Landlord Sparks Debate After Warning Tenant About Leaving Small Appliances Plugged In

Many of us have had to live in a rented space at some point in our lives and had to deal with landlords, some of whom can be very imposing and let the power of having tenants go to their heads.

But most of us probably didn't receive special notes from our landlords detailing the little observations they noticed about our lifestyles while doing a surprise inspection.

On the "Mildly Infuriating" subReddit, Redditor South-Basket-887 was left confused after their landlord did a surprise inspection and later sent them a letter with an unusual request.

The Redditor asked:

"I received an email from my landlord about appliances being left plugged in and photographs of the appliances in question."

"Does anyone actually unplug their TOASTER between uses?"

"We pay the utilities separately from our rent! Our landlord doesn't handle the electric bill in any way, shape, or form."

"They gave us 24 hours' notice before the inspection, which is standard in the US. From my understanding of the lease, I don't think we are allowed to decline inspections."

"Our lease does not state anything about unplugging appliances when they are not in use."

"Our landlord uses a company to manage everything. So we get hit with a double whammy of our landlord's feelings and the company's rules."

After the inspection, the landlord sent Redditor South-Basket-887 the following warning:

"Hello Residents,"

"During a recent inspection of your unit, it was noted that small appliances are being left plugged in while not in use."

"Supporting photos are attached for reference."

"For your safety and to conserve energy, please ensure that all small appliances are unplugged when not in use."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

u/South-Basket-887/Reddit

They also included photographic evidence, featuring the Redditor's toaster and electric kettle.

u/South-Basket-887/Reddit

u/South-Basket-887/Reddit

Some fellow Redditors were surprised by the landlord's concerns.

"Looks like two appliances with heating elements. It's a good practice to unplug those when not in use." - VeryMuchSoItsGotToGo

"Usually, it’s to inspect something like smoke detectors. Not small appliances plugged in. That’s just weird."

"Check your lease, but I have never heard of this ever. We have been doing property management for over twenty-six years." - LynnKDeborah

"Is your landlord elderly? It used to be common practice to unplug toasters because they would cause fires, but modern appliances plus GFCI standards have made that not needed anymore." - Large-Treacle-8328

"I unplug sh*t because of fire hazards, but yeah, no, you're paying electricity, so f**k that sh*t." - Peppered_Rock

"This is horse sh*t of the highest degree. I do have my toaster on a smart plug, but that’s just because I have a toaster from the 1970s (the best toaster of all time), and it’s weird about power usage."

"Modern appliances don’t need to be unplugged quite as much as old ones. Ghost power largely is a bullsh*t problem these days." - Nice_Marmot_54

"I would instead demand he replace those outlets with GFCIs." - M3wThr33

But others insisted that they at least unplug their devices, if not also store them, in between uses.

"Anything with a heating element gets unplugged here. I have heard of cases of malfunction that could’ve been avoided by this simple step." - Embarassed_Print_36

"My mom keeps her toaster unplugged and put away, but that’s because her old one shorted one day and nearly set the kitchen on fire, and she doesn't like to see a lot of things." - ScourgeofWorlds

"I do but that’s because I have a very old house with a TINY kitchen and I don’t have room to have more than one thing on the counter at a time… and I only have one outlet (not one pair of outlets, one singular outlet) on the counter so even if I had space I couldn’t leave more than one thing plugged in." - MistyPneumonia

"I do unplug my toaster after use. I don’t trust the shady bastard, and I have cats. It is the only appliance that gets unplugged." - Accomplished_Emu_658

"My grandfather was a firefighter, and we were taught to unplug anything with a heating element while not in use. So, by habit, I unplug my toaster and space heaters."

"But, my husband loves to remind me my grandfather was a firefighter in the 1940s to 1980s, and electrical fires were way, way more common." - brownbuttanoods7

"30 years in the Fire Service taught me to unplug everything unless it really needs to stay powered." - Martinonfire

"I unplug my toaster PURELY because I have a fire fear. Don’t ask me why I don’t have the same response to my airfryer always being plugged in." - GoldieKatt

"I unplug my toaster and mostly everything when I’m leaving the house or going to bed, because I’m terribly afraid of something catching fire."

"I know someone whose electric kettle caught fire out of nowhere when it wasn’t in use; luckily, they were home!"

"So electricity-wise, it’s no big cost, but I can relate to the 'for your safety' part." - nordlyst

"Ha, I unplug all my small appliances because I’m weird as hell, being scared things will accidentally turn on or catch fire (just anxiety), but I have never met a living soul who does the same thing, nor would I expect them to!"

"If I were a landlord, I would never ask someone to unplug their appliances over my fears… especially since they're covering the costs. I don’t even ask my roommate!!" - ThePhantomOfBroadway

"My landlord has never said this to us, but we do it out of safety. Only the TV, stove, and refrigerator are left plugged in when not at home. Although they did tell us, 'no pets,' and we have a very small cat." - n0th1ng_r3ally

Surprise inspections are always jarring, especially when the landlord or maintenance person notices something that they want their tenant to change. This request felt unusual, but based on fellow Redditors' experiences, it might be better to be safe than sorry.