On Gremlin Landlords

It is sometimes claimed that Gremlins make poor tenants because they are untidy, mechanically intrusive, and prone to dismantling fixtures which were not previously thought dismantlable. This is unfair. Some Gremlins are immaculate tenants; they merely remain dangerous to hinges.

A landlord in Bellcross once attempted to charge a Gremlin machinist for “unauthorised structural modification” after discovering that the tenant had replaced every door hinge in the building with a quieter and substantially stronger design. The magistrate ruled for the landlord on the grounds that permission had not been obtained, and the landlord kept the hinges. I consider this legally correct and morally ambitious.