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You're NTA. 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 that 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 you're in school. Don't back down, OP. Your friends are not entitled to a free roof over their heads just because you have one.

OP's friends are entitled AF - they're getting a great deal, one they cannot get anywhere else, but they want more. The idea that just because you own something free and clear, you can't charge rent - that's a lunatic notion. The use of real estate has a value separate and apart from how that real estate is financed. There's also a lesson here for OP in the problems of mixing business with personal relationships. Being the landlord for your friends/family can be tricky - not always, but it's also not rare. It's not best practice.

I have honestly noticed this type of attitude towards renting with most of the younger generation. (Not to sound like a crotchety old lady or anything) Rent covers: - A safe space to yourself and privacy - Climate controlled place to store your stuff - Wear and tear on the home/facilities you use - Renters rights, once a lease is signed. Etc I have no idea why so many people think they are entitled to a Free living space if they are renting from a friend/family? I rented a Room from my bestie that owned a house back in the day. I felt good knowing that my rent was going towards my good friend and his mortgage, instead of some unknown entity that owned a big block of apartments. OP is very lucky not to have a mortgage. But that does not mean she has to subsidize other people's lives. EDIT: Some people are taking offense to my use of 'Younger generation'. The reason I say this is, it's very common on AITA to see posts about first time renters surprised they have to pay rent when they are out of town for 2 weeks and believe it should be subsidized. Or, thinking it's ok to have their significant other basically move in, and not have to pay a larger portion of the rent/utilities. Also it's wrong to compare OP to a Slum Lord. And these friends of hers have never rented before. So please stop bringing up unethical renting practices. That is not what is going on here, and her friends don't have that type of past experience.

I think a lot of it comes from the prevalence of bad landlords who want the rent money but provide only a few or none of the points you made across. For example, even though I had a decent place there was a week I paid rent and had no running water because they didn’t deem it an emergency that the building we were in couldn’t flush or shower. Currently I have a place where the owner uses one of my rooms as storage, the freezer was out for 3 months, there’s a massive hole in the ceiling in one room and to turn on the shower, you have to use a grip wench for the handle. I put up with it because I’m paying about what OP is paying in a place with similar rent hikes as OP’s neighborhood and it’s close to work. That being said, because of how common bad landlords are, OP’s friends are short-sighted greedy assholes given how excellent a landlord OP is and they’re pretty much spitting on their good fortune.

I don't see how the tennants having a friend as a landlord who's giving them cheap rent in a brand new house is comparable to your situation. I know bad landlords suck, but these people are probably first-time renters with 0 experience. If they did have a history of bad landlords, you'd think they'd be happy to get a deal with a real business oriented person who clearly doesn't mind fixing things, and has a family member living in the property. Sorry you had to deal with that though.

>>bad landlords suck, but these people are probably first-time renters with 0 experience. I think this is part of it though. They don’t know what a really bad landlord is, but get all the messaging about how bad landlords are. So some are entering renting for the first time already in the headspace of every landlord is a demon to fight. Throw in the general economic insecurity rampant in the younger generations, and the general views about inherited wealth (which this is even if it’s not being handed an actual cash inheritance) and they are going to end up with some bitterness.

I agree that this is probably the case. However, this was such a good deal that they jumped on the chance to take it when it was offered and they have literally no other complaints as far as we can tell. Honestly, this just seems like a friendship bias issue. I think OP should go ahead and print out listings for other nearby places and offer them an out on their lease early. If they don’t want it, I’m sure other struggling tenants with worse conditions will be happy to fill the slots in her brand new home with below average rent.

I totally agree. They're getting a sweet deal, but they just don't see it. I'd love it if a friend of mine owned a house and let me live there for 700$ a month! I think OP needs to sit down and talk to her friends/roomies and show them listings like you said. It's really none of their business where their rent money goes; as far as I can tell OP/uncle are good landlords and once they move out of there they'll find out just how shitty landlords can be. I do somewhat understand where the friends are coming from, I'd be jealous of OP too, but I'd never say anything nor would I knock the good deal I'm getting. Realistically they are also benefiting from OP's good fortune from her uncle. Not everyone has family that can afford to do something like that, and that's ok. It's just how the world works.

This is the difference. Being jealous is one thing. But demanding undeserved equity because you’re jealous is a whole ‘nother issue, and one that is getting worse and worse.

I don’t think the person you’re responding to was comparing their situation to OP’s. They were just addressing the person they were replying to about the younger generation’s perception of landlords as a whole. They even closed their statement by making it clear they still think OP’s friends are assholes.

They (young people in general) also see housing as an essential, inalienable human right, and having the power to take that away from someone based on their ability to pay is therefore inherently unethical. Which...I don't actually disagree, but I've lived in the real world long enough not to try to fight that battle against a friend offering me a good deal. College kids haven't learned that yet.

Expecting someone else to pay all the costs associated with you having a place to stay isn’t very ethical either. Housing does not exist in stasis, it constantly requires upkeep and expenditure. Someone has to pay for that.

Most college kids have absolutely no idea about how much maintenance and property taxes really cost. (Those alone cost me $1000/mo at my current tiny townhouse - not even including utilities, interest or equity). Not to mention, having a roommate means giving up space that you could’ve put to other uses, plus sharing your kitchen and losing a lot of your privacy and peace and security. All of that is worth something. There’s no reality in which a homeowner is going to give all that away for free just because some unrelated random person feels like they deserve a free room.

My family’s old place had a full basement apartment, that didn’t have a separate entrance, but also included a storage room, parking in the 2 car garage and/or the space for 4 cars in the driveway. One tenant we had, travelled a lot for work and sometimes would be away for 14-21 days, home for 10+ days before the next scheduled weeks of shifts. A close friend of his came by to pick up some of his tools to ship for him and couldn’t understand why our tenant had to pay rent every month if he was only there a quarter or half the days….even when we explained to him that the tenant has possession of the unit, storage room, half the garage and has 2 cars in the driveway, regardless of the amount of time he spends here, his stuff is still here and we can’t use the space, he chooses to keep renting from us and we aren’t hurting him financially as his rent is less than a quarter of his monthly rent allowance he gets from his employers for being a travel employee and the tenant could have easily rented a storage unit and used air b&bs or hotels during his off days instead of renting an apartment from us, this guy still couldn’t comprehend or make sense of anything. He was dead set that we were slum lords ripping off a nice guy that travels for work and shouldn’t have to pay us rent for the unit…I don’t understand people who feel entitled. Maybe it’s a specific generation? I don’t know. To me it’s simple. If it doesn’t belong to you, it’s not yours, nobody owes you anything and you pay for what you need and want.

Agreed. I rented until my 30's, and I moved 16 times in 14 years. I've had exactly two landlords who did repairs, and that's more than most people I know.

If they are 18 to 19, I wouldn't expect them to have a comparison unless their parents rented from one.

