Reply #83: I've had that happen.

[xmas74]

I rented a crappy old house with (what was unknown at time of rental) a nasty bug problem. I paid for multiple trips from the exterminator until the problem disappeared. I tore up all the urine-soaked carpets and pads and refinished the wood floors underneath. (They were badly stained so I scrubbed, sanded, primed, painted, and sealed.) I patched the holes in the walls and ceiling, repainted everything, repaired baseboards, patched screens, sanded and painted the house and porch. I raked out all the gravel, trash and glass out of the yard. I brought back all the old flowers that were dormant and planted more, along with a couple of fruit trees. I seeded the yard, I started a beautiful veggie garden, I had herb, and I had a hummingbird garden. Within two years the beaten up old house went from looking run down and on the verge of being condemned to being a sweet old house that you imagine would be found in a well cared-for old neighborhood.

The landlord raised my rent several hundreds of dollars and then tried to take me to court because I didn't leave his property the way I found it. (I won, btw. I brought with me the before and after pics, along with receipts for everything.)