This renter's list is a chance to have a bit of fun and laugh at some of the strangest and craziest tenant excuses ever given. It was hard to narrow down the list to only 5, but I've added a few "Honourable Mentions" below as well for extra laughs.
Being a landlord and being a tenant is serious business but occasionally, one has to smile and chuckle and be thankful that this is from research only and NOT personal experience. So, landlords, consider yourself lucky if you haven't heard these before. And tenants... well... don't get any ideas from this list! Ha ha!
Just to reiterate, the overwhelmingly vast majority of tenants and landlords are good, honest people who want the relationship to work and have the best of intentions in making sure that happens. But of course, there are always a few bad apples in the bushel so to speak. And some of these outrageous tenant excuses will have you scratching your head. Maybe more alarming is the sad reality that the tenants who uttered these [obvious lies] did so seriously with a straight face.
Without further ado, and after considerable research, here are the Top Five Outrageous Tenant Excuses:
EXCUSE #5 - "My Grandfather died... .... .... again"
Believe it or not, a tenant once used the death of a family member (and the resulting unexpected funeral costs) as an excuse for late rent. That may be believable.. the first time. But in one instance a tenant used this excuse a half dozen times. Fortunately, this particular property management company had noted the tenant's file and was able to see the same excuse being used so many times over.
The really funny part is that it was the same relative who died over and over again!
EXCUSE #4 - "Sure the cheque bounced... but I DID pay!"
Hmm... I suppose technically the 'act' or intent of paying was demonstrated. But that's a far cry from actually paying rent. A bounced cheque is the same as not paying at all. Actually, it's quite a bit worse when you factor in the NSF fees, and the possible restrictions the bank can impose on either the tenant or landlord bank account if too many cheques are being bounced.
Still, it's makes for a funny rationale along the lines of, say, "Sure I borrowed money from you, but I did put it aside to pay you back ... before I spent it".
EXCUSE#3 - "Someone threw a rock through my window"
This was a college student tenant's frantic call to his landlord. Upon inspection, the landlord discovered that all the broken glass was on the outside! Obviously, a projectile must have been hurled through the window from the inside of the apartment, not the other way around. Nice try, kid!
The tenant was forced to pay for the replacement window.
EXCUSE#2 - "My accountant told me I cannot afford to pay rent"
Clearly, the tenant here assumes rent is an optional expense. I have no doubt this accountant told him that his rent may not be affordable - but that means the tenant is living above his means. It does not mean free housing. Unfortunately, that's not a legit excuse for not being able to pay rent. Either you make different life choices to be able to afford the place you are renting, or you find a new home.
In this case, the tenant chose the latter.
EXCUSE#1 - "With my son's graduation, our new yacht, and our family trip to Australia, we're a little tight for cash."
Well then, see you next month! Not. Umm... it's not only 'best practise' but also fairly logical to ensure your living arrangements are taken care of first before anything else. When I used to be a tenant, I had a old Italian landlord who laughed and joked with me but got all serious when he dispensed his wisdom which turns out was more of a future warning. He looked me square in the eyes and said "Landlord gets money first. Then you pay for everything else - but landlord always get rent FIRST." I'll never forgot that conversation. And he's right. If you can't afford rent, you certainly can't afford overseas trips, new vehicles, a PlayStation, or all other 'shiny object' temptations.
HONOURABLE MENTION EXCUSES
I promised a few extra, so here it goes - actual real tenant excuses... enjoy!
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"You want rent when you see this!" (Tenant painted all walls and trim bright green)
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"I put it [rent] in the mailbox down the street, but someone knocked it over"
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"We all have a bad cold and didn't want you to catch it"
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"Electricity is too dangerous, I don't want to go near it" (Landlord tried to instruct tenant to flick breaker panel switch)
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"Help, our ceiling is bending for some reason!" (Tenants had lined the flat roof with a tarp and filled with water in an attempt to create a swimming pool)
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"My dog ate it"
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"It's not a dog barking, it's just my cat" (Cats were allowed but dogs were not in this rental)
