My landlord tried to evict me over a sourdough starter, true story

So last month I was baking bread for a neighbor's potluck in Lakeview, and my starter overflowed its jar overnight. It dripped down the cabinet and onto the floor, looked like something out of a horror movie. My landlord saw the mess during a routine inspection and actually threatened me with a lease violation, claiming it was a biohazard. I had to pull up my lease agreement and point out there's nothing about fermented flour in it. He backed down but made me sign a weird addendum about 'excessive kitchen cultures.' Cost me $0 in legal fees, but I did buy a bigger jar for $12. Has anyone else had a landlord get weird about something totally harmless in their unit? I'm half expecting a cease and desist on my kombucha next.

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1 Comment

val_shah17d ago

The landlord might actually have a point here. Overflowing starter is basically raw dough sitting on wood surfaces and that stuff can attract bugs and mold fast. Leases usually have a cleanliness clause that covers messes like that, even if it doesn't say the word sourdough. You got lucky he let you off with an addendum instead of issuing a formal notice. Holding him to the exact letter of the lease cuts both ways too, since you'd be stuck if he finds some other small technicality later. A bigger jar is a cheap fix, but this whole thing sounds more like you were careless and he was reasonable.