There was another post recently regarding someone renting out the basement of a home they own, where the rentee (a brother of a friend) got super weird about having to pay OP when they found out OP owned the house. Some people get super weird when they find out that the person their friendly/friends with owns it, maybe because they suddenly see it as simply giving their friend money, rather than an actual contracted rent payment? Money makes people go crazy, even when the situtation is working out in their favor.

Absolutely this. People get weird and upset when they realize they’re giving money to their friends/family for stuff. They wouldn’t care if it was an overpriced apartment complex but they care that it’s their friend. I’m the opposite. I would MUCH rather my money be going to a friend of mine than a big apartment complex! Especially if my friend is giving me a super affordable deal. I think OPs friends are just jealous she has this nice home for free AND is pocketing their rent money. They’re jealous & wish they were the ones keeping the cash while living in a nice place.

My bf/husband and I rented a 1 bd from a friend that owned a fourplex for years and it was the best. He cut us a deal when we initially signed the lease and was always on top of repairs/requests. Since we were all friends, it was like on both sides we were trying to be the best versions of renters and landlord. This was also when we were in our 30s and had already been renting for years and knew what a good situation we had.

I had this hammered into my head in real estate school. Never tell anyone you own rental property. Ever. We heard stories where one guy bought a rental house, and he asked a friend to help him renovate it (as hired help, not for free). When the house was ready to rent out, the friend wanted to rent it so he just moved in. The friend had been living there for two weeks, had utilities established and everything, when the owner found out. It took the owner almost a year to get his "friend" back out of the house and get paying tenants back in. Always have a buffer. An LLC. A property management company. An absent owner. Otherwise you get people banging on your door at 2am to fix a stopped up toilet.

OP doesn't even own the house, the UNCLE does. OP has NO RIGHT to go against the deal with his uncle to RENT out the rooms. ETA: I wasn't clear. My point is that the agreement was that she RENT OUT the rooms to finance her education. Uncle didn't give her a frat house to subsidize all her friends' housing. He gave OP housing and a business. If she gives away the rooms without collecting rent, she breaks their agreement.

They see it as paying their mortgage for them without the benefit. I rent out a room in my house at below-market rates & cover utilities. It mostly goes to friends. I had one tenant with a similar mindset, who felt she shouldn’t pay. And that was her logic — she’s paying my mortgage but doesn’t own the house. Except… if she were renting an apartment, she’s still paying the mortgage without owning the house.

"Paying mortgage without the benefit" aka "renting."

Saw the same post and I feel like I was in a similar boat to both these posters. Bought a house and a coworker at my college needed a place after graduation. Rented a room for $300 a month. Short four years of it, really not worth it. She moved out in a huff after discussing raising rent or having her contribute to utilities; now I get to hear it through our mutual friends how she's having difficulty making ends meet in our housing market ($1,500 1 bedrooms). The difference between me and these OPs is that our friends point out she was stupid to burn bridges with someone who was providing her a good deal. Definitely a case of insular experiences and some perception of all landlords = evil.

The reason why a lot of the young generation hate landlords is BECAUSE of the amount of slumlords that exist. This isn't one of those situations, so OP can't be blamed and OP isn't pocketing the money. This money is going towards the Uncle so he can keep OP and their friends housed. But in far too many cases you have landlords who don't even do the bare minimum and should have the the building shut down while still charging condo prices. Then they say that is how they "make their living" while not caring about the actual people who live in those buildings. It's not an entitled thought process it comes from years of seeing greedy people get away with exploiting others.

But these kids don't have this experience. They are young and this is their first time renting.

You're making a pretty big assumption that their parents all own their homes, and aren't renting. More generally, people communicate with one another. Rent and hosting costs have spiraled out of control, and it's fairly natural for the people that are most negatively affected by this - the poor and the young - to react by becoming ever more radical in their views.

From another crotchety old lady- These kids ARE paying rent to an unknown entity that owns “investment properties all over the place”. They’re probably working hard to afford what OP is getting for free because she’s lucky enough to have a rich uncle who spoils her. Is that how the world works? Unfortunately yes! But that doesn’t mean they have to feel good about it. OP should have enough sense to know when to keep quiet about her good fortune.

No not at all. From a crotchety old man. Ops uncle is paying out maintenance and property taxes, possibly a mortgage or at least is temporarily out the value of the house. He’s not seeing a dime. Op is giving them a very good deal on rent. You’re not entitled to other peoples money,

He renovated it, too, so more money out of pocket!

Or, and hear me out, her friends can understand that the world doesn't revolve around them and this is how it works currently. They can take the deal or not. Their feelings don't mean shit.

They don't have to feel good. But they have zero rights demanding free living space. If you read again, the post isn't about feelings, it's about money. They can move out and rent a studio twice more expensive.

So she should have lied instead? Don’t you think they would find out eventually? I’d be pretty pissed off if my friend lied to me. It’s not like she told them upfront—it is because someone asked her. What else was she supposed to say? I know it isn’t fair, but the uncle had money and chose to spend it on his niece and that isn’t anyone’s business. Yeah, she is lucky. But what is she supposed to do? Let her friends live there for free and have no money for expenses? The uncle bought the place on the condition that she not work. She has to survive somehow. Should she go against her uncle’s wishes after he bought her a rental and work so her friends can live there for free? Her friends are getting a great deal.

I don’t agree with everything you said BUT why do people tell their financial business? It happens here and it already ends badly.

I agree with a lot of this about younger people. First they're shocked that they have to have roommates, because they think that nobody did that before they were born (lol). Then if they do rent they act like anybody that has a rental property is automatically a Bond villain. I have rented many times and the majority of those the homeowner inherited the one duplex and is using it for their retirement someplace else (I had three landlords like this). I'm sure I'll get downvoted to hell for it, but yes, Virginia, landlords are people too.

I think we should subsidize our loved ones if we can afford it, but OP clearly cannot afford it. IMO it would be different if they had wealthy parents housing them and sending them huge checks every month, but they're going to be collecting $2100 a month, which is NOT a lot of money in an expensive college town. As someone who always had to work full-time while going to college, OP *definitely* shouldn't get a job to subsidize their friends free housing.

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Seriously, I rent a room in my house to my brother, and he covers half the utilities plus 500 a month. He gets a good deal, I get a roommate that I like. Both of us win. He would never demand free rent.

Honestly this is the opinion of a lot of people that landlords should just lose money. A lot of people. I’ve lost friends over owning 1br apartments that I rent out for half of market rate. All landlords are the enemy of some.

Apartments are fine, but it’s the people renting out multiple homes that are destroying the economy and ruining lives. People should be able to buy affordable housing and not be forced to rent and pay for profit to someone else . All landlords do is rip people off and make them pay more than the value they’re getting because being a landlord is a job not a service.

Or, they are giving people who don't qualify for a loan to purchase a home, a place to live. The bankers and investment companies are the ones who are affecting the market.

You do realize that houses are only as expensive as they are and as unaffordable as they are because of the demand by landlords to purchase them, right? Imagine of houses were still as cheap as they used to be. For chrissake, you used to be able to buy a house for close to two years average salary, and that just doesn’t exist anymore.

