The Landlord Special

help me build an archive of the landlord special

The Landlord Special

noun · informal, slang
/ˈlandˌlôrd ˈspeSHəl/

a cheap, rushed, superficial and cosmetic repair job done by a property owner to make a rental unit look acceptable while cutting corners and avoiding real fixes, neglecting the root problems.

Unlike restoration, which attempts to return an object or surface to an earlier condition, the landlord special attempts to conceal the object or surface’s history. The history is physically buried beneath successive interventions.

examples: painting over door hinges, screws, nails, locks, latches, other hardware, electrical outlets, outlet covers, switches, layers of old, peeling, bubbling, or chipped paint, over dirt, dust, hair, bugs, cobwebs, tape, stickers, over water stains and mold without addressing the leak, filling cracks, holes, or gaps with huge amounts of caulk, etc.

submit your landlord specials here

the archive

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the archive *

An ongoing collection of repairs, patches, coverings, and accumulated fixes

LS-001- Alexandra James, Los Angeles

LS-002- Jonathan Morris

LS-003- Mal Odonnell

“Moved into an old tenement house in Newburgh New York that was built in 1888 and it was given the special six ways to Sunday”

LS-004- Julia Horibe

“Shots from a historic little bungalow in Ventura. A random kitchen window that opens onto a wall really caught us by surprise!”

LS-006- Marina Claire

“There are so many character-laden custom cabinets in our 1910s apartment. The hinges have been blasted with paint so many times, no doors close.”

cont’d…"Nah no need to trim out the leaded glass”

LS-007- Mandy Marr

“Landlord painted the porcelain tub white and now it’s chipping. Painted over a crack in the drywall also”

LS-008- Oscar Dow

LS-010- Lian Wardrop

“I helped my cousin landlord special his rental home.”

LS-011- Louisa Edwards

“Why fix something when u can just cover it in cardboard?”

LS-013- Zach

LS-005- Lorraine Bono

“I lived in a small apartment as a single mother with my preadolescent child. The walls were crispy white. The space was quaint and
clean with cozy fireplace. I thought it was the perfect place for us. I went on a vacation for a long weekend and when I came home I opened the bathroom door and was startled to see a garden of brown mushrooms in the shower!! Eek!! I did not leave the living situation because I was ignorant and poor to make a change. I sometimes wonder if my health problems today stem from this experience!!! Sadly im afraid this “special” is a killer problem that is often “whited out!” Easy- “they will never know… Shhh $$$$””

LS-012- Louisa Edwards

“We were only given keys to our back door. Landlord didn't have a set of keys to our front door but instead we were given multiple boxes of keys tha we could try. Slowly we made our way through they boxes. Must have tested some hundreds of keys. Was over 6 months into our lease before we found the correct one.

Wish i had a picture of the whole bunch”