Guy Rents His Room Out To A Co-Worker, But Things Turned Sour When The Hot Water Went Out For 3 Days

Renting out your room to someone you don’t know is a literal game of chance.

Who hasn’t either been through a frustrating situation with a roommate or at least heard of one?

Would love to see that pie chart.

Well here’s a story about jumping to conclusions, where open communication would have fared way better.

I rent out the spare bedroom in my house for $800 a month (market rate in my area). I don’t know my roommate very well, but we work for the same company.

I work early mornings and she works late evenings. So we’re often ships passing in the night.

On Friday my hot water heater broke. The home warranty guys said they couldn’t get anyone out until Monday morning. It’s hot as balls right now, so I wasn’t too upset. A few cold showers won’t kill anyone.

Hmm. So he reached out and gave a heads-up.

All seemed to be fine.

I texted my tenant “hot water is out until Monday” and she responded 👍.

I didn’t see her all weekend, which is normal, as I said. The guy got here at 8AM to fix the heater. When he was done I texted her to let her know the hot water was back on.

Then the text hammer drops.

Everyone knows that feeling: a text that pauses time around you.

She hits me with this gem. “My hotel bill was $250. Do you want to reimburse me now or deduct it from next month’s rent?”

I stared at the text for a good while. I didn’t even know she was gone. She got a hotel room just for hot water? That’s so extra. She could have showered at work, but she got a hotel room?

I texted “hey, I didn’t know you left. Rent is still due in full on the first of the month, regardless of if you choose to sleep elsewhere for a weekend.”

But she kept pushing.

She texted me back “there was no water. I couldn’t stay there. You’re my landlord and have to provide me with livable accommodations.”

I texted back “there was water, just not hot. If it was winter, you might have a point. Rent is still due in full. Failure to pay rent will result in me filing with the court, which will impact your credit.”

His response ended the conversation, but now he’s wondering…

She stopped responding. I texted a friend who said I was way too harsh and should have just countered with a $50 discount for those two days or something.

Which, sure, if she’d asked for a $50 reduction that would have been reasonable. But I’m not paying for her hotel and the audacity of her to ask me p****s me off.

But I know jumping to talking about filing a thirty days was a bit dramatic. Was I TA?

That’s such a tough situation that really depends on a lot of varying factors.

But the comments section was there for the votes!

It was a wide variety, but ESH felt like a pretty good over-arching vote here, like this person’s.

One person brought up how it’s different in their state, but they should absolutely check their local laws.

Another commenter brought the NTA vote, with a funny realization.

While one Redditor dropped facts all over the table.

My Four Seasons bill was $6,800. I take cash or Venmo.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.