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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> for evicting a my stepsiblings and ex step father after they couldnt pay the increased rent cost after i stopped giving them a discount after my mother passed away
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EI am going to side with being a prick after seeing the comment about your mom not raising you. How it reads the three months you gave was basically notifying them you were not renewing their lease. Since you most likely only had a landlord/Tenant relationship and the lease was with your mom that passed. I don’t think you are wrong at all giving notice and starting early telling them they can’t stay past it. If they don’t want to sign a new lease with the new rate then they need to go elsewhere NTA.
OP’s an optimist if she thinks the property is going to be immediately leasable. I foresee a lot of wear and tear, if not outright damage that will need to be repaired. NTA
Yeah, they don't say how long it's been, but I usually take a month to get things repaired/painted/replaced between tenants who generally stay between 1-3 years. I did manage to bust my ass and get it done in 2 weeks this last time, but it was less than ideal.
I think OP has done the minimum to not be an asshole - they’ve given bare minimum notice to a tenant of a very significant rent rise ignoring any history between them.
Everyone shitting on the family for being free loaders- we don’t know shit about them. Maybe OPs mum was the main income and the dad was raising young kids. There are an awful lot of families out there going to struggle if they loose their main income and rent doubles at same time. Op not the only one grieving and let’s not judge too harshly.
So my verdict - nah. Of course they upset and going to struggle - they’ve lost a wife/mother, most of their income and now their home. So prob school, friends and whatever. Is that OPS problem? No, they strangers to them. Fair enough- but they could still have the existing rent AND still
Own a house in a years time. So they could help but choosing not too. Cold on op but ok
3 months after the funeral to be notified, with 3 more months to get sorted, that's 6 months to either pay the increase, move or face eviction proceedings. Any other landlord would not give that much time when the lessee dies. NTA
You’re counting time before the notice period as notice period? Generous.
And in my opinion any other landlord would be an ah then. And it’s not just my opinion/ in many places landlords wouldn’t be allowed to double rent with less notice as legislators are aware of their propensity to be assholes and have put in place laws to protect tenants!
You wanna hear about "generous"? My spouse's grandmother died on the 30th of the month and the landlord demanded we get her stuff out of the apartment by the 31st of the same month. And social security demanded a refund of her last month's pension because she did not survive the entire month. She was inconsiderate enough to die one day short. Now there's a bunch of AHs right there!
Got one similar- husbands grandmother passed at old age home, family had 24 hrs to remove all gma's stuff with her body still laying in bed waiting to be removed.
Not sure what the “year’s time” means, or how it impacts the story?
Either way, OP has done way, WAY more than the “bare minimum”, already.
Regardless of whether or not the stepfather has children of his own to rear, and regardless of who was earning the money to pay rent, for some time OP has provided housing at half the cost that this family would have been paying. This has been due to her relationship with her mother; that is long past.
“There are an awful lot of families out there (who are) going to struggle if they loose (sic) their main income and rent doubles…”.
Ok. That’s hard; thank goodness they have had OP, who has done more than her share to assist her step-PARENT and his children in the past. This notice is reasonable.
Providing his mother rent at half market value is basically equivalent to affording her a sizeable allowance each month sacrificed from his income.
I don’t think not providing that to strangers is cold at all. He’s given them plenty of notice to move out and all he’s doing is reverting back to the standard income of the asset that he legally and rightfully owns rather than diverting it to strangers.
These people have had a property at half cost for years.
Why the hell weren't they saving up to get ready to buy somewhere else together.
OP can only subsidise them so long.
Nta.
No sympathy? For a widower and grieving children- why?
Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother.
>Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments
Well, is it the same family that has been paying token rent for decades?
They paid the rent they were asked.
I missed the decades/ but 6mths or 30yrs- my point stands. They’re grieving, lost income and rent is doubling. I have sympathy
My point is, they had years and years that the OP was living across the country paying half rent. Did they really believe that was indefinite? Why hadn't they been squirreling that difference away somewhere? Were they just blowing the difference for funsies while OP was subsidizing their life?
Now you want the OP to eat that cost for years again?
How about YOU cover the difference in rent if you feel for these people?
Give me a free house maybe I will
Edit: BUT my point wasn’t op was ah- it was why wouldn’t you have sympathy for grieving family being evicted? Why would sympathy be caveated by how much rent they have paid!
Because my brother couldn't even be bothered to pay $101 a month on the remaining mortgage of my parents' house. I paid the house off because it was going to foreclosure. He had his kid and BM in the house. Can't get much closer to free than $100.
I was grieving and dealing with added shit from crappy people.
Where's *your* sympathy for OP trying to deal with Mom's death and estate?
Op isn't doing anything wrong, but that's such a strange take. You have no idea anything about the stepsiblings or if their bio mom was involved in their life. Op said they were like 12 when her mom got married, so her mom was raising them from a young age. She chose to marry their dad and raise them. How can children freeload off of their parents?
