Photo: @twoguystakeonrealestate / TikTok
His reasoning makes no sense and commenters wasted no time saying so.
By John Sundholm — Written on Feb 28, 2023
It seems that everywhere you go nowadays, you're being asked to tip — and it's gone far beyond the old-fashioned tip jar, with almost all digital payment kiosks asking for tips at checkout.
You basically can't go to a coffee shop anymore without being asked to add on a gratuity.
Even places where tipping was previously unthinkable, like fast food restaurants and automated car washes, are adding a gratuity request in their payment systems.
So perhaps it's unsurprising that even landlords are now trying to get in on the gratuity racket — yes, landlords.
Two real estate gurus on TikTok say tenants should tip their landlords like they tip baristas.
TikTokers @twoguystakeonrealestate bill themselves as "Real Estate Investing Mentors" and their videos cover everything from how to become a landlord to how to save money on taxes on investment properties.
Given the state of our economy, anything having to do with landlords is controversial nowadays among certain demographics.
But one of the Two Guys' recent videos has gone viral after really taking things to a whole new level.
The TikTokers suggest landlords should add gratuities to tenants' leases at renewal.
The video consists of a skit between the Two Guys in which one plays a landlord and the other plays a tenant in a green wig — of course because mocking their tenants is central to much of their content.
"Thanks for paying your rent," the landlord says, "it's just gonna ask you a couple questions."
The landlord presents the tenant with a touch-screen payment machine much like ones we see all the time in coffee shops and restaurants, asking for 15%, 20% or 25% gratuities.
The tenant, as any tenant would, protests, yelling, "I'm not tipping my landlord!"
The TikTokers then argue that landlords deserve gratuities because baristas and restaurant employees don't actually do any work.
"So you'll tip a barista, who pours overpriced coffee into a cup," the landlord says, "but not the guy who's on call 24/7 to make sure you have a safe home?"
Anyone who's ever had to ask a landlord for assistance with anything can tell you that is an extremely generous take on what many landlords provide to tenants.
Perhaps the Two Guys are exceptions and are actually good, conscientious landlords.
Still, their argument seems to hinge on the assertion that service-industry work isn't work.
"Ok, so you'll tip an extra 25% for somebody to carry you a bag of chicken wings," the landlord goes on to say, "but you won't tip someone who responds to after-hours emergency calls?"
The landlord then suggests to his followers that if tenants aren't willing to tip, landlords should add gratuity to the lease when it is up for renewal.
Two Guys' reasoning for tipping landlords makes no sense because landlords have large profit margins and receive major tax breaks.
Comparing landlords to baristas and restaurant workers is an apples-to-oranges comparison if there ever was one.
The monthly rents landlords charge are hundreds if not thousands of dollars more than the cost of the property's mortgage — that's the whole business model of being a landlord, after all.
Landlords also receive tax breaks and even in some cases government subsidies on top of the rent they charge.
Food service workers, on the other hand, are routinely paid less than minimum wage, which the government allows because tips theoretically make up for the shortfall.
But even if none of that were true, as a lawyer explained in the TikTok below, the services that the landlords claim are tip-worthy are not gestures for which they should be rewarded — they are literally required by law.
Hmm. Kinda makes it seems like this whole thing was just an elaborate ruse to dunk on service workers, especially since the Two Guys themselves admitted in the comments they are "trolling" with their video.
TikTok and Reddit commenters thought the landlords' idea was ridiculous.
"The tip is the rent," one TikToker commented, while a Reddit user wrote, "adding gratuity to the rent is just called raising the rent."
"I hope the landlord tips the fire department," another person on Reddit commented.
One TikToker called out the landlord's condescending tone, writing, "tipping also includes the 'customer service.' If this is the argument you’re starting then include how you speak to a tenant in consideration."
This comment apparently stung — the Two Guys replied to it to defend themselves, claiming they've received "a ton of Christmas cards, cookies/food" from adoring tenants over the years.
They also took issue with a TikToker who said "there is no way any landlord that does all that" by sniping, "does all what? replace roof or heating system?"
To which another TikToker responded, "maintenance folks do that, not landlords" and another added, "ur insurance covers most expenses and everything is a [tax] write off, try again."
Several people felt they saw right through what the Two Guys were actually trying to say and detected a political ideology at play in their skit.
One Redditor called out "the green hair" on the man playing the tenant in the skit as a likely reference to right-wing conservatives' "blue-haired liberal" trope.
"It screams 'if you don't want to tip your landlord you and your "woke" ideologies are what's wrong with this country,'" the commenter wrote.
But even if this was just all a harmless joking troll on the part of @twoguystakeonrealestate, one TikTok commenter perfectly summed up the silliness of their hot take.
"We tip hospitality workers because if we don't then they can't afford to pay you your rent money."
Wow, really makes you think!
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.