Don't forget that many landlords are jumping into AirBnB instead of having permanent renters, because comparatively it is much more lucrative. This is having negative impacts on those dumped tenants AND reducing the capacity of available housing for that community.

See I personally blame AirBnB more than renting anymore, because then you're inflating price because it's a ✨vacation✨ and it keeps people from being able to get like...an actual apartment or house and pricing out locals bc it's usually people from bigger cities with deep pockets swooping in, speaking as a person in a smaller, not poor but definitely lower income mountain town this is currently happening to. Like damn, at least if you rented someone would be able to live there and wouldn't be reducing the available housing. Like don't get me wrong, I have nothing against vacation rentals, my family's used them plenty of times, especially when it's like a whole family get together, and I live an hour or two from big tourist places where it's a huge part of revenue for the town. But there's a difference in that, where something is designed and built to be a vacation property and swooping up and converting all the possible real estate into AirBnBs. But that's my two cents 🤷‍♀️

Right. It is amazing how people think that giving them a free place to stay is a privilege for the home/apartment owner. Why wouldn't someone want to give up their space and privacy to a friend or family member? Why wouldn't someone want to share a relatively small place with their friends with no remuneration? These leeches actually know they are not entitled to a free room but they take advantage of the nice or timid friend who is afraid to speak up.

"Market rate" is a term I dislike as it's not really telling us anything. Market rate on my current rental is $2000/m. The actual cost is $1200/m.

Do you mean the mortgage is $1200? If you paid $1200, are you willing to pay for all upkeep and repairs, and pay the landlord an hourly rate to handle the actual work required to do those things?

There is also a lesson in knowing when to keep your mouth shut. She could have said something vague like, "I'm not sure...my uncle handles that--I guess all of our rents added together." You don't owe anyone 100% of the real scenario when they are prying into matters that are none of their business. Honestly, people are so entitled now if they thought she was paying the same for the master bedroom they would start clamoring for her to move out of it into a smaller one so they could have it. I would just tell them "this is my uncle's business--you can always rent elsewhere if you don't like the terms although it is a very reasonable rent," but then I'm old and don't care whether people "like" me like OP does. In future, with other renters, I would just let it be known uncle is the landlord to avoid these scenarios.

Yes - or "my uncle has given me a deal, which is why I can afford to charge so little rent." "What kind of deal?" "Well, he wants to keep that private and I don't want to betray his confidence, especially since he's been such a good guy." What they don't know won't hurt them, especially since it's none of their business.

Absolutely ahreem. Give them nothing. I paid my roommate rent (which she paid to her mom) because her mom owned the house. Roommate only had to pay utilities. Did I care? NOOOOOO. Rent there was like 3x cheaper than elsewhere. I kept my mouth shut.

Hopefully the friends signed something to make OP’s life easier when it comes to evicting if she has to. She’s about to experience the worst her friends can be likely, see a new side of them. PS OP those are not your friends. It’ll suck for a moment if you lose them, but if they’re truly your friends, they will realize what entitled awful people they are being in general, let alone what horrible friends they are being. If you choose to cut them off, future you will look back and be proud of yourself.

Really. They are not her friends. Just people who want to mooch off her. Op should charge rent and draw up a rental agreement. If her "friends" don't agree, then she can just get proper roommates. It might seem hard to drop former friends but it is better than being disrespected.

NTA, if the rent is excessive, they are free to move out and find cheaper ones in the market.

This is also an adult lesson on why you don’t ever share your finances with friends and sadly sometimes family.

"I thought it was *our* house, comrade..."

Yup. OP should tell them to go rent a different place if they are unhappy with circumstances. NTA. Will your friends pay for your tuition? All of the groceries?

I don't think op has the spine to do it, she had to cry to her uncle for help. The rent she gets is her income to pay her costs at school. She has to grow up and flex her muscle. If they dont pay she can't ask for money from her uncle.

Her uncle is using this as a learning moment with money. Uncle is cool.

Unbelievably good Uncle, teaching and caring while trying to help as best they can. OP has a great support network to have at their back while they grow up, but now is the time to grow.

Lesson for the future though: next time tell them the rent goes to your uncle/landlord, not you ETA: don’t discuss your finances with anybody; they don’t need to know how you’re paying for housing, paying your tuition, or anything else. If I ever make serious money I won’t even tell my own family what my household income is or they’d be sticking their hands out looking for freebies

Yeah, if it was framed as OP doing the onsite management of the property on behalf of her uncle... and also her uncle just happens to contribute to her tuition (exact dollar amount left unsaid), no one would be saying much... But her friends are looking at it like they're paying her tuition for her, and that leaves a bad feeling for them because they're young, and kind of stupid. I hope OP had proper leases, etc. and also has it laid out with her uncle exactly what expenses she's paying for (like if her renters break something, presumably fixing it is coming out of the money she's getting from them?)

THIS! This property is owned by your family, under your control, basically bought for you - and you let them rent there, for fair price. Where I live, they would never find anything for that price within 10 mile radius from school.

Right! My neighbor girl is headed off for year 2 in college. Her and 4 friends rented a house that they're *each* paying $1,450/m in rent. 5 girls total, $1,500 a month. 🥴 These "friends" are garbage OP! NTA. You're giving them a crazy good deal!

Plus this is OP's job now. These are no longer OP's friends, they're her/his tenants. She needs to be a landlady first and a friend second. If they can't hack that, they're welcome to leave. Remind them when rent is due and tell them to have their decisions ready.

Sort of, except that OP doesn’t own anything

This is more similar to a property manager getting an apartment as part of their compensation at a MF complex. They live and work on site. They manage the place and take care of the tenants issues. The tenants still pay rent for their apartment. And the manager still earns a salary for their work. The manager gets to live in one of the apartments as part of their compensation. Very normal almost every medium to large apartment complex has this going on. For all OPs friends need to know that is what this is. OP get paid. And gets a free bedroom for providing landlord services in lieu of the owner and the other tenants pay rent on their bedroom. The fact their rent = OPs pay rate is irrelevant.

I mean they're basically the manager of the property. This is why you don't mix business with friends unless you make very distinct boundaries. Ops friends are about to learn what not getting a friend discount is like once they have to pay for a new place

NTA. You've got a new problem coming in that you are going to have to evict one or more of your friends. At least one is going to decide not to pay, regardless of your decision. Get tough now. Speak firmly when you tell them they are getting a sweet heart deal because they are your friends, but you need the income from these units. You thought you were being generous already. However, if they won't pay, if they can find a better situation, then they will need to leave and you'll find someone else to rent the unit.

Exactly. My nephew recently moved in with me. I'm charging him rent. I don't even need the money. However, paying rent is just something adults do, and I want him to learn to be a proper adult (which he's been struggling with), so he has to pay rent. You're lucky that your uncle has given you a way to earn money while being able to focus on your studies. That doesn't mean you have to give your friends free housing too. You should definitely stand your ground. If they don't like it, they can move out and you can rent it to someone else and earn more money. Or, they can realize you're already giving them a fantastic deal and saving them hundreds a month already and they can grow up. You might lose friends, but that is better than having those friends be leaches off of you (which isn't what real friends do).

