Tenant Complains After Landlord Put A Trump Sign In Front Of His House — ‘Please Do Not Move It’
There seems to be no clear resolution for the conflict.
Leonard Zhukovsky | Shutterstock Political disagreements aren’t uncommon among friends. We all have our own opinions and beliefs, as is our right. What aren’t as common are physical manifestations of one’s support for a candidate getting in the way of an otherwise healthy friendship — and, really, just getting in the way.
One tenant found himself in a tough situation after his landlord placed a political sign in front of his house and refused to remove it.
A man unwillingly ended up with a Trump sign in front of his house thanks to his landlord.
A man who rented his house from a friend shared the rough spot he was in on Reddit after that friend decided to put a Trump sign in front of his house.
Reddit
“My landlord and I live right next to each other and share a driveway,” he explained. “He and I knew each other before he bought both houses from a mutual friend and he gives me a really good deal on rent.”
Unfortunately, this ideal situation went downhill recently.
“A couple weeks or so ago he put up a Trump sign in the shared driveway, but it’s in front of my house far enough away from his that it looks like I put it there,” he continued.
The tenant decided he needed to confront his landlord about the Trump sign despite their friendship.
“About a week ago, I asked him in person if he could move it,” he told readers. “I told him that I’ve always made a point not to display political things because I’m not comfortable doing so, and it looks like I’m the one who put it there.”
His landlord was not overly accommodating.
“I don’t remember exactly what he said but it was something to the effect of he’d consider it,” he recalled.
Much to the tenant’s disappointment, the landlord did nothing in the following week. So, he decided to text him, and provided a screenshot of the messages.
The tenant's exchange with his landlord was not confrontational but he would not remove the Trump sign.
“Hey, I see that you didn’t move your Trump sign,” he began cautiously. “Do you mind if I do it? I’ll make sure it’s still visible and away from the mailbox/where the garbage cans go. It’s just weird that you put it in front of my house instead of yours.”
His landlord replied in an equally calm manner. “Actually, I looked at all the options, and the reason I put it there is because it provides the most visibility while not being in the way of either of [the] garbage cans, guest parking, the mail man or the lawn mower,” he said. “Please do not move it.”
At that point, the tenant decided to turn up the heat a bit. “I do not want a political sign in front of my house,” he argued. “I fully understand that it’s your property, but even though you own the house, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to put that there.”
Whether or not a landlord can put a sign, political or otherwise, in a tenant’s yard is a bit of a gray area.
There is no clear law that states a landlord can or cannot place a sign of any kind in their tenant’s yard.
Attorney Edmund Witter told Spokane, Washington’s KREM 2 News, “It’s definitely a free speech issue, without a doubt. The problem is the First Amendment applies to the government, not to private landlords or private entities, so I think that’s the really big difference there.”
It also depends on the terms set in the lease. Zillow said that it’s important to use a lease to “establish clear policies.”
It doesn’t look like this tenant has much legal recourse.
In a situation like this, one would hope the other person would act honorably and move the sign, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.