Hell hath no fury quite like a roommate who feels like they've been wronged. The sky-high emotions that come out during roommate conflicts could fuel an entire fleet of cars. And because these situations become so entrenched, it can be helpful to get outside opinions for perspective.
In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a woman asked if she was wrong for kicking out her friend after they got into a rent dispute. She wrote:
My friend D and I have been living in the apartment my parents own for college. We split utility bills while she also pays 300e for rent. It's a 2 bedroom, living room, kitchen and 1.5 bathrooms in a nice area, 300e is not nearly how much rent for that place would cost under normal circumstances.
Nevertheless, our parents are civil with each other so the massive discount was agreed upon on the premise that we split utility. I don't pay rent as my parents own it, but work and spend my own money for daily needs and groceries. D doesn't either, her parents pay everything. For a year now, D has been inviting her college friend who I'll call A to study at our place, sometimes sleep over.
A lives off campus but in a really dodgy area with her older brother and his friend. More than a month ago, D asked if A can stay over for a week, I told her no problem because I had a vacation set for that time. When I got back 9 days later, she was still at our place, so I asked D when A was going home, as I had planned for my friend to come over for the weekend.
She told me A got into a fight with her brother and didn't want to be there right now. I was annoyed but I never found an issue with A so I just asked she leave until the end of the week. She didn't. Three weeks passed and bills came in, which were almost double of what they were previously. I sat down D, gave her a run-down of the bills and she seemed surprised. She said to me 'I'm not paying that much.'
I looked at her and made a joke 'Yeah you're not, your dad is'. D got angry and went into her room. I thought the joke didn't land well so I knocked on her door to apologize, but I overheard D ranting how I don't even pay for anything so I wouldn't understand why her parents are mad. I entered the room, told A to pick up her stuff and leave. She seemed embarrassed, but 20 minutes later she left.
I asked D what she meant by that, and she said 'The bills are twice as much as last month's and dad is going insane over why he has to pay this much when you even had a guest over.' I told her she's a hypocrite if she thinks my friend staying over for a weekend affected the bills nearly as much as A living here for a month.
She told me I'm heartless for blaming A ,who was having a hard time, for the increased bills, and screamed I should contribute MORE to them. Then, she called her dad in the bathroom and demanded that I pay rent too because it's unfair. I told her she's insane if she thinks I'll pay rent in my own apartment and that she has until the start of the semester to find another place and move out.
D started crying and throwing some towels on the ground. She did move out a few days ago. We haven't spoken since, but A texted me apologizing for burdening me. My parents told me it wasn't my decision to make, even though they agree. Now, I'm not sure if I was an AH for making her to move out or for how I acted towards both her and A.
BananaKDM wrote:
NTA it's just pure logic. People are too soft and illogical these days. If she feels so inclined to help someone out then she should do so from her own pocket.
sherlocked27 wrote:
NTA. It’s done and sorted. Move on and study well.
Right_Bee_9809 wrote:
NTA. Rooming with a friend is a great way to lose a friend. Find a roommate who seems responsible and charge the full rent.
throwaway1551155115 wrote:
NTA, actions have consequences, D learned a very important lesson. It’s cool that she was trying to help someone out but you can’t expect another person to foot the bill.
Little_Mistake_1780 wrote:
NTA. D sounds immature and doesn't really understand of how the “real world” works. A, however, sounds pretty mature as even down on her luck she apologized to you, I would consider her as a new potential roommate if you see her fit as such, could be some good karma.
OP is definitely NTA here, and neither is A, but D needs to learn some serious lessons about entitlement and how money flows.