Woman left speechless after landlord charges $200 goldfish fee and a monthly ‘pet rent’ of $15

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 10, 2023. It has since been updated.

A greedy landlord is someone that everyone despises. We may all agree to disagree on other issues, but we all loathe the price-gouging practices of our landlords. Many of us may be struggling to pay rent and scrounging to put food on the table, and in moments like this, the last thing we want is our landlord pounding at our door with an eviction notice, giving us only a week or two to grab our belongings and leave. They may come up with creative excuses to extract money from our wallets, for example, a "pet fee."

It may be justified if you have an aggressive pet who can tear the wallpaper off the walls or who makes a lot of noise. This is why landlords include a "no aggressive breeds" clause in the lease agreement. If, on the other hand, your pet is well-trained and docile and does nothing, it feels as if you're being robbed for no reason. A TikTok user, @nicr__ Nic, spoke publicly about her landlord’s bizarre pet fee. Despite being brief but informative, the video garnered nearly 62K views. In the video, the landlord demands that Nic pay an extra "pet fee," even though her pet is just a goldfish. What exactly can a goldfish possibly do?

Goldfish are calm and sweet creatures who do nothing but swim. Her goldfish would not affect the apartment or the furniture. And yet, Nic is required to pay a $15 monthly pet fee, along with a one-time fee of $200, for the fact that she will have a tiny creature swimming in its tank.

"I can only laugh at this landlord’s request," said Konstantin Ilyin, an aquarist from Odesa, Ukraine, in an interview with Bored Panda. "Firstly, the only harm that the presence of a fish can cause is if one of the people inadvertently breaks the tank. Secondly, come on, it’s a goldfish! They were specially bred in such a way that they swam slower, so you could see them better! These bulging eyes, the forked tail—all these factors specifically prevent the fish from swimming too fast. You can easily catch them with your hand! And besides, these are the cutest creatures that are not at all aggressive."

She further adds: "Yes, there are territorial fish that can put up a fight in the aquarium, and some will accidentally jump out, but goldfish are completely devoid of this instinct, and in almost twenty years that I have had an aquarium. I have never encountered any problems from them."

The comments, like us, are perplexed and dumbfounded by this landlord. Something about this simply doesn't add up. Perhaps the landlord is concerned that the fish will grow a pair of legs and lay on their bed one night. Or even worse, turn into a piranha. TikTok user @adri said: "It's probably for damages if your tank breaks and causes damage lol only logical answer." 

@Femme Noire wrote: "Yeah they tried to charge me over my turtle so I left it off the application. I’m not paying monthly for something I can’t walk." People in the comments are relating their own stories, which assures you that most people grapple with landlords over the same problems. @Smokeydabearcontrary remarked: "To belief, aquariums can cause a lot of damage to a home if ruptured, especially the bigger aquariums 30 gallons plus." To this, the owner of the video replied: "No sh*t. That’s why you have renters insurance, $200 & 15 a month isn’t going to cover the damage of a 30-gallon tank."