Woman Asks If She's Wrong For Charging Niece To Live In Home Her Daughter Lives In Rent-Free
The woman's reasoning doesn't quite make sense.
shurkin_son / Shutterstock A woman wants to know if she's in the wrong for charging her niece to live in a home that she lets her daughter live in, rent-free.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA), the woman, 47, explained the situation that led her to decide to charge her niece to stay at an apartment she and her husband own.
In her Reddit post, the woman wrote that she and her husband, 50, have a daughter, Alice, 20, who is a full-time college student and also works on the weekends at a fast food restaurant.
"She received a scholarship to her college that covers most costs, and we pay the rest," the woman continued.
"Me and Tom [her husband] own our apartment, we also own a second apartment that we let Alice live in, so she doesn't have to worry about rent and can focus on her studies."
The woman wants her niece, Rose, to pay rent in their second apartment.
The woman's husband, Tom, has a niece, Rose, 21, who is his sister's daughter.
Rose recently moved to their area for college, and her parents live in a different state than the school she's attending, which, the woman noted, is not the same college as the one Alice is currently enrolled in.
The woman explained that Rose "recently ran into some troubles" financially, and is having trouble making payments for her student housing.
"Rose, as well as my [sister-in-law], asked if she could room with Alice for a little while she saves up. We've talked to Alice and she's fine having Rose stay with her," the woman added.
While the woman's husband wants his niece to stay there for free, she disagrees.
The couple's niece already agreed to "cover utilities and food," which the woman's husband insists is enough and that they should help her cover the rest of her expenses.
"I replied that we are helping her out by giving her a place to stay, and the rent would be less than market rent," the woman argued.
The woman's husband rebutted, saying that if that were the logic they were going to use, then they should also charge their daughter rent.
She pointed out that "it's completely different," while her husband stuck to his original statement, calling his wife "selfish."
Most people who commented on the woman's Reddit post agreed that she was in the wrong for making her niece pay rent.
"If it was an apartment you'd have rented out if not for Rose then I'd say sure, charge her rent," one user wrote.
"But you're not renting it out, your daughter is already using it for free; so to me, what you're trying to do sounds like trying to profit off of a family member."
Another user chimed in, writing, " If your daughter lives there, and Rose living there adds absolutely no additional costs (and she said she'd cover utilities and food) then it's not going to cost you anything more for her to stay there."
"It's not like she's taking up space that you would rent out if she weren't there."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.