Where I’m staying in Dapitan, there is a very very nosy landlady. So nosy I’m thinking of installing security systems.

She often visits our room when we’re away, and doesn’t tell us in advance – or ever.

One time my boyfriend and I were coming home early in the afternoon, we caught her in our room sweeping the floor. I was appalled, because I had left my laptop and camera in the room. We let it pass because she had a convenient excuse, but I was very careful not to leave any valuable stuff inside the room anymore.

Another time, I was in Manila and Gim wasn’t in the room, she went inside to change the window shades. Hwa–? Gim noticed it because he had deliberately set sheets wrong side up, and when he came back, the sheet were rightside up.

A few weeks ago, she was making up all sorts of reasons to come inside the room again, like she needed to change our bed sheets (we can do that ourselves, thank you very much).

I don’t understand people who have that compulsion to snoop, to check up on other people’s lives, to want to see our room and the things we have. So I had Gim install an extra lock on our door so she wouldn’t be able to come in any time she pleased anymore. Then we left for a week to go to Zamboanga.

When we came back, she was quite angry, demanding that we remove the lock. She said that her husband needed to frequently come in to check the wirings, in case there were leaks when it rained. It was totally another lame excuse, because in the six months I’ve stayed there, there hasn’t been a leak.

I had to go to Manila for a few days so I left Gim to talk to her. He tried to tell her that we valued our privacy, and that we don’t appreciate people being in our apartment when we’re not there. Our landlady said that we should respect her rights to check the room, because it was still her property.

I had half a mind to go confront her myself. I hate confrontation, but I never back down, and I never lose. I always get what I want, especially when I’m in the right. I told Gim to wait for until I came back, so I would be the one to give our landlady a piece of my mind.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to, since apparently Gim and our landlady came to a compromise. We could keep our lock while we were there. But if we left for Zamboanga or Manila, or wherever, we had to leave the apartment open in case of an emergency. (Does a leak constitute an emergency???)

I still don’t like the arrangement. I’ve been a very good tenant. I pay the rent on time every month. The apartment’s very very clean and well-kept. We’re not noisy, we don’t create problems. So why does she have to get on my nerves like that?? But whatevs, I let it rest. I hate problems. The next time we go away for some time, I’ll be sure to bring everything valuable with me.

What landlord problems have you encountered?

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