Scum lords?
landlord tenant attorney Tennessee Jul 27, 2026
Location: Tennessee Ive been living at my current apartment for 4 years now. I’ve never had issues with my landlord and maintenance typically gets fixed in a timely manner. I currently only pay $600 for a 2B/2Ba so it’s a steal around here. But, about a year ago I change my front and back door locks for safety reasons. I didn’t even think about giving a spare key until a maintenance issue popped up. 2 weeks ago I called for them to come fix something. They didn’t come for 3 days (the first two I kept the front door unlocked) mind you I also have a dog that I have to put up so they can enter the home. The day they came the door was locked. They couldn’t get in because they obviously didn’t have a copy of the key. So I took one to the office. This rental place is known for the office to have hateful and rude women working it. I am always polite and on time with my rent. I went to take them a copy on Friday (7/24) and they asked why so I told them for my safety. They told me I should’ve called to have them replace it (in hindsight sure). Then another lady stepped in and said “Well, we’re gonna have to charge you $140 to change the locks back, plus another $70 for the outside utility door”. I only changed the front and back door. Not the utility. Completely rude and belittling. Mind you, a set of new locks is $60 max. They claim they have to “key” them a certain way. I reviewed my lease agreement and the ONLY mention of locks is if the tenant moves out and fails to return all copies of keys then each lock is a $50 charge. I feel like they are completely trying to scam me out of money and I’m a little nervous to go back and have them review the lease with me. Their Google reviews are disgusting and I should’ve believed others before renting with them. But, I guess you get what you pay for. Does this sound right?? EDIT: maintenance came today and said that the locks I replaced are the ones they use anyways so he is making a master key and saving me money. Thank you everyone!
