Landlord gets backlash for claiming 20-somethings have ‘no pressures’ in viral rant

An Australian landlord has been absolutely roasted after taking to social media to complain about her tenants not paying rent.

Liz Hammond, who owns a rental property in Sydney, decided to have a “little bit of a whinge” on TikTok this week about issues she was having with her tenants.

A message note on the video read “non-paying tenants rage” and was accompanied by a caption claiming she and her partner are “top landlords” so she didn’t want any “accusations” from “crusaders”.

“I have got a little bit of a whinge. Not sure if you are interested, but let me just put you in the picture,” she said in the video.

“We have a little, tiny, matchbox-sized piece of land in Sydney that people rent from us. And over a month ago they decided to stop paying us rent and they decided to stop communicating with the real estate agent.”

Ms. Hammond then went on to sarcastically thank her tenants for causing her and her family stress.

She said what they didn’t know is that her mum died four months ago and two months after that her dad was diagnosed with cancer.

“So I haven’t really been at work that much and with kids and not much-paid leave, we are really struggling,” she said.

“So, I just wanted to say to you, f–k you for causing us extra pressure in my life when I didn’t need it.”

Then, in a move that prompted a lot of angry responses, the Sydney took a swipe at young Aussies, claiming they had “no pressures”.

“Because you 20-something-year-olds with no life experience and no pressures wouldn’t give a f–king s–t about the fact that we are struggling right now, so to you, f–k you,” she said, making a rude gesture towards the camera.

If Ms. Hammond was sharing this information with TikTok in the hopes of finding support and understanding, then she was sorely mistaken.

There was hardly a sympathetic message to be found in her comment section, with the video overrun with comments from people telling her she shouldn’t have an investment property if she couldn’t afford it.

Some even told her to sell her second house if she was struggling, while others took major issue with her claim young people couldn’t understand the pressure she was under.

The comments were so negative that the TikTok user eventually disabled the comment section on her page completely, prompting users to share her video and use these new comment sections to share their thoughts.

There were many things in the video that people took issue with, but there was one part in particular right at the end that left many extremely confused.

“And I am having to drink out of a plastic f–king cup,” Ms. Hammod said, holding up a blue cup to the camera before abruptly ending the video.

This one statement led to hundreds of comments from people trying to figure out what drinking out of a plastic cup had to do with her tenants not paying rent.

“I get her point and frustration. I’m confused at the plastic cup thing. She’s at her house. Go get a different cup. The cup thing has me so confused,” one of the more diplomatic commenters said.

“Did … did the bank repossess her glassware???” another asked.

Another said: “But I need to know how one month without rent is making her drink from a plastic cup.”

Others were so confused that they were begging for an explanation, with one person writing: “Can anyone explain a reasonable scenario in which this (is) happening would lead her to having to drink out of a plastic cup a month later.”

One person suggested Ms. Hammond was implying she had to use plastic cups “because she is so poor” due to the missed rent.

Some commenters suggested that her insurance should cover the lost rent, while others noted that investing is risky and she knew that when deciding to rent out the property.

One person said they were “so over landlords throwing tantrums like this”, before branding her “entitled”. 

“Rich lady with 2 houses wonders how the impoverished people battling homelessness could possibly understand how tough she’s got it,” one person wrote.

“Hear me out … what if you stop buying avo on toast?” another sarcastically suggested.

One person noted the “accidental peace sign morphing into giving the finger was difficult to watch”.

In the midst of all the backlash, there were a few commenters who defended Ms. Hammond and could see the situation from her perspective.

One commenter claimed that while the landlord was “being ridiculous”, they didn’t understand how that absolved the renter from not paying and not communicating with the real estate agent.

“Well, there is a lot to unpack here. But stopping payment and communication as well helps nobody. I think the real problem is people can’t be adults,” another said.

Another landlord chimed in, noting if they were having a difficult time financially and they stopped paying their mortgage the bank would repossess their house.

“Why should it be any different for renters?” they asked.

One person claiming to be a “broke 21-year-old renter” said the tenants should have talked to the real estate agency if they were struggling.

“Obviously this woman is wrong about them not having pressures or responsibilities, but they should be paying rent or liaising with their agent if there are difficulties that have arisen,” she said.