Behaviours of Renters

New York Times has an article on the financial crisis and the effect of the lives of American who now have trouble servicing mortgage payments. A Hispanic family had to rent out the rooms of their house to their cousins. Their cousins(two families) now have the use of the kitchen. Each family cook their own meal and the kitchen is not clean after cooking. The kitchen is also use to cook traditional Spanish food and is all greasy, smelly and in a terrible condition.

The landlord was stuck. He could not asked them not to cook traditional Spanish dishes or get his cousins to clean up. He needed the money to pay mortgage. He went from the proud owner of the cleanest home in the estate to ... he laments renters do not take of things they do not own.

I relate this story to draw parallel conclusion about two Renter families that just left our estate. One is a French family who return to France in June. Their son who I will call Gauthier(not his real name) was a very active and energetic boy. Gauthier can do cartwheels, roller blades and even ride his bicycles with his roller blades on. He is also destructive. He jumped on the lounge chair and rock the pool umbrella. He throw stones everywhere including our neighbours roof and into the swimming breaking the tiles(causing sharp edges). Many complaints reach his parents but his destructive behaviour continues.

Another Renter family is a French-speaking Chinese family. Their son would put mud into the swimming pool, not only dirtying the pool, caused permanent damage to the filtration system. When another mum who moved in recently was shocked by this behaviour and told the boy that he should not be putting mud into the pool, his mum came to explain that it is the responsibility of the maid to tell the boy. What is she saying? That another adult should not be telling her boy what he did is wrong or is it the maid's fault that her boy cause trouble?

The French-speaking family just moved out. I don't think many will miss their absence.