Making phone calls to a landlord, like Long said he did, allows a landlord to ignore complaints because no record exists, Texidor said. Long's record of his complaints is limited to his medical report from the wasp sting and the letter he wrote. No pictures were taken of the apartment and tenants did not list pre-existing problems before moving in, Long said. Texidor said this case is one in which landlords were taking advantage of students' ignorance of tenant rights. But Knepp said limited knowledge of the law should not be an excuse for students.
Ignorance is never an excuse.