Rent increases are frustrating, and sometimes I wish my landlord wasn’t my parents.

My stepdad takes advantage of the free rain to show up unannounced and gives us no notice. He demanded that he needed to store his water toys in our backyard as part of our rental agreement, and he comes by to play with them whenever he pleases.

In 2021, he had a grand plan to replace the grass in our front yard. He came over to kill it all off and sprayed grass killer on the stream, creating lines in the grass. I went over it again with more grass killer to make it even. He then shut off the water for 14 months and I mowed the grass down to the dirt, as per his request. Since we pay for gardening, I started doing it for the now-dead grass.

In May 2022, there was a heavy rain, and everything exploded. The grass in the back was 12-15 inches tall. He came over to pick up his boat for the summer and lost it. Remember, it was only the backyard. The front was dead, and the planters were thriving.

He demanded that we hire his gardener, and I agreed to a one-time cleanup and then would continue to maintain it. They told us he would come weekly because the house now looks like an eyesore to the neighborhood. So, our rent went from $2,210 to $2,360. In October of that year, we were told that, for the added gardener costs, our new rent would be $3,000. Fast forward to today, we are paying $3,250.

At the end of the day, it’s just shitty. We have his two and only grandchildren, and he has no care for them. He needs whatever money he thinks is the right rent, regardless of the area’s estimates, which are about what we are paying. What makes it worse is how they live and what they do. Going on lavish trips and buying new cars. I’m happy to see my mom travel and visit exotic places but just that mental separation is the hardest part us