Does your landlord deserve the keys to your car?

The answer is pretty much a resounding «no.» But that doesn’t stop landlords from doing what they do best: overreaching in their tenants’ lives. Just because you own the parking space doesn’t mean you own the car. This is a pretty basic understanding of ownership and object permanence. Your landlord might own your apartment, but that doesn’t mean he can come into your house and eat your leftover Thai food. That’s your food. The landlord in this story, though, didn’t quite understand that. He wanted the keys to his tenant’s car and wouldn’t let up, no matter how much the tenant objected. 

It’s hard to feel like you have any power in the tenant-landlord dynamic as the tenant. You feel like you have everything to lose, because you often do. It’s your home that they’re in charge of, not some incidental part of your life. If you suddenly had to move or lost your lease, you would end up in an exceptionally difficult situation.