A man has voiced his frustrations after his flatmate's girlfriend turned their living room into her office, but his solution to the overstep has caused a commotion online.
The Living Arrangement
Sharing to Reddit, the 27-year-old said he shares a two-bedroom apartment with his flatmate Matt, who he has been living with for almost two years. 'Rent is $2,450, not including utilities, and we split everything 50/50,' he said of their living arrangement.
The man went on to detail his flatmate's relationship timeline, revealing that Matt started dating his girlfriend Jenna around eight months ago. 'I like Jenna as a person. She is polite, she is not messy in the kitchen, and she has never been rude to me.'
The man went on to say that she used to come over 'maybe two nights a week' which he had 'no issue with' as it was 'normal relationship stuff'. However, around January, Jenna started staying over more due to being frequently woken up by one of her flatmates at her own place, who 'works nights and comes home loud'.
'I felt bad for her. I said I did not mind her being around as long as it did not feel like a third roommate situation,' he added. Now, the man says: 'It feels like a third roommate situation'.
The Escalation
The 'weird' part, according to the Reddit user, is that Jenna is 'not technically sleeping here every night', she only sleeps at the apartment between three and four nights a week. 'But she is here almost every weekday from around 8:30 AM to 5 PM because she works from home and says our apartment is quieter than hers,' he said.
'At first she just used the couch with her laptop. Then she brought over a monitor. Then a keyboard. Then a rolling office chair that now lives in the corner of our living room. Then a little plastic drawer thing with chargers, notebooks, snacks, and random paperwork.'
He went on: 'She also takes work calls from the living room, which means I basically have to pretend the living room does not exist during the day.' The Reddit user works a 'hybrid schedule' so he is home two days a week, which means he can't really watch TV or use the living room during that time because of Jenna.
The Breaking Point
The frustrating living situation reached a 'breaking point' last week, when the man came home early from work with a migraine and wanted to lie down on the couch since his room 'gets a lot of afternoon sun and was too hot'. 'Jenna was on a Zoom meeting in the living room. I quietly grabbed water and started heading to the couch, and she muted herself and whispered, 'Can you not be in the background?'' He adds: 'I honestly just stared at her because it is my couch in my apartment.'
The man returned to his room and waited for his roommate to return to tell him 'this arrangement was not working' for him anymore. 'I said Jenna either needs to stop using the living room as her office, or she needs to contribute to rent and utilities like someone who uses the apartment every weekday.'
Matt immediately got defensive, telling his flatmate that 'she does not live here' and that he is being 'weird' about his girlfriend 'existing' in their shared space. He also added she bought paper towels and a Costco pack of coffee last month so 'it is not like she contributes nothing'.
Noting that 'paper towels are not rent', the Reddit user then suggested: 'If she is going to keep working here five days a week, she should pay $400 a month toward the apartment, and we can lower what Matt and I each pay a bit.' Matt disagreed, adding that she already pays rent at her own place, to which the Reddit user replied: 'Then she should work at her own place.'
The disagreement ended with Jenna in tears, saying she feels like he 'never liked her', and Matt accusing him of 'making money off his relationship' and not speaking to him for two days.
Online Reactions
Reddit users swarmed the comments section, with many in agreement with the man that Jenna should not be using the living room as an office. 'Hand Matt a bill for her portion of rent, utilities and internet. Also, ignore her bulls***, it's your place, SHE DOESN'T PAY RENT THERE (and I would hammer that point to her every opportunity),' one person penned.
Another chimed in: 'You are entirely in the right. She should not be using your front room as an office. Even if she paid, it would encroach on your living space. Might be time to jump ship and let the two of them pay the full rent….'
Some, however, criticised his request that she pay rent, adding that she should just move her work equipment to Matt's room. 'I think your best move would have been to tell Matt you were no longer comfortable with Jenna using your shared living room as her workspace. She's welcome to set up in Matt's bedroom, no problem,' one person wrote.
Another added: 'The solution is easy - they need to reconfigure Matt's bedroom so she has space to set up her 'office' there, so the living room is free for everyone. Lots of people do that.' However, one person noted: 'Even still if she were using the bedroom she's still running up the utilities by being there and not contributing.'
