Sometimes, I think about the levels these landlords are willing to go just to get money from their tenants and I can’t help but marvel at the audacity. Yeah, I know that the times are hard and everyone is trying to make more money than they were previously making, however, these guys seem to be really pushing it when it comes to money. As a matter of fact, they are major stakeholders in the reason why the cost of living is so high nowadays.
But then, as per normal landlord levels, many of them don’t care. They don’t care about their tenants, they simply want to take their money. They make decisions without giving a thought to how it would affect those paying to live in their houses. It’s not fair at all, but then, it is what it is.
It’s the same landlord brouhaha that many of us in this area are facing here in this slice of paradise. I don’t know if all the landlords are on the same group chat, but the fact that they all came together to make a unilateral decision that will affect everyone in the area is nothing short of shocking. And every time I think about it, I try to understand the reason and till date, I’m yet to achieve that.
All the occupants of almost all the lodges in this area have been served quit notice. The general reason the landlords are citing is that they need in depth maintenance of the lodges and as a result, they don’t want people in the building while they are working on it. It sounds like a viable plan, but many of us can’t help but believe that it’s all a ruse. They plan to increase the rent, and they plan to increase it by a lot.
This won’t be the usual kind where they’ll chuck another 10-20k on top, but something way more major. A price that they know existing occupants will never pay, only new intakes would be able to pay such an amount. They know all this, and for this reason, they’re kicking everyone out. So after all is said and done, if you wish to come back to the lodge, you’ll do it as a new intake and therefore pay the new price. This is not the first time such a thing is done here, and it always works for them.
But then, I could just be imagining it all. It could be that they genuinely want to make maintenance. After all, a fence that fell for the past year is basically abandoned, leaving us open to rodents and reptiles. So many cracks and holes can be found in the septic tanks, and pipes fixed against the walls are all leaking. When water is being pumped, the entire area will be flooded because the pipes that send water into the tank won’t stop leaking.
Things have been bad in these lodges for a long time, but the landlords ignored them all. At the start of the year, when it was time to collect the new rent, they made all the promises known to man, promising that it would all be fixed and they would use the money we paid to fix it all. The year is almost at an end and shingbain they never fixed. I refuse to believe that they’re willing to fix it all now. I know for a fact that all this is a ruse to get more money for themselves.
But then, I’m not really concerned, this area is nothing to write home about anyway. Let's not forget the floods and the epileptic power system. The only advantage it had for me was its proximity to school and how easily I could get to class while living there. However, those days belong to the past, back in the good old days when I was a student. I’m not a student anymore, so if these guys keep insisting on kicking us all out. I’ll gladly leave. I can’t be paying my hard-earned money only to be living on a pile of rubbish. The glory days of this area are in the past and I no longer enjoy it. It’s time for me to find my square root.
Landlords will really be our undoing in this country. And for those of you who know just how students suffer at the hands of their landlords, then you know very well what I’m talking about. I’m just tired, I swear.
