Lifestyle

<p>Federal housing regulations have yet to explicitly bar landlords from pranking their tenants, but there are other protections in place, and this tenant knows them all.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/racheltacobell">Rachel Bell</a> is the head of creative content at a real estate start up, which must be why her landlord &quot;Brucie&quot; knew she was the perfect target for a prank.</p><p>Bell came home to find a flyer announcing a new 10% rent hike &quot;according to Numbers 18:21.&quot; If you heathens are unaware, the King James Bible translation of the verse is &quot;And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.&quot;</p><p>The takeaway from the verse, according to the landlord, is &quot;give me your money, punk!&quot;</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DID MY LANDLORD JUST TRY TO USE THE BIBLE TO RAISE MY RENT…LMAOOOO <a href="https://t.co/1NtweY35yb">pic.twitter.com/1NtweY35yb</a></p>&mdash; rachel bell (@rachelbelllll) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelbelllll/status/1164602534335569920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>The stock photo of a Moses-like cartoon hugging kids really makes it.</p><p>Bell, knowing that she had the law on her side, texted &quot;Brucie Baby&quot; a comprehensive takedown of the biblical decree and how a rent hike like that is very illegal.</p><p>Two can play the game of bible verses.</p><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter: @racheltacobell" data-attribution-url="" height="179" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-08-29-at-113346-am-wU4Yt0.png" width="531" /></div><div class="image-attribution">Twitter: @racheltacobell</div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter: @racheltacobell" data-attribution-url="https://publish.twitter.com/?hideConversation=on&amp;query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fracheltacobell%2Fstatus%2F1164614141539172352&amp;widget=Tweet" height="829" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/ecmky05w4acgzem-rKzWWo.jpeg" width="750" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://publish.twitter.com/?hideConversation=on&amp;query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fracheltacobell%2Fstatus%2F1164614141539172352&amp;widget=Tweet">Twitter: @racheltacobell</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Raising rents in the middle of an active lease term is illegal according to New York law, and using religion to inform housing decisions is also barred (until Mike Pence takes over).</p><p>Since it was Bruce who brought the bible into it, Bell quoted The New Testament&#39;s proclamation, &quot;neither the...thieves, nor the greedy, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.&quot;</p><p>After sending the texts, Bell wrote a comprehensive blog post explaining just how illegal this ungodly move would be.</p><div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">UPDATE 2: still waiting for landlord to reply but in the spirit of sharing my extensive landlord-tenant law knowledge i wrote this blog post explaining all the reasons this is fully illegal. will let you all know what i hear from him <a href="https://t.co/gefm966Aqs">https://t.co/gefm966Aqs</a></p> &mdash; rachel bell (@racheltacobell) <a href="https://twitter.com/racheltacobell/status/1164621659627823105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>&quot;I feel like a broken record when I iterate this, but for the love of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this is just another reason to <a href="https://flip.lease/blog/5-illegal-terms-to-look-for-in-your-next-apartment-lease">read and understand your lease</a> before you sign it. No one needs their landlord sneaking some weird terms into a seemingly standard lease,&quot; she explains.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>And lo, on the third day, the landlord hath revealed himself to be Ashton Kutcher in disguise, and the Word of God but a vehicle in the ever-escalating prank war.</p><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter: @racheltacobell" data-attribution-url="" height="172" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-08-29-at-114821-am-K0WNAc.png" width="480" /></div><div class="image-attribution">Twitter: @racheltacobell</div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter: @racheltacobell" data-attribution-url="" height="325" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/landlord-5-5d678dab25e83700-5hSa9t.jpg" width="700" /></div><div class="image-attribution">Twitter: @racheltacobell</div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>&quot;Gotcha,&quot; indeed.</p><p>Pranks are fun, but punking a tenant is a f**ked up thing to do, at least according to the word of God.</p><p>As is written in <a href="https://biblehub.com/leviticus/19-11.htm">Leviticus 19:11,</a> &quot;Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.&quot;</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Landlord uses Bible verse to justify rent hike, tenant doesn't realize it's a prank.

Federal housing regulations have yet to explicitly bar landlords from pranking their tenants, but there are other protections in place, and this tenant knows them all.Rachel Bell is the head of creative content at a real estate start up, which must be why her landlord &quot;Brucie&quot; knew she was the perfect target for a prank.Bell came home to find a flyer announcing a new 10% rent hike &quot;according to Numbers 18:21.&quot; If you heathens are unaware, the King James Bible translation of the verse is &quot;And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.&quot;The takeaway from the verse, according to the landlord, is &quot;give me your money, punk!&quot;DID MY LANDLORD JUST TRY TO USE THE BIBLE TO RAISE MY RENT…LMAOOOO pic.twitter.com/1NtweY35yb&mdash; rachel bell (@rachelbelllll) August 22, 2019 The stock photo of a Moses-like cartoon hugging kids really makes it.Bell, knowing that she had the law on her side, texted &quot;Brucie Baby&quot; a comprehensive takedown of the biblical decree and how a rent hike like that is very illegal.Two can play the game of bible verses.Twitter: @racheltacobellTwitter: @racheltacobellRaising rents in the middle of an active lease term is illegal according to New York law, and using religion to inform housing decisions is also barred (until Mike Pence takes over).Since it was Bruce who brought the bible into it, Bell quoted The New Testament&#39;s proclamation, &quot;neither the...thieves, nor the greedy, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.&quot;After sending the texts, Bell wrote a comprehensive blog post explaining just how illegal this ungodly move would be.  UPDATE 2: still waiting for landlord to reply but in the spirit of sharing my extensive landlord-tenant law knowledge i wrote this blog post explaining all the reasons this is fully illegal. will let you all know what i hear from him https://t.co/gefm966Aqs &mdash; rachel bell (@racheltacobell) August 22, 2019 &quot;I feel like a broken record when I iterate this, but for the love of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this is just another reason to read and understand your lease before you sign it. No one needs their landlord sneaking some weird terms into a seemingly standard lease,&quot; she explains.And lo, on the third day, the landlord hath revealed himself to be Ashton Kutcher in disguise, and the Word of God but a vehicle in the ever-escalating prank war.Twitter: @racheltacobellTwitter: @racheltacobell&quot;Gotcha,&quot; indeed.Pranks are fun, but punking a tenant is a f**ked up thing to do, at least according to the word of God.As is written in Leviticus 19:11, &quot;Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.&quot;

Federal housing regulations have yet to explicitly bar landlords from pranking their tenants, but there are other protections in place, and this tenant knows them all.  Rachel Bell is the head of creative content at a real estate start up,...