Meaning & use
absentee landlord
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Meanings
nouncountable
A landlord who does not live on or near the property they rent out and rarely visits it.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an absentee landlord' or 'absentee landlords'.
Patterns
- be an absentee landlord
- absentee landlord of something
The building fell into disrepair because the absentee landlord lived in another country.
Tenants complained that the absentee landlord never answered their calls.
She accused the absentee landlord of caring only about the rent.
nouncountablefigurative
A person who owns a business or estate but does not manage it personally, leaving others in charge.
Grammar: Used more broadly than housing: can refer to any owner who is not involved in daily management.
Patterns
- act as an absentee landlord
- absentee landlord of a business
He was an absentee landlord of the family farm, letting a manager run everything.
The company's absentee landlord rarely visited the factory.
Word forms
| plural | absentee landlords |
|---|
Common combinations
- notorious absentee landlord
- The neighborhood had a notorious absentee landlord who ignored repairs.
- absentee landlord problem
- The city council discussed the absentee landlord problem in low-income areas.
- accuse someone of being an absentee landlord
- The article accused him of being an absentee landlord while his tenants suffered.
- absentee landlordism
- Scholars have studied absentee landlordism in rural history.
Synonyms and how they differ
- non-resident landlord
- A more neutral, formal term often used in legal or tax contexts; 'absentee landlord' often carries a hint of criticism.
- slumlord
- Much stronger and disapproving: a landlord who profits from overcrowded, unsafe housing; not all absentee landlords are slumlords.
Opposites
Word family
- absenteeism noun
- The habit of regularly staying away from work or duty.
- absentee noun
- A person who is not present where they should be.
Commonly confused: absentee landlord or tenant?
absentee landlord vs tenant
A tenant pays rent to live in a property; a landlord owns and rents it out. An absentee landlord is still the owner, not the renter.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'absentee landlord' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An absentee landlord owns the property and rents it out but is not present. Option 1 describes paying rent, which is what a tenant does. Option 2 describes a resident landlord, and option 3 describes a tenant, not a landlord.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “absentee landlord”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.