Renter’s ‘odd situation’ after discovering secret hole in toilet floor

A couple have been left searching for advice after discovering a hole in their toilet floor leads directly to the living room of their landlords. 

The pair, who rent in Australia, discovered the strange setup a few years after moving into their rental property. 

They occupy one section of the home, and their landlords live on the floor beneath them. 

“We have only just realised that a hole in our toilet floor links directly below to the area in which the landlords have their living space,” one of the renters wrote on Reddit. 

“They’ve been able to listen in on conversations (sometimes even about them) which we’ve had anywhere near the toilet, or on what normally happens in the toilet … and personally I’ve had some crackers,” he said. 

In the past, the renter said “the landlord made comments we thought were oddly specific and related to one of our recent conversations”. 

He now suspects the landlord may have used the hole in the floor to listen in on a private conversation. The discovery has left the couple feeling uncertain about their next steps.

“Everything has been cordial with the landlords to date, but now I sort of feel like our privacy has been breached,” the renter wrote. 

“With them living in such close quarters already, it has felt as if we’ve had no privacy – only able to have hushed conversations in certain areas of the house and […] having to put clothes on in the evening just to go get a drink of water from the kitchen. 

“This has made us really unsure of what to do and how to feel.” 

The renter explained that when they first moved into the property, the landlords were living interstate. They did not reveal where they or their landlords live.

“They were away for the first 12 months which was what we initially signed up for. After coming back from interstate they alluded to us that they intended to do the same for the next year but never left and it’s been 16 months,” they wrote. 

The renters own their own home in another state, but needed to relocate for work for a couple of years. They are now considering their options.

“After having a baby, moving to find another place knowing we’d only be here for a finite period of time was a bit too much effort,” the renter wrote. 

“We have a toddler and are leaving the state eventually, what good would it do to move into another house and then go through the hassle all again when we eventually have to up and leave the state?” 

Commenters on the post advised the couple to maintain an amicable relationship with the landlords over the coming months, and request for the hole to be repaired. 

“You could approach the landlord to ask if the hole could be filled or fixed, but to keep things cordial until you leave, I would not mention the eavesdropping,” one person wrote.

“I’d probably grin and be cordial with them until the end of the year and then move on,” a second person said.

“Cover the hole with a pot plant. Buy curtains. Wait it out then move back interstate when you’re ready,” a third person wrote.