I've been around a bit, and noticed that most landlords are greedy bastards, thinking their properties are for income only, and not thinking they should keep up maintenance.
At the time of this story, I was renting a room in a house with 4 other guys, because I was just starting out, and my finances were really tight, and it was the only place I could afford in the area.
The landlord (we'll call him LL) in this story was one of the more extremes: blamed residents for anything that broke, refused to maintain safety items (such as cleaning out the dryer vent once or twice a year, so that his house didn't burn down), and always threatened to raise our rent, if we ever complained. He would always drop by on Saturdays, without notice, just letting himself in - usually to collect rent, and yell at us for anything that didn't put money in his hand.
The only saving grace, was weekly visits from LL's wife, to clean the communal kitchen, living room, and front hallway. It wasn't much, but it saved us 5 guys from fighting over the tasks. She looked and dressed rather homely but was very nice. (I guess opposites attract, eh?) My roommates liked to refer to her as "plumpy-frumpy," and other similarly derogatory names, behind her back. I have to admit that she was only maybe a 6 out of 10, but I still thought it was mean to call her names - made me wonder what they called me, in private.