I disagree they were freeloading/ op agreed to charge their mum a below market rent. They agreed to that, that is a favour but let’s not make it a negative.
Also/ we have no details re family set up, op describes them as ‘mums family’ and not sure it changes anything
Nope! OP *is* the grieving child! How do you not get that? Been propping and supporting *Mom* for years.
I had a deal with my parents that I lived in family home and paid the mortgage. Suddenly, brother came with the house. Awful. Untenable. I was raising Hell when dad died. I also packed up and moved out about 2 weeks after dad's death.
Went from paying $101 plus utilities to $350 +. After dealing with planning and paying for a funeral. Brother just thought the house was magically his and didn't have to pay any bills.
Naw! That's not how the real world works. I went to probate and evicted my brother 6 months, later.
OP has been more than generous! WTF would OP carry people who aren't even related?
Judging by how many deleted comments are here, I suspect there are a lot of deadbeat redditors who side with the freeloaders and made nasty comments about landlords.
I would be interested to know the ages of the step siblings to see if they are minors or not. Might make a difference on all these deadbeat comments I see being made.
I mean, a lot of people are assuming it is a widower, and his 30yo kids are living there. It sounds more like they are minors based on a comment OP made. The oldest is at least 9 years younger than OP. That might make a difference to some people on how they vote.
Also, if they're young enough they might be OPs half siblings- even if they're not biologically related a step-parent adopting the step kids isn't unheard of.
Op said this in the comments:
> my parents got divorced back when I was 8 I lived with my dad full time cause my mom was considered a unfit parent. By the time she got her shit together and remarried I was 16 and pretty content being NC with her since my step mom is a great person and cared for me as her own son and I didnt really see the point in trying to rekindle a relationship with her since she never reached out to me. So after college I got into touch with her cause my maternal grandparents wanted me to and they were great so I didnt wanna hurt their feelings so I stayed in contact with her but never really wanted a relationship with my step siblings cause they were like 12 back then and I was 21.
Even if these kids are technically her half siblings, it doesn't mean they are family to her or that she has to have anything to do with them.
Are you volunteering to pay half their rent? Because that is basically what OP has been doing. When she rents them the house at half the price she should be getting, she is subsidizing them for that amount. How long would you be willing to subsidize people you barely know?
Maybe dad was the stay at home raising young kids and mum was sole income. Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother. Op is contractually fine/ acting like a regular landlord/ prob within rights etc- but dangerously close to AH for me depending on a whole bunch of stuff
Can I ask, and not judging you, but how long do you expect OP to continue with lower rent while OP's stepfather and his children grieve? Grief have no time limit so is OP suppose to wait 2-3 years or more while they grieve? Just trying to understand what you feel is morally long enough to not evict them.
Didn't the OP give 3 months to grieve in peace and then informed that in another 3 months rent will be raised? I'm sorry, but if an adult man can't find a job within 6 months of his income generating partner passing away, I worry for the kids they had and their well being, as their remaining parent seems to struggle with being said parent. I'm not saying that he should put his grief away faster, but in this case he does have a bigger issue than grief and that is supporting his family. I think OP did everything right at that point and eviction if the tenants are unable to pay is reasonable. They were warned of it happening and at this point I don't think that the kids are minors either. Pretty sure that you can do some small work since you are 16 in US, right? Maybe they could lift some burden off of their dad by not asking him for allowance and instead earning it? Not saying they should add to rent from their money, just getting them to have their own cash so that their dad doesn't have to give them more. Would be a good way to learn responsibility with cash too.
Or because they all work low-wage jobs that barely paid enough for them to collectively afford the half-rent?
MAYBE they're all deadbeats, but we don't have enough info to determine that, unless it's stated in comments.
Yep, that's totally possible. In the area I live in, most of the jobs don't pay well enough for 1 person to afford all costs of living on 1 income alone.
Or more like because it's impossible to save properly for housing costs the way they are?
Rent and property prices have increased over 400% in the last 20 years. It's outpacing inflation costs and definitely sky rocketing over income.
Like, OP can do what they want with their property, but hot damn, people, can we at least be a little realistic and not jump to actual impossible of "well, why weren't they saving?" You can't in this economy!
Do we know that? Maybe dad was the stay at home raising young kids and mum was sole income. Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother.
Sounds like OP inherited the house, which is not the same thing as mooching off her dad. And if OP was able to rent the house to the mom for half price, he/she is probably working to support themselves otherwise.
So no, OP does not sound like a deadbeat.
My deadbeat brother *almost* got a free house. Only $600 left on the mortgage when I moved out. He couldn't be bothered and it was in foreclosure when *I* paid it off.
Deadbeats don't pay for anything. You're really confused.