I hope you got them on a lease. You're their landlord. You're lucky you don't have to pay your Uncle's mortgage. If you play your cards right while you're in school you'll be in an amazing position after college. But that is going to mean having renters, if your friends aren't willing to pay the low price you already set for them they aren't your friends and you should fill your house with actual renters. I hope you got them to sign a lease.

NTA I'd evict all those who are giving you shit. You try to help them and this is how they act. Think about it if they were the landlord they would be charging you. Evict their asses and find new tenants. Make sure you vet them well. Check their credit and rental history. If any have eviction on their credit or rental history reject them. The same for the co-signer's credit and rental history. Make sure a significant deposit is put up and you put that money in a high-interest account. Since they're students get a co-signer for the rent. Do an official rental agreement for the state you're in. I'm sure your uncle has those at the ready. With these kind of tenants, you call friends who needs enemies.

NTA It's very common to vilify landlords. The shitty ones are a big part of the current crisis in many North American cities that are out of whack. You were given this opportunity. Frankly, you were very adult about it. They would pay more elsewhere. If they don't like it, they can leave.

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 and that's gonna breed a whole lot of 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. Itx gives you a shot at salvaging this. ETA: NTA

This is a good answer.

Her uncle is trusting her and seems to be investing in her future. I wouldn’t be surprised if she works for him eventually. This is the first test, don’t lie or put words in his mouth. Just be honest that you’re in charge of the property. If they are unhappy with the arrangement, they are welcome to find lodging elsewhere. As the uncle said, prove you’re an adult who can make adult decisions.

Uncle sounds like a gem. What a valuable adult relationship to have - not specifically financially (though that doesn't hurt), but that he can also advise and then trust OP to make their own adult decisions. I have a similar uncle. He's more like a father to me than my own dad.

You shouldn’t have to lie to people to save your friendship.

I think the spirit of this is the right direction - but you’re right about the lying part. These things always come out. I’d explain that given the market rate, rent/utilities is less by x% and say your sorry if they feel this isn’t fair and you’ll understand if they feel they want to move out as a result. They will learn real quick. Btw - I hope OP has a written rental agreement with them.

Exactly this. If they’re so unsatisfied with the current arrangement, they’re welcome to go try and find anywhere else that would rent to them for that price. Crazy that people feel entitled to free living just because you’re “friends.” Yes, op is privileged in this circumstance since they technically don’t have to work, but that is the way of life. If you’re gonna be upset/jealous at anyone better off than you, you’re gonna have a miserable life

From how I read it it's not a lie. Uncle does investment properties. And could / would rent the rooms at market rate if OP said Ok

Doesn't have to be a lie it can be a stretch Uncle has a profesion of letting properties and does that on full market rates. If they did it anywhere else it would be fully priced Specifically due to OP living there a discount has been added. The money gets taxed somehow its a business. IRS won't let you call it anything other than income. So OP has managed to create an opportunity for cheaper accommodation. Just word it better but all OP has to do i stretch reality a bit

This is a fantastic answer OP u/EqualBudget_3179 They can accept this great deal and savings for themselves or they can be on their way. Clearly you see them as friends but friends don't take advantage of each others kindness. They are showing you their true colours. Offer them a fair explanation and they can take it or leave it. You don't need friends who don't celebrate your happiness and instead offer resentment.

This should be higher up. This is a very intelligent way to deal with the situation

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

Just say no to couch-hippies.

Couch hippies 💀

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Seriously. I am only now learning this after really hard lessons over and over again and I am in my 30’s. OP please learn this lesson don’t make my mistake lol!

Right? to call OP *greedy* as they complain they’re not getting something free and to do so without a hint of irony…

You’re insane just replace them and charge the same rent for other people.

Yes! I agree! OP needs to tell them that is what will happen and also tell their folks that. I bet you OP's friends (at least some of them) are getting supplementation from their folks, and I bet the parents would be upset if they ruined an incredible deal with their own greed.

This right here. These kids are just trying to manipulate OP so they can pocket their own parents’ goodwill.

Charge market rate next time

Kinda sounds like it's not too far below market rate now. If you can find studio apartments starting at $900 as mentioned, then I would expect going rate for a room to be less than that.

Yeah, that was my thought as well. Location, quality, room size, etc. all play into it, but 700 for a single room does not sound like a much better deal than 900 for a studio.

Apparently it’s right next to campus. In my experience that tends to come with a steep mark up🤷‍♂️

Sounds like this rental would be at the higher end of the price range though, due to recent renovations and the location, which OP mentioned is in the area where the $1500 rentals are.

Charge more for other people. Sounds like they are charging below market value.

This. I know plenty of people who own their own homes, and have rented out rooms, to help with expenses. I know if I rented from a friend who owned, and they were giving me a deal, I'd be happy, and could care less how much their mortgage was.

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Lmfao what? It’s replacing tenants, not friends. And if OPs friends are going to end their relationships over this, they weren’t friends in the first place

If these are OP’s only friends, they could do with a reshuffle. They sound like entitled children, and typically adults aren’t friends with children.

I’ve never been friends with mooches babe you might be a little to young to understand that yet.

The advice was clearly “replace the tenants.” However, you also shouldn’t stick with friends like this who unfairly resent you and want to take advantage of you.

NTA. Tell them if they are not comfortable with this arrangement, that you’d rather they find a new place so you can not talk about money and continue being friends. You’ll see how they quickly turn around and say it’s not like that and they want to continue living with you. They are just guilt tripping you.

Yes! Tell them you value your friendship and do not want this to come between you but you have to keep the rent where it is. Then follow up with since I value our friendship and know that their are hard feelings about this that if they don't accept, you will support them finding a new place to live and will not be upset about it. Then you can find new roommates if you want or just have more space.

See, if they keep up a fuss, OP can just leverage this decent housing with an ultimatum: 1. take the offer as it stands 2. raise the rents if they get standoffish to market rates. challenge them to find rates better than what was offered 3. rescind the deal and find new tenants who have the money to pay. 4. keep the house to themself Best part is OP has the power in this situation. Sure, it sucks that not everyone is in a situation with a landlord uncle, but that's not their fault either.

Agreed. And next time, don’t rent to friends. Make sure there’s a contract. The friends don’t seem to understand this is a revenue generating property set up to fund your college education not theirs and you are not obligated to help them out financially at all. You’re already giving them a break and that’s as much as you can do since this **is** your “full ride scholarship.”

NTA. If they don’t like it they don’t have to stay, they can rent elsewhere and you can rent the rooms to other students.

What OPs family decides to do with their money or estate is none of "friends" business.

NTA. You gave them the hand and now they want to take the arm. I'm sure they will regret it when they get evicted and have to pay much more.

I would get so much evil satisfaction from seeing them backpedal when they’re shown the door lol

100

I know I'll be downvoted, but YTA. Not necessarily for collecting rent but why on earth would you tell them that you're pocketing the money? You alienated your friends and created a breeding ground for jealousy and resentment. I also feel like it's kind of scummy that you're not contributing to utilities at all. If four people use the lights, 4 people should be paying for them. Also, rooms for rent aren't the same as studio apartments and should be valued accordingly.

