tenement

Definition

A charming relic of industrial-era slum housing, where dozens of families were packed into a structure with approximately the square footage of a shoebox and the ventilation of a tomb. Modern usage: any crumbling, multi-unit rental building where the landlord spends exactly $0 on maintenance and somehow still charges premium rent.

Example Usage

The Lower East Side tenement housed eight families in four stories, with a single outhouse serving the entire building.

Source: Merriam-Webster, historical real estate terminology

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