Maybe it stems from playing games as a child? I know with Monopoly we always put money from Community Chest and Chance cards under the Free Parking spot, and when someone landed there they got the money. That was not in the rules, but I've seen it done by a lot of people. That kind of thing happens in a lot of games. They just make up some rules because... well, it's their game and they can do it if they want!
Perhaps the landlords see it as "their game" too, so they get to make the rules. And they'll just write the rules up on paper, get a singature, so the tenants have to play their way. They don't realize (or don't WANT to realize) that they DO NOT get to make all the rules.
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