Sick landlord dilemma

April 20, 2021 12:43 AM

My landlord has been been staying with me for the past week in order to redecorate the house. Yesterday he was coughing a lot so I asked him if he's taken a covid test. He said that he's had a head cold for the past 10 days, and it's a wet cough so he doesn't covid symptoms. He also said if I'm concerned I should get tested myself.

I feel like it was pretty inconsiderate of him to come here while he was sick, even putting aside covid. I'm vaccinated so honestly I'm more worried about catching his cold than I am about catching covid. My questions are:

1. Should I get tested?
2. Should I insist that he get tested?
3. I'm at home most of the time at the moment, but this week I have a barber appointment and I'm supposed to go into the office on Thursday -- should I stay at home and reschedule the appointment?

posted by Chenko to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

You can't force him to get tested but you should DEFINITELY get tested. Then you can decide re: #3.

Then AVOID HIM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 12:54 AM on April 20, 2021 [15 favorites]

^^this. Your landlord is a dick. It sounds like you’ve agreed to having him stay with you but I’d strongly consider rescinding that agreement.
posted by Jubey at 4:26 AM on April 20, 2021 [26 favorites]

Yes, get tested.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:45 AM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Wait, you are paying rent and this guy is staying with you for how long? You should not be paying rent for this period. I would say, quite apart from the health considerations, but health is the primary consideration right now. You should probably be isolating somewhere at your landlord's expense. Get tested, isolate, tell your work you my have been exposed, wait for the test results and make sure your landlord wipes everything down on his way out.
posted by BibiRose at 5:18 AM on April 20, 2021 [12 favorites]

From the CDC: "Fully vaccinated people with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be tested following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low.

Fully vaccinated people who do not quarantine should still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, if indicated, and inform their health care provider of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care."

That said, he is indeed being inconsiderate in inserting himself in your space while obviously ill, and if you're able to reschedule your appointments to avoid the possibility of passing on whatever he has, that's not an unreasonable thing to do.
posted by eponym at 5:31 AM on April 20, 2021 [7 favorites]

I feel like it was pretty inconsiderate of him to come here

this is the first time I've heard of a landlord staying with a tenant as a... guest? It kind of matters what's going on here, because it affects what you can and can't do. Are you paying rent? Is he giving you a credit?

As far as the contagion issue goes, I think you should get tested. And personally I would not cancel your appointments but I would wear a good mask -- maybe two masks. Maybe at home, too, until he's gone, which I hope you're doing everything you can to accelerate.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:57 AM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: It's a three bedroom flat but at the moment I'm the only tenant (and I'm only paying for one room). He's staying here while he redecorates the other bedrooms. He's giving me a pretty good deal at the moment since I have the whole house for the cost of one room, and I know he's losing a lot of money, so it seemed reasonable to let him stay. I wouldn't have agreed if I knew he was sick though.
posted by Chenko at 8:10 AM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Just because he says he doesn't have covid doesn't make it true, and it's rare but people can still get covid even once vaccinated. The few people who still got it didn't think it was possible to get it either. Don't take any chances especially not on behalf of your landlord of all people.
posted by bleep at 9:09 AM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

I would just focus on staying away from him as much as possible. Keep all the windows open.
posted by bleep at 9:13 AM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

While I don't know where you are, "He's staying here while he redecorates the other bedrooms" is not a good reason to change residences during a pandemic. (That he showed up when he was already sick for three days smacks of looking out for the people in his life who aren't his tenants.)

"I know he's losing a lot of money" = So, so not your problem.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:21 AM on April 20, 2021 [8 favorites]

If you are just renting a room in a shared apartment and not the whole space, I don't know if you have legal standing to deny him the right to make use of his other two rooms.
posted by vegartanipla at 11:04 AM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]

?!

Your landlord probably has COVID. Assume he does and act as if he does.
posted by latkes at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

It is definitely possible to have a wet cough with COVID. [WebMD link ["About a third have a cough with mucus, called a “wet” or “productive” cough"], CDC PDF showing "productive cough" aka wet cough as a symptom, etc]

So yeah, get tested, and anyone who has a "cold" and claims to know its not COVID is either wildly misinformed, in denial, or just doesn't care about spreading it.
posted by thefoxgod at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

I think Iris Gambol called it: unless his actual place of residence is hours away, he most likely moved into your place to quarantine from whomever he shares his home with. Assume he has COVID and proceed accordingly.
posted by blue suede stockings at 12:08 PM on April 20, 2021 [7 favorites]