Unsettling Living Experience. Intimitating Live-In Landlord.
Pros
Cheap rent for the area.
Cons
The rent is below market rate because tenants are expected to endure: 1. TROUBLING BEHAVIOR. As a live-in landlord, their domineering presence is unavoidable. The overall attitude of the landlord & his family is that tenants are privileged to reside in their building. They expect favors and inconveniences they cause to be tolerated. The landlord once made a physical threat towards me, because they assumed a favor would be done without it being explicitly asked or discussed. In general, disagreeing with him leds to a tense and unwelcoming atmosphere. 2. ASSERTED AUTHORITY: Conversations with the landlord and his wife consistently involved a harsh and disrespectful tone. During mundane conversations related to the apartment, their response would often be, "THIS IS OUR APARTMENT" and "What we say goes." 3. INSUFFICIENT HEATING: The landlord only turns on the heat when his family feels cold, regardless of the outside temperatures. Multiple portable heaters are required during winter. 4. INVASIVE REPAIRS: The landlord insists on personally handling all repairs and refuses to hire professionals. This results in long repair times as he exclusively works on weekends. Unfortunately, the quality and effectiveness of the repairs are short-lived. 5. EVADING CITY INSPECTIONS: The landlord has not allowed entry to city inspectors for over three decades. Instead, tenants are instructed to direct any city-related concerns exclusively to him. 6. EXIT OBSTRUCTION: The entryway is frequently obstructed by the landlord's family's personal belongings, making it impossible to own a bike or safely transport laundry to the laundromat.
Advice to the owners
Convert the building to a single unit building or sell. Not sure anger management or a housing court mediator can help landlords with aggression and general contempt towards tenants.