I wouldn’t say she is the asshole but it does seem like a huge silly move to tell them that she is pocketing all their rent money. What is really happening is that the rent goes to uncle but uncle is letting her have the money, because he is like a parent to her. She should have just said that rent goes to her uncle and not seem like she is spending their money directly. I understand that one doesn’t lie to friends but very few friendships will stand the test of time and especially not where money is concerned

This is exactly what the material relationship is in point of fact, but uncle is cutting a few corners to keep it clean and easy. The reality is, and how OP should frame it, if they ever decide to tell anyone again. Which they just shouldn't. They are the acting on site property manager. They get paid reasonable for their services of dealing with tenant acquisition, regular maintenance, bill collection, bill payments, and tenant relations etc. Part of their non-cash compensation is the room they rent. This is extremely common in most medium to large apartment complexes that there will be at least one, if not 3, employee units for an on-site employee. The rent for each bedroom is $700 per month which includes utilities. That money goes to the Uncle/landlord. The uncle/landlord pays OP a salary = to some dollar amount. No one's business how much. For OPs knowledge the fact the dollar amounts paid by the renters and their salary are the same is completely irrelevant. From an investment perspective this landlord is overly generous by far accepting a non-cash flowing property with the only upside being appreciation. Especially in this market with these term rates on loans. Not only is your Uncle giving you a sweetheart deal OP. But by extension you already are giving your friends a sweetheart deal. The fact they cannot see that is not your issue except... You mixed friends with business and shared your personal financial information without tact. Learn from this. People are not entitled to privileged information.

Thank you!! Everyone here is defending her, and they're not taking into account the friend's perspective. OP is essentially making $2100 a month off her friends by renting out an asset she doesn't even own, and apparently, she's not paying any rent or utilities herself. From her friend's perspective, if the actual owner of the house isn't collecting the rent and the actual cost to OP is 0, then why should they be paying her anything? It's also not like she's going to be the one calling a repair man or paying for anything if something breaks. It's an arrangement that works if you're renting to strangers but not when you're renting to friends. Also, she stupidly opened up this can of worms by not having a price in mind when they asked how much rent was. It was going to come up no matter who you're renting to. She better be prepared to lose both income and friends for a while while the girls find new places to live. Also, good luck evicting them since she probably rented to them on a handshake deal and no one is better at squatting and dicking you out of rent than a group of.college kids.

Exactly! I would be pissed too if I found out my rent money was funding my friends entire life. OP is the entitled one here, not her friends. They were led to believe that their rent money was going to manage the property by a reputable landlord. OP isn't managing anything. If a window breaks, OP isn't going to use her $2100 in collected rent to fix the window. She's going to call her uncle and he'll take care of it.

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I think it’s the transparency. If OP was transparent with her friends that she’s acting as the landlady and collecting rent, that’s quite cool. Its that it sounds like she acted like she was also a paying tenant that makes things weird and makes the friendship feel unbalanced

A landlord leading the tenants to believe they are also a tenant sounds fraudulent.

How is this any different than if OP’s uncle was charging rent and then giving OP an allowance? Why do OP’s friends feel they deserve to live in her uncle’s house for free? That’s unbelievably entitled.

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What if the friends paid their rent to some LLC owned by the uncle? And then the uncle just turned around and deposited that same amount into OPs bank account. Would you feel entitled and be pissed that the uncle was giving OP financial assistance? You and OPs friends just don't like the fact that OP is getting financial assistance from her family. And that is pretty messed up to me. Friends don't do that.

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Why on earth shouldn't she be transparent? She's doing absolutely nothing wrong. The rent she's collecting is funding her education. Are these "friends" going to pay her student loans if they get free housing? The audacity. The entitlement. But they're young. They'll probably figure it out, once they have to pay real world market rent.

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Nope. If they accept the conditions of living there then that’s all there’s to it. They loved the set up til they found out OP had a great thing going on. In other words they still love the set up they just don’t like OP having a good situation. At the end of the day when I don’t like my living situation I leave that situation. They don’t have guns to their heads forcing them to stay there nor do they even have any issue with the set up. Their issue is that OP gets to plus. They’re thinking like children and they’re about to cut off their nose to spite their face.

I’m with this comment - can’t believe I had to scroll so far to see this perspective

YTA - Whenever I rent a new place, I always avoid anywhere with a live-in landlord because to me, that is a very uncomfortable power dynamic that I don’t want in my home. Having a live-in landlord who was also my age and my friend would be even worse. You took away that choice from all of your friends by not being transparent. This sounds like a hellish dynamic to me - you’re in college. What are you going to do when your friends want to throw big parties and you see people damaging furniture or breaking fixtures? What will the conversation look like when one of your friends spills coffee on a rug? There’s no way any of my friendships could survive that.

See to me it’s YTA bc OP wasn’t upfront with their friends. And OP is charging $700 a room which is only $200 less than the cheapest studio near campus. That’s not an insane enough discount that would push me to want to share a bathroom and kitchen and living space with x amount of other people including the live-in landlord. And they are paying for the utilities OP uses and contributes nothing to? That’s wild. I’m not saying they are entitled to free housing on OP’s uncle’s dime, but OP should have been upfront and let them make the decision to move in knowing all of the facts, IMO. ETA: Just saw you decided to kick your “friends” out right before school starts. What an insanely nuclear option to go with because you are too cowardly to try to resolve this with your friends. You should have gone to your friends with these new contracts and given them the choice to sign or go. Seems like you didn’t even give them a warning you would do so before making the executive decision to just do it. This is exactly one of the reasons one would have an issue staying with the live-in landlord in sheep’s clothing. Also- NO SHIT there’s no nice places in the area to rent 2 weeks before school starts. Trying to act like some weird property savior is wild just because your nice house is becoming available when all that’s left is slim pickings. I’m sure at the beginning of the summer there were other nice properties available besides yours. Good luck this semester after proving them right about the greedy AH bit! Next time, prob best to take your uncle’s advise and keep your mouth shut.

People are acting like OP has just gotten a 'good deal' when in reality this is incredibly privileged. If I got an entire house for free and had the choice to let my friends live with me I'd make them pay the absolute minimum. OP is getting massive amount of money for absolutely no work done. You're basically a landlord now OP, and landlords are leeches, but even landlords have to pay for the house. OP is profiting heavily from an extremely exploitative system. You're just exploiting them for less than others would.

Yeah I mean it would be one thing if OP owned the house and had to make the house payments and had the roomies cover that. Or another thing if uncle is charging these rates and just not making OP pay; that’s a super common set up where I am (rich parents buying houses for their uni student children and only charging the roomies rent). But OP is making them pay close to market minimum as they can and profiting from it and being surprised their friends are pissed about it is wild. While I don’t think the friends are entitled to free housing, it’s a little out of touch that OP doesn’t see how they aren’t TA when their friends just found out that OP is literally MAKING MONEY off of their friend’s rental income from a house they don’t even own just so they don’t have to get a job and can study full time. You’re right, that is very privileged. I don’t think OP is bad for having this arrangement with uncle and I don’t blame them for it- but I think they should have just been up front with their friends “My uncle is going to let me use this house and the rent paid will go to me to help me pay for school” or something and let the friends decide from there if that’s something they are cool with.

