slumlord

American  

[sluhm-lawrd] / ˈslʌmˌlɔrd /

noun

1. a landlord who owns slum buildings, especially one who fails to maintain or improve the buildings and charges tenants exorbitant rents.

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slumlord British  

/ ˈslʌmˌlɔːd /

noun

1. informal an absentee landlord of slum property, esp one who profiteers

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Etymology

Origin of slumlord

First recorded in 1950–55; slum + lord

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slumlord

Perhaps the Democratic leaders could file a complaint with the city about this slumlord.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

It turned out that the story was made up by the slumlord who owned the building to excuse his neglect and some of the locals who had pumped up the story later recanted.

From Salon ● May 2, 2025

“The church is not a slumlord; the system is set up for small landlords to be doomed to fail,” Hunter said.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023

“This is a 12 out of 10 on a slumlord scale,” Grant Riley of the Beverly Hills law firm Riley / Ersoff said of one SoLa building where he represents tenants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2022

An apartment complex owned by slumlord Abe Greenberg was one of the first structures to go up in flames.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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