If they notice any suspicious faces, they will serve you with a warning. These ones switch off power at a particular time, everyone is entitled to a certain number of jerrycans of water.

7. The greedy fellows

These ones just never run out of new costs. Every month, there’s a rental increment. The next month, he will introduce a new fee for waste collection. Afterwards, he will request that everyone who plays loud music begins to pay a disturbance allowance. They always have a disclaimer at the end of their notices; “if you can’t pay, please vacate.” For these landlords, tenants are just money machines, nothing else.

8. The insecure ones

She will warn every female tenant not to mess with her husband or try to tempt him in any way. This landlady will even set a new dress code for all female tenants and request female tenants to remain indoors when the husband is around. Some of these are genuine parents worried about their male tenants. If their daughter at university is returning home, they will evict the male tenants under the guise of; “I want to renovate my houses.” If this doesn’t work, they will make it criminal to even talk to their daughters or even smile at them.

9. The fatherly, motherly souls

These landlords and landladies are very rare to find. They look at their rentals as a form of service to the world. They can’t help but spread love to their tenants. They don’t see tenants, they see sons and daughters. These ones will even give rent waivers if they notice you’re struggling. Some will bring you some food on Easter Day and tell you; “my son don’t bother yourself. If you want more food, let me know.” Unfortunately, most tenants take this love for granted.

10. The delegation expert

You will never meet face to face with this one but be certain you will deal with different people as a tenant of this delegation expert. Each of their children is responsible for something. Their elder son is the one in charge of window repairs. Another child is responsible for January rent. Everything is delegated. You can pay rent to the elder daughter only to be told, the wife was responsible for rental collection that month.

How to co-exist with your landlord

BY ABDUL-NASSER SSEMUGABI

Most landlords are deemed ruthless, nosy, money-hungry beings, who milk the cow they do not want to feed. There are those who unroof the house or pluck out the door to force the tenant to pay rent; others ask for money whenever they need it among other inconveniences. Esther Musinguzi, research and development officer Wilken Property Services, says some landlords do not want to repair their rental property which usually discourages tenants.

“That’s why we are strict on property repair so that the tenant gets real value for their money. But it equally benefits the landlord because it attracts occupancy.” Madina Nantale, administrator Daaki Investments, acknowledges that landlords incur a lot to establish their estates, and thus deserve their due.

She, however, adds that, “If the landlord doesn’t want to repair the house, move elsewhere; it’s a fair market.” Nantale also advocates for lenience in hard times especially for tenants with a good record. In April, Daaki Investments made news when they pardoned their tenants of that month’s rent to help them cope with the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Even with the lockdown eased and businesses gradually attempting recovery, many landlords and tenants of residential and commercial buildings are still gridlocked in the question of arrears accumulated during the months most people were forced to stay home. Currently, Nantale says, Daaki has given its tenants an offer to pay any portion of the arrears they can afford (say, two of five months) and the rest is waived.

“Those who cannot afford even that are free to vacate the estate without having their property confiscated, “she says. If your agreement demands you pay in the first week of the new month, notify your landlord if you won’t be able to pay in time, before that date comes. “That will save you the embarrassment of the confrontation.”

If you have a problem with the landlord’s children or animals, Nantale says, dialogue is paramount for a peaceful coexistence because both the landlord and the tenant can err. “Talk about it with the landlord in a good way. But don’t involve the children in the wrangles because they need their space.”