College kid keeps the rent money their friend's pay, they cry when friends find out.

'I've been charging my college friend's rent to live with me, and they're upset that I've been pocketing it because we technically can live here for free.'

EqualBudget_3179 writes:

This will be my first year in college. When I got accepted, the first person I told was my uncle. We're very close because he cared for me when I was little because of my parent's wild work schedules. Anyway, my grades were good enough to get me in but not enough to get me scholarships.

That means I'll have to take out loans for tuition and work for my expenses. When my uncle found out, he said I should concentrate on school instead of working, but my dad (his brother) said that money was tight right now, so my parents couldn't help me as much as they wanted.

My uncle has investment properties all over the place, so he said it's not a big deal for him to buy another one near my campus, which he did. Then he had contractors renovate the house, so emerging there is brand new. He even had them install a bay window in the master bedroom just for me, and I got to pick out everything else, like the carpet and counters.

He told me he wanted me to concentrate on school and not work. Instead, I can be his landlady, rent out the other three bedrooms, and keep that money to fund my expenses. I have friends attending the same school, so I made a deal with them. Studio apartments are going between $900-1500 (not including utilities) around the campus, with the expensive ones being closer.

My uncle's house is one street from campus so I can walk to class daily. I'm charging my friends $700 per room, or if they double up, $350 per person per month and split utilities evenly. They all jumped at the offer, and no one asked any questions until recently when one of them asked me how much the overall rent was.

I was honest and told them about my uncle and our deal. That blew up in my face because now every one of my friends calls me greedy for charging them rent and then pocketing the money. We're all in a huge fight, and they want to either pay nothing or 'throw a couple hundred' in for utilities.

I cried to my uncle, but he said now that I'm an adult, I must make my own adult decision. He'll stand by my decision. I don't want to lose my friends, but I don't want to disappoint my family with bad grades. I thought I was being fair with rent, but all my friends call me a greedy AH.

Here are some of the post's top comments:

Dittoheadforever says:

You're NTA (Not the A%#hole). They're getting a great deal, but instead of focusing on that, they're seething with envy. Your uncle didn't buy and renovate that home so your jealous friends could have a free place to live.

He invested in that home so you could have a place to stay and an income while in school. Don't back down, OP. Your friends are not entitled to a free roof over their heads just because you have one.

Necrotechxking says:

A similar happened with someone I know. The issue is they saw you as an equal, and now they see you as someone in a position of power with them. They are now 'lower' than you, which will breed resentment.

What you CAN do is tell them. 'Look. My uncle wanted to rent these rooms out at 1.4k each. I convinced him to do me a favor and let me rent the room to my friends.' Convince them they are getting a huge deal. It gives you a shot at salvaging this.

ZestyGolf7654 says:

Your uncle is teaching you a very valuable life lesson. The question is if you will learn it. There will always be freeloaders in your life; how will you handle them?

What do you think? Is OP wrong to charge their friends rent or are their friends in the wrong for getting upset?