Slumlord Showdown: How One Tenant Served Up Justice (and a Side of Karma)
There’s nothing quite like the thrill (and horror) of your first post-college apartment. You imagine cozy nights, new city adventures, and—if you’re lucky—a landlord who actually knows your name. What you probably don’t expect? To find yourself in a real-life showdown with a slumlord, fighting for your sanity, your security deposit, and your right to not clean up after random dudes in your bathroom.
That, dear readers, is exactly what happened to one Redditor, u/SallySitwell3000, who recently regaled r/PettyRevenge with her tale of “Slumlord Revenge.” If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a tenant stands up to a sketchy landlord (with a little help from karma and the landlord’s own childhood best friend), buckle up. This is one for the petty revenge history books.
Let’s set the scene: fresh out of college, Sally lands a job in a new state and finds a rental that seems, at first glance, perfect for a young professional. The landlord markets to out-of-towners, which Sally quickly realizes is a red flag—“He was banking on me not knowing state landlord tenant laws,” she notes.
Things go downhill faster than you can say “security deposit.” The upstairs neighbors are loud and unfriendly, but when they move out, things somehow get worse. The landlord’s maintenance crew is so sketchy, Sally starts noticing “piss on my toilet seat” (she’s the only one living there), her underwear drawers rifled through, and even her mail tampered with—a felony, as she points out. To make matters worse, the crew is hammering away before 7am, breaking local noise ordinances and any hope of a peaceful morning.
And then comes the pièce de résistance: a broken boiler in the middle of summer, turning Sally’s apartment into a 90-degree sauna. When she begs the landlord for a solution, his advice? Go shower at the neighbors’ (also his tenants) or “rent a hotel at your own risk—I’ll take you to court if you try to deduct it from the rent.” As one commenter, u/Tremenda-Carucha, put it, “How does someone... I mean, really? It’s wild how they could be so careless and still think they’d keep every dime, like the evidence was a huge banner screaming ‘you’re not winning this’ the whole time.”
Sally’s response to this madness? She does her homework, learns her rights, and realizes her landlord has violated their lease by failing to provide a habitable environment. She packs up, moves out, and takes the “scumlord” to small claims court for her full deposit and last month’s rent. The landlord, apparently used to bullying tenants, threatens her with a lawsuit for breaking the lease. Sally stands her ground—and then fate delivers the ultimate twist: she hires a lawyer who just happens to be the landlord’s childhood best friend’s dad.
The courtroom showdown is almost cinematic. The judge recognizes the landlord (“I see you here a lot, but not used to seeing you on the other side of it.”), and Sally, armed with photos of a spotless apartment and a legal dream team, wipes the floor with him. The judge awards her everything: the full deposit, the last month’s rent, and even the “non-refundable” pet deposit. When the landlord drags his feet on paying, Sally marches the judgment into his bank with the threat of garnishment. That, friends, finally gets him to pay up.
The r/PettyRevenge community had thoughts—and a whole lot of praise. “Grandma raised a badass!” cheered u/OriginalIronDan, after Sally explained it was her activist grandmother who taught her to fight for what’s right, not just for herself, but for tenants who might not have the resources or confidence to stand up to a bully. “Peops like you keep EVERYBODY honest… don’t stop,” added u/wrenchbender4010.
Others saw a cautionary tale for both sides. As u/parodytx insightfully pointed out, slumlords often “believe you are either 1) leaving the geographic area and a court lawsuit is too much of a hassle… or 2) you are ignorant of your rights and let them get away with it.” Sally herself agreed, noting that “predators think they can scam me or that I’m incapable of standing up for myself… What he didn’t know is that my grandma was part of the women’s rights movement and taught me to stand up for what’s right even if it’s uncomfortable.”
The comments also sparked some “what ifs” and legal tips: u/NekkidWire observed that Sally could have scored even more damages by highlighting the unannounced entries and privacy violations in court. Tenant privacy laws in most states require advance notice for ALL entries—no “we might pop in whenever” allowed. Meanwhile, u/ContemplatingFolly mused about going nuclear: “Summarize tenant rights and send copies to every property he owned.” Sally revealed that the slumlord owned at least fifty local properties. As a sweet cherry on top, “his wife left him and he was seen living on his boat. I didn’t have anything to do with that. Just karma doing its work!”
So what’s the moral here? Know your rights. Take photos. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself—even if your landlord is convinced you’ll never fight back. And, sometimes, the universe has a sense of humor: your greatest courtroom ally might be the landlord’s old buddy’s dad.
Have you ever tangled with a terrible landlord or scored a petty revenge win? Share your stories below—and let’s keep each other (and our landlords) honest!
Original Reddit Post: Slumlord revenge