I’m sure you all have shared landlord problems with at least one other person in your circle of acquaintances.  I remember a summer job I had in high school, working the housing office at a military post in Germany.  I can tell you that I had many a heated conversations with a landlord.  Even with the rules in Germany leaning heavily towards tenant rights, you can still have lots of headaches with your landlord.  Now I’m not talking someone like me, a summer hire as your advocate…oh no Lordy…I just said that to set the scene.   I have witnessed MANY a disagreement or altercation, and even though I speak German, I had some sweaty conversations trying to get to the bottom of a lot of issues!  I hated that the housing people gave me the job to call the landlords (low person on the totem pole I guess).  That’s beside the point, and I am WAAAY off track again.  Let me tell you a simple thing you can do to have someone well versed in the system and the language in your corner EVERY TIME you have a landlord issue and believe me, it is no one sitting in that housing office.