Horror as Woman Learns What Was Used To Cover Hole—’Landlord Special x 300′

By

Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years she has specialized in viral trends and internet news, with a particular focus on animals, human interest stories, health, and lifestyle. Alice joined Newsweek in 2022 and previously wrote for The Observer, Independent, Dazed Digital and Gizmodo. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Alice by emailing alice.gibbs@newsweek.com.

Alice Gibbs

Senior Life and Trends Reporter

A renter’s viral video has stunned the internet after she revealed the ultimate botched repair job found at her home.

The video, posted by TikToker Aliena.215, has amassed over 1.6 million views and sparked widespread conversation about the infamous “landlord special”—a popular term used to describe subpar or lazy repair jobs by landlords.

In the short clip, the tenant showed a portion of her wall with what looked like an odd patch job in the drywall, explaining that it was falling off. But when she peeled away “the patch” she discovered that “the patch” was really a white plastic cutting board that had been used to cover a hole.

“Landlord special times 300,” the woman said in the video, “Like what?”

The makeshift patch had been painted over in an apparent attempt to conceal the damage and the makeshift patch.

Brian Rudderow, a landlord and real estate investor, told Newsweek: “As a landlord myself, I think that using a cutting board to cover up a hole in the wall is completely unacceptable. That is by far the laziest patch job that I’ve ever seen in my entire real estate career.

“You can buy a basic wall patch at Lowe’s or Home Depot for around $5 – $10 with the mesh screen and cover it up with some spackle. Not only that, all you have to do is screw a piece of wood behind there and fill it in with some spackle…That would also be a solution. This is completely lazy and uncalled for,” he said.

The tenant’s reaction, along with the absurdity of the repair, quickly caught attention online. Comments ranged from disgusted to impressed, and many shared their own theories about how the chopping board ended up stuck to the wall.

Some, like Leny, suggested it may not have been the landlord after all. “That definitely was done by the previous tenant and the landlord didn’t notice or noticed and didn’t care to address it,” they wrote. Others, like Abel, agreed, dubbing it the “previous tenant special.”

“If it makes you feel better, that cutting board is 10 bucks on Amazon,” joked Brother..Lu. While others shared their own crazy experiences of unusual decor fixes. Like GraveyarddGhoull who said: “I lived in a house where the hole in the door for cats was repaired with sonic the hedgehog comics taped on and painted white.”

The trend of landlords cutting corners with bizarre fixes is nothing new. The term “landlord special” has gained popularity on social media as renters share their experiences with botched repair jobs. From painting over light switches and hinges to stapling boards over holes, there are even more extreme examples, like painted over food, and even a grenade found covered up with white paint.

While some viewers saw humor in the absurdity of the situation, others pointed out the deeper issues it represents—neglect, cost-cutting, and poor maintenance practices in rental housing.

Viewer OldSoul shared their frustration and said: “Okay, that’ll be $1,750/month and you need to prove you make 3 times the rent.”

“This is the landlord final boss cause what,” said sux 2 suk.

Newsweek reached out to @aliena.215 via TikTok for comment.

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