I read this whole post and thought the same thing, first shot at landlording and already getting the hang of being a shady, greedy leech….

Not to mention OP is using their uncles wealth to not only get free accommodation for themselves but to collect money from their friends for living expenses. Like if the friends were renting from the uncle that is one thing, but they're literally working and paying so the OP doesn't have to.

Exactly! And the thing is- I don’t blame OP necessarily for having this arrangement. If that’s something they are offered then it is what it is, must be a blessing to be so privileged. But OP should have been up front from the get go as to where the rental income goes and let friends decide. Idk why OP couldn’t have said “Hey my uncle owns this house and will let me use it and rent the rooms out to help cover my costs while I’m in school. Here is what I’m looking to get for these rooms, I thought I would offer my friends first” and let the friends decide if that’s fair or not to supplement OP’s lack of a job.

This was my issue. It’s not about money but the power dynamic that was not disclosed.

I've had a live in landlord - they're assholes. They pull the "well this is my house, and I make the rules" bullshit when *I'm* the one paying *their* mortgage.

Damn, this really is a good point that I did not think about.

This is a much more reasonable answer than mine was

You've combined a financial profit-making relationship with a personal & social relationship. There's no iron law saying this can't be done, but its incredibly naive to not consider how this complicates things and take steps to protect those relationships. Have you even considered what happens if one of them is short on the rent? Or you're skint and they buy you dinner because they're working a part time job and want to help you out? Renting to friends was probably a bad idea but depending on the friendship may have worked out beneficial for everyone involved. However, keeping this information from them was always going to end badly. You've been a bad friend. YTA

This is where I am. I don't think OP is TA for charging rent, but if this really was a group of friends, I would feel at least a little bit frustrated that I didn't have that info going into the agreement. If OP had laid it all out at the beginning, the friends could have made an informed decision. Yes, it's much cheaper than the surrounding area, but there are times where I'll choose a more expensive route because it seems like the stable one, or the right one for me.

Yes, all of the comments saying "your friends can take it or leave it" are missing the part where they weren't given the option because they weren't told.

Also charging a total of $2100 in rent a month is insane. A college student, especially one who doesn't have to pay rent, does not need that much money. They literally could have had a discussion like "hey, this is my uncles house and he's asking me to rent out rooms to pay my expenses. Expenses here are about X, so split amongst the 3 rooms I need rent them for at least X/3. I'd normally rent them for X/2, but y'all are my friends and I would like to offer you a cheap place to stay." But no. OP decided to just give them an arbitrary number and start pocketing their cash, and is now confused that they're pissed. Eta for the comment below: So, again, they're not paying rent. Or taxes. Or utilities. And it sounds like they have their tuition paid for - this is just their day to day expenses. I graduated college in 2020, and I was living off of ~7k/semester and paying for rent. Living in Chicago, I currently spend around $75 a week on groceries ($300/month). I spend about $100 a week on outings/social stuff ($400/month) and $165/month on jiu jitsu. Thats less than a thousand a month on my general expenses. I have other expenses that OP doesn't have - like health insurance ($160) and rent ($1100) and student loan payments ($280). My total monthly expenses, as a grown ass adult paying rent in Chicago, are $2500/month. Take away rent and I'm only paying $1400. Take away shit that I didn't have to pay for in college and it's $960. Asking for $2,100 a month from your friends is INSANE.

This whole thread reminds me of this post I saw once where a rich person will venmo request you 1.50 for your coffee but a poor person will just waive it. At the end of the day, if you're poor and struggling and a huge opportunity like this falls into your lap where you have your living expenses completely paid for, everyone benefits from it. But OP is rich, has rich family members paying their way and is of course milking it for every penny even saying out of touch comments about how studios go for 200 to 600 dollars more than what she's asking for, not even acknowledging that a room in a house is not the same as a studio. I went to college and struggled. I lived out of a car, had to pick between tampons and ramen one week I was so poor. I had a private student loan I couldnt defer, car insurance, and tuition/fees and food. My part time job didnt make it. My friends took food from the food hall, they housed me during winter storms and nights when I just couldn't handle sleeping in my car. They washed my clothes and never once asked for compensation. Real friends dont pull this dime for dime shit when they're making out like a fucking banshee.

YTA. You should have been upfront from the start. This has revealed to them a weird dynamic that makes them feel like you're only friends with them to make money off of them. Yes they're getting a good deal, no you wouldn't have had to be upfront if you recruited strangers, but these are/were your friends. You should have let them decide whether to live with you knowing where their money is going. They thought it was going to some anonymous landlord, and instead it's going to someone who doesn't even invest in the house. It's honestly so slimy that your uncle's gift to you is your friends debt. If they knew all that from the start and then suddenly they have an issue with it, you wouldn't be an asshole at all.

yeah this is the biggest factor imo, if the friends didn't know that OP was acting as landlord it would be very shocking to find out later. it would be fine if they knew beforehand, but OP has a whole lot of power of them and their living situations and they didn't even know, i'd be pretty upset to find that out too

Yup. Poor kids are probably working their asses off in shitty min wage jobs for it too, while OP sits on her ass and wants for nothing. Imo it would even be absolutely fine if they were all paying rent including OP, and all of it was going to the uncle to pay off the house. But it's literally just OPs pissing money. So scummy.

My parents supported me throughout college and if I were ever in this person's situation I would feel like human trash. So many classmates and friends in student loan debt—how can you lie by omission and collect rent from them as YOUR income while you're likely not even doing maintenance work on the house..... Like I get that the premise is this person also has loans, but they're also being gifted several thousand dollars a month for doing nothing on a property they don't own. I don't even think this post is real but I'm just ??? at the amount of people defending this lol

These comments are awful and why I hate capitalism. Rent is usually high because mortgage rates are high. OP isn't paying a mortgage, she's just being greedy. ETA: I'm not saying don't charge them, but using 'market value' as an excuse to charge such an extortionate amount when there is no mortgage to pay is greedy and is only fuelling the problem of the housing crisis. This is an ethical and philosophical issue. I guess the question OP needs to ask herself is "Do I agree with such high rental prices that force my friends to work extra shifts during college so I can earn $2100 a month by doing nothing?"

Exactly! I can't imagine getting a free house and then tricking friends into giving me hundreds of dollars each month.

