Landlord admits she overcharged her tenants for a heartwarming reason… but some people aren’t buying it

‘Tis the season to… generously overcharge your tenants’ rents in the form of forced savings.

A now-viral online post has outraged people all over the internet, after a user revealed that her mother purposely made her tenants pay higher rent.

The user, named Chantale, explained that her mother did it for a heartwarming reason: because she planned to give them the extra money back when they moved to use it for their daughter’s school.

However, social media users were outraged by the forced savings and argued it was never her money to take.

“My mother’s tenants don’t even know that they have been renting from us for the past seven years and that we have set aside a portion to send both of their daughters to school when they move,” writes Chantale, who posts under the username. @trapezoidmouth, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“One of them is destined to cure cancer, the other has special needs and has exceeded every expectation we had. I have never seen such diligent and hardworking children in my life, they deserve everything,” she added in a comment.

The post quickly went viral, creating divisions among users over whether or not the act was charitable or extremely condescending.

‘If part of the wages goes back to the tenants when they leave (or so they say), then they are charging too much. They are also patronizing,” one user argued.

She said her mother hoped the money could be used for their daughter’s education

“She’s been stealing their money for 10 years, with no legal guarantee that it will go back to the tenants,” another commented.

“They have no idea they’re not JUST PAYING RENT. She doesn’t ask for too much, she lies to the tax authorities to pay less taxes. If this is a kind gesture, she should also give up the savings interest.’

‘Her mother is a greedy landlord and assumes she can manage her tenants’ money better than she can. Her mother charges too much and returns the family’s own money, leaving her with $0.00 of her own money,” said another.

“She didn’t mention that we’ve been overcharging our tenants for seven years so we could set aside some of it to give back later. Maybe they charge market rates and some people are just good, you know?” someone else tried to reason.

Another user simply wrote: ‘Overcharging your tenants and pretending it’s for their own benefit is a bit vague.’

“They are asking for the norm and sacrificing some of their hard-earned money to help this family,” others argued.

“Shame on all you cockroaches trying to spin the story so you can get a response, you people, what is wrong with a functioning society.”

Chantale did not specify in which city her mother rented the property.

The post quickly went viral, sparking division among users over whether or not the act was charitable or extremely condescending

A recent study revealed the large differences between rental prices in different cities in the United States.

The typical national monthly rent of $1,700 gets you a 1,996-square-foot apartment in Memphis, but only 211 square feet in one part of Manhattan, according to a report from RentCafe. That is almost 10 times smaller.

Cities in the South and Midwest, especially Memphis, Tennessee and Oklahoma City, have the most spacious apartments.

New York City, on the other hand, is home to 36 neighborhoods where you get the least space for your money, including nine of the top ten in Manhattan.

New York’s 10013 zip code, located in downtown Manhattan, offers the smallest amount of space for $1,700, according to the study.

With an average size of 21 square meters, renters are likely looking at a small studio space.

Rents in the city, known for sky-high rents and famously compact living conditions, have fallen slightly in recent months.

Amid a vacancy boom, landlords are offering more and more concessions to lure tenants, but the average monthly rent is still a whopping $4,000.

Outside of New York, the study found that the most expensive areas for renters were Boston, San Francisco and Oakland, California.