Landlords Are Trying to Make ‘Tenantsplaining’ a Thing

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In the r/Landlord sub-Reddit, a place for “landlords to come together to discuss anything landlord related,” landlords are coming together to have some fun with language. In a post earlier this week, one landlord wrote, mock dictionary style:

“Tenantsplaining: v, The act of a tenant who has not read their lease, does not know the rights and obligations of both parties, does not know the law yet condescendingly tell the landlord what the law is, and how he will be taken to court.”

The term is an instant hit. “As a landlord this gave me a good laugh,” one landlord wrote. “Love it …” wrote another. “This post made me smile — tenantsplaining,” another landlord added, perhaps while smiling.

The thread soon turns into a series of complaints about tenants who broke windows or who expected their full security deposit after drywall repairs. At the mention of wall repair, a debate breaks out over whether Command strips are good or bad — one poster lamented the work required to remove them after “the little pull tab thingy” breaks off — before returning to the topic at hand. (Tenantsplaining.)

“It’s downright funny when a tenant, who is behind in paying rent, tells me they’re going to get their lawyer after me,” one landlord says. Another poster points out that some tenants “can get free legal assistance” and so tenantsplaining can “happen in those places.”

The sub-Reddit is also ostensibly a place for “tenants looking for a landlord’s perspective” with the caveat to “please remember that the answer you get may sway in that direction.” Is there a word for that?