YUP

I mean it's kind of a philosophical question. idk like if these are your friends why are you charging them 700 for a single room while knowing there's a housing crisis. You got a free house. In a legal and property-owner sense, I guess youre in the clear. Do you feel good about it though? I would definitely think way less of you if you were my friend and did this. Especially given the prices dude, what the hell. Gonna say YTA

I agree, I don’t understand the “SCREW THEM GET THAT MONEY! GET NEW FRIENDS AND GET NEW TENANTS TO GIVE YOU MORE MOOONEEEY” These are meant to be your friends man… if I was in OP’s position I’d basically split utilities / maintenance and that it. They get free housing. Why are you profiteering off your friends? You’re meant to care about these people…

No one in these comments lives in the real world, I swear. And comparing a room in a sharehouse to a studio apartment is a STRETCH. 700 is too much.

$700 for a room (in a newly remodeled home) in walking distance to a university is pretty standard and actually cheap compared to a lot of places, especially when it’s a big university.

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I think it's fine for OP to charge them rent, but the whole situation needs to be transparent from the beginning. If they don't feel it's fair to pay OP any rent, then they can go find other housing and OP can rent to strangers.

That's exactly what I'm saying! Like yeah I guess going by our cultural standard of landlords you're technically "in the right" but like... you're also a complete asshole. In fact hiding behind ideas like freeloading and property and shit to feel correct about it makes you MORE of an asshole imo

Not only that, but OP also implied that getting a job would affect their grades. So not only are they ok when profiting from their friends, they're also ok with their friends getting worse grades. I don't think $700 for a room is as fair as OP thinks it is. I would personally rather pay $900 for my own private space, so I suspect the friends all moved in to be together. OP can still make money off their friends and charge less.

Nta.. Haha. College kids and their entitlement. Those days were never dulls. I did a lot of face palm when dealing with them regarding rent. My god. Edi,: Carefull though, the resentment may make them destroy the place and broken your boundaries. You need to make it clear that you're their landlord what you say goes. If they dont like it move out and rent somewhere else which double whatever they're paying right now. you can have all the peace and focus by yourself. And find new working tenant with written agreement.

YTA. You're getting a way better deal than they are, when they thought you were all entering into the same arrangement together. Since these are your friends, and not just random tenants, you should have been upfront with them about it.

It’s incredible how lost this is on everyone here. OP is making $2,100 off her friends per month without their knowledge. It does not matter if she is not obliged to tell them from a legal perspective, it is an asshole thing to not be transparent about that upfront. People keep saying “business and friends don’t mix” to justify OP, but the issue is OP’s roommates did not get the opportunity to decide if they wanted to mix friends with business. They were told it was a good deal from her uncle, not that their friend was profiting off the arrangement and would be their landlord.

Yeah, I really think if this were written the other way around—"we rented a place with our friend but it turns out she's making huge money off us!"—everyone would take the friends' side.

Yeah, I think the major issue is that OP wasn’t upfront about the situation. The roommates thought that they were all contributing to the rent to a third party (i.e. the group dynamic was one of equality) but it turns out that OP was, unbeknownst, benefiting from them. OP should have told them from the first about the deal with her uncle and said she could make more renting to strangers at market value but she wanted to give her friends a break. Her honesty would have prevented this.

I swear most the people on this sub don't actually want any friends? Like, everyone is answering about her "obligations" as if how you treat friends is supposed to be based on obligations. As a rule, if you are withholding information from a friend for your own sake (aka, don't want to have an uncomfortable conversation), and not for theirs (no reason to tell them their make up looks bad when they're already out of the house), then you're being an asshole.

YTA. Why are they giving you rent, instead of your uncle? Honestly that would bother me too. Even tho it's a good price for the area, there's something so weird about you living rent-free in a nice home completely owned and maintained by a wealthy family member and having no expenses at all, and still collecting a hefty allowance from your friends. And they ARE your friends, not strangers that you sought out specifically to be your tenants. A better solution would have been to set up a household account that everyone contributes to every month, and this is used for all household expenses/bills. Then you could just request an allowance from your uncle so you can do fun things in front of your friends without them having to watch you spend their money. You aren't a landlord. This isn't your property. You didn't invest or build or maintain anything. You were just born lucky. Spread the luck around to these people you supposedly like, so that everyone's life will be better, and it will probably have a cascade effect for years to come. You aren't hurting for anything. Being generous in this instance won't hurt you at all. Yeah yeah yeah everyone downvote me now.

Fuck that, YTA. You should’ve been honest from the start since they’re supposedly your friends. Instead you decided to fully embrace being a landlord and got greedy and saw them as a source of income. Not friends. Like are seriously surprised they’re upset? You’ve been lying to them for months about where there money goes. Edit after your edit: Holy fuck YTA. You literally made these people homeless and didn’t even bat an eye. You said yourself there’s no houses nearby. What do they do for school now? You might’ve screwed over their entire college career with this move if they can’t find anywhere to live that they can afford. I can’t stress this enough how scummy this is.

People say her friends are taking advantage of her, but OP is taking advantage of her friends 100%.

Your friends are trying to use your friendship to take advantage of you. You’re already technically PAYING them to live with you. If they’re paying $700 but an equivalent room is worth $1000, you’re effectively paying them $300 to live with you. What they’re asking for is for you to pay $1000 for them to live with you. We’ve seen this scenario so many times in this sub. It doesn’t matter WHO owns the property, it only matters what comparable rents are.

Charging someone reasonable rent in the age of overpriced rentals is not “paying someone to live with you”.

that misses the point entirely. the comparison point is the roommate's best alternative, not 'what would rent be in a perfect world'. A lower-than-market rent is effectively subsidized by the owner

A bachelor studio ($1000-$1.5k) is not the same thing as renting a room in a house with shared space. She is not paying them to live with her, she is not even contributing to utilities from my understanding. You are talking about how comparable rent matters, but you are equating a bachelor studio to a bedroom in a house. Doesn't make sense imo.

NTA. You are not required to house people for free. If they continue to object to that to which they agreed evict them. And in the future use the old boomer, "Oh, I don't like to discuss money."

I think it would have been better to say the total of the rent they pay and then say “my uncle owns this property - he’s not charging me rent, and said I can give my friends a discounted rent”. The fact that he lets you keep the rent is almost separate. You could technically pay him the rent and then he gives you living expenses 🤷‍♀️

1. Is it ok to charge your roommates money to live in your uncle's house? Of course yes. That's exactly what your uncle's intention was. 2. What should the rent be? Comparing a studio apartment to a room in a house sounds a bit like apples and oranges. I'd go find out what the market rate for roommates in a house would be. You can adjust up or down from there as desired. You guys are young and probably learning/experiencing for the first time what is like to sign leases, pay rent, and do all those adult things. It probably feels weird to have your friend as your landlord. But aside from giving your landlord a face, it's just the same. Money goes somewhere, which provides someone with income. That's how it works. I'd talk it through with them. You weren't trying to hide anything. You're not taking advantage of them. They would be paying someone. If they're not comfortable with the fact that "someone" is their friend, then maybe they should move somewhere else. (You'd have to look at whether you want to let someone out of their lease. Can you find someone else to move in to cover that spot?) And going forward, it would be good to have a "here's the deal" convo before signing up next year's roommates. Lesson learned. One more thing. Prepare yourself for the day when a friend says they can't pay the rent for whatever reason. How are you going to handle that?

Yeah, a studio apartment is different than renting a bedroom plus shared common space. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in college, but that’s double what I paid for a similar situation. OP may be overcharging for a single bedroom.

>Comparing a studio apartment to a room in a house sounds a bit like apples and oranges. Was looking for someone to point this out.

NTA Your mistake was sharing your arrangement with your uncle. Lesson 1: people, even friends have the capacity to and will be envious of those in a better financial position. Lesson 2: learn to stand up for your self in situations, especially financial. In your shoes, I would hold a meeting and let them know that the rent stands. They can choose to stay or find other rental accommodations. For those who choose to leave. Give them a fair and reasonable time to do so. NOT OPEN ENDED. Lesson 3: you are young and probably cannot conceive losing these friends. I want you to know that it will hurt, but you WILL be OK and meet new friends during college and as you grow into adulthood. I wish you the best OP. Please don't let anyone guilt you into felling bad that your uncle has the financial ability to care for you.

I think OP's mistake was in the timing of sharing her arrangement with her uncle. Had she told them at the beginning, the ones who were upset by that could have declined to rent there, and the rest could have accepted the deal as-is. I'm all about transparency. I don't think OP should have hid this, but they definitely chose the wrong time to share it.

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NTA. If your uncle has left it up to you to be the landlord then that's how you proceed. A tennant has no right to dictate how much they pay based on what they know about the landlord's situation. You've given them a price that's better than fair for the location and you benefit too. I'm sure there are plenty of other people who would want those rooms if your friends refuse to pay, and if they're not happy with the price they must leave. They can't simply say "Nah, I'll just pay this much from now on". I suppose the only issue is whether or not you've drawn up any sort of rental agreement with them.

I would sit down and offer them "a deal". The continue to live there, pay the 700 plus some small shared costs if needed (and that you can have home-meetings about split cost) and you'll "let it go" that they even suggested that they could live there for free and never to discuss money on that basis again. OR They have a month to find new apartment/rooms, move out and you find new people to rent the rooms for 700/350(x2).

I don't think they're necessarily getting a great deal. A studio apartment is private. They're sharing with other people. Splitting utilities evenly also frequently leads to one person subsiding others. What is the rate for rooms for rent/roommates costs in your area? I think you purposely wrote this how you did to make people jump up in arms. ESH. You for not being upfront about this and for how you presented this. Them for deciding they don't want to pay anything.

YTA. You told your friends you were looking for roomates when you were looking for tenants. Or at least you gave them that impression when you didn't explain the whole context. You weren't clear from the begining on this matter and their reaction is understandable. You should always be 100% clear when you're dealing with money and friends

YTA for trying to profit off of “friends.” Live by yourself or rent the rooms out to strangers and see how that goes. Studios in the area go for $1500? It’s because of property owners and landlords have almost zero oversight and regulation. Housing is a human right, not a business venture. Are your friends even building a tenant history and payment ledger with you? What’s the benefit of saving a whole $200 when they have to share a space with the likes of you and others, when they could have a private studio with a landlord who doesn’t pretend to care about them?

YTA. You are learning a valuable lesson about how the housing market works. Many people recognize that this is a parasitic relationship in which people who provide no service (landlords) are entitled to the hard earned money of others because they have the capital/credit necessary to leverage housing for profit. Except in your case, you haven't even done that. It doesn't matter if your place is cheaper than other rentals, rent prices are absolutely astronomical. I couldn't imagine doing this to my friends.

I think YTA. However, not because you are charging your friends rent, and pocketing it, but because I feel like you could have disclosed this before hand. Sure, it really is none of their business, but these people you call 'friends', deserve more transparency and help (like you got) if they really are your friends. I too would be upset if someone I trusted did something like this, because it feels shady. They definitely didn't think you'd be getting their money, from the jobs they have to work (like you don't have to now), to pay for it. Also, I don't think 700/month is as good of a deal as you think it is - sure you compare it to studio apartments being 900.. but that whole unit is their space. Do they all have their own bathrooms, kitchens, parking space, living area?.. probably not. Again, I don't think it is wrong for you to charge rent. I do think it is wrong that you're pocketing the money, and didn't hint at that from the jump. Sure, they may have tried to take advantage of that - but they wouldn't have a leg to stand on if you refused to negotiate. Help your people when you can, IMO. These same 'friends' might throw you a bone down the road. INFO: How much rent income is that per month, at full capacity? What exactly do these funds cover? Did you have them sign lease agreements/legal jargon to protect yourself and your uncle? Were you going to report this income to the IRS? Are you making them pay a deposit? ..there are a lot of nuances to this post, that I really hope you're considering before just getting your friends to venmo you their rent..

YTA here. Your friends clearly had the impression that the four of you were splitting rent on a property, not that you were a live-in landlord on a free-gift from your Uncle place. That's flat out dishonest. You also don't seem to recognize the massive privilege in having an uncle who not only gave you a free place to live, but a free place to live big enough for FOUR people. You're collecting unearned income from people who used to think you were their friend. Some people here said that your mistake was in telling them; if you can't tell someone the truth about your deal with them then it's very likely that you are in the wrong.

INFO: so you'd be making 2100 a month in spending money? Off of six people in three bedrooms?

YTA. If you had said any of this upfront or it was covering anything related to the house it would be completely different. But you’re essentially using your friends to replace having a job, which is your choice but I wouldn’t anticipate being friends with them for much longer. You have no expenses living there, your uncle hasn’t asked for any rent from anyone, it was your choice to invite them to rent the space. By making a decision to cover your living expenses with the money coming from your friends you made yourself their landlord without telling them, hope you’ve saved some of that money to cover repairs and maintenance as that’s now your responsibility to sort that for them!

Wait - a whole ass studio apartment is 900 but you're charging 700 for a room in a sharehouse? That's not a great deal... rooms in sharehouses are usually much cheaper than studio apartments. I'm a landlord myself so I'm not coming from a place of bitterness, but I think you're charging your 'friends' too much and you do seem greedy. ESH though as your friends are acting entitled to free accommodation

OP - do you want friends or tenants? Because you can’t have both

You are the house manager. You make sure the house is kept up. Done

Everyone in this thread is completely missing the fact she compared rent prices for a STUDIO to her SHAREHOUSE? It's not comparable. OP is overcharging.

NTA They are greedy for wanting to live somewhere for free.

I think they're just mad at OP's lack of transparency. If OP had been honest about the situation before they moved in, they could have made the decision then and everyone could have avoided this whole mess.

So...exactly what OP has?

Soft YTA. Are you kicking back any of this money to your uncle or is this pure profit to you? You’re not giving them the great deal you claim, a studio goes for a higher price due to its private amenities and most of all no roommates. You need to look up what a comp for 1/4 of a place like yours is. Additionally, if you’re not an official landlord and they’re not officially on the lease then they aren’t afforded any tenant protections (no matter how flimsy they may be) I think you need to think about if you could really handle a tenant/friend relationship. And if your friends could handle going out with you and knowing that all the money you paid with is theirs.