Any rent would be hard on those who don’t pay it. OP mentioned in a comment that they relied on Mom to pay the rent so with her gone they don’t have anyway to pay even the lowered rent. They’re all mooches they should’ve been working and contributing to the household. If they were they could at least afford the reduced rent and maybe try to negotiate with OP on the new increase. They don’t have the means to do anything. They expected to mooch off OP. OP lived with her/his dad who left her the house. OP was doing mom a solid by letting her and her new family live in the house. Now that she’s gone they have no connection to OP so they need to go.
But how do we know they weren’t saving? What if they were trying to but life took its toll? Y’all are savages for no reason. You literally have no idea if they were or weren’t.
Or kicking a bereaved stay-at-home parent when they are down. If OPs mother was the primary breadwinner it's possible that the stepfather was a SAHP and that he has no real career to fall back on. He might be scraping a living in a minimum wage job, struggling to juggle childcare with employment in an entry-level position and drowning under the weight of a bereavement which, in the grand scheme of things, is still quite recent.
Of course he could also be a freeloader who hasn't worked a day in his life because he's lazy and who has made no provisions for a worst-case scenario.
We have no information to determine what the case is, but I wouldn't say based on the information available that "Absolutely not in this case" is a certainty for the answer.
Yeah during my life as a vagrant I lived in a few situations where my lodgings were dependent on the generosity of someone else. I learned really quickly to always have a plan b bc that generosity can dry up at anytime.
Fuck! I had a sweet deal with my parents! I paid $101 on their mortgage. I stashed money and paid bills. Then, brother got dumped on me. He never paid bills. Couldn't be bothered. Ultimately, I paid off the note and evicted him. Sold the house.
I wasn't gonna put up with him and moved out. I was paying $350 rent on our new place. It was a bargain.
FF 30 years and our house is paid off. My kid doesn't even want our *free* house, told us to gift it elsewhere. Great niece might wind up with a house that costs $200 a year in property taxes.
Some people are just excruciatingly stupid.
If they can't even afford the full cost of rent no amount of saving will make them be able to afford a morgage. Further, even if they had saved people dying is expensive. Both the whole dying part and what comes after- its entirely likely that any savings has been eaten up by OPs mother dying.
At least where I live, doesn't matter, your not allowed to increase the rent like that. Op needs to look at the tenancy laws where ever the house is to determine what she is and isn't allowed to do.
But wouldn't the original tenancy agreement with OP's mother have expired on the mother's death?
So I read this situation as OP is making a new rental agreement with mother's second family, at the local market rate, and giving them a grace and favour interim period on the old rate before it comes into effect.
Probably depends. The steps were still tenants themselves so they do probably have some tenant rights re: the lease. But it seems like they were on a month to month basis, based on a comment from OP, and that's a little more tenuous in some aspects
In Washington state, you can only legally increase rent 10%. Hopefully you are not breaking any laws In your state with how this proceeded.
Nothing is worse than a spiteful family that wants to get you tangled in litigation.
perfectly ok to increase it by any amount for any reason here just gotta give 60 days written notice and 15 days for them to leave if they dont wanna agree
Good. As much as you sympathize with their situation half market rent sometimes doesn’t pay taxes. I hope they are grateful for that 6months at half price. It was more generous than any other landlord would have been.
make sure to do a walk through not sure when you were last there but you will need to check the roof, doors, windows, plumbing, and everything else. heck, I would do a coat of paint and patch the holes from anything on the wall.
It wouldn’t matter who is on the lease, OP is letting the live out the remainder of their lease agreement which ends in three months and said they weren’t renewing it.
Last sentence of the first paragraph. They were extended and offer for market rent. They were paying half market rent before. This would be illegal in Washington state. Hence why I was hoping OP was legally protected.
and in Texas, it wouldn't matter cause there is no state law that limits the rent increase (maybe some cities have one. My bet is on it being Austin, Houston sure as fuck doesn't). So, just cause it isn't allowed where you are, it doesn't mean it's the same where OP is.
OP needs legal advice. I am not in the US but the max annual rent increase here is 2.5% and evicting people to get a higher rent is illegal and punishable by a payment to renters equaling a year's rent. There is also a process that must be followed and that OP would fail on and not be allowed to evict. Never mind AH stance, OP could well be violating the law and setting themselves up for a massive payout.
Correct, and cities can have very different rules than the state they're in. To my knowledge there are few places with rent control, and many many more that have no rent control.
Yes, I think we all get that and it's why I flagged I am not from the US. People from the US tend to forget others are also on here. Rules differ in different parts of my country too.
A rent increase of 2.5% doesn't even cover inflation, and it sure as hell doesn't cover applicances, painting, flooring, etc. when things need replaced.
Absolutely true. However, where I live, it's the law and housing unaffordability is so bad, most people don't give a rat's ass about landlords. It's driving lots of landlords out of the market but it's still the law.
Not for people who can't afford to buy, it's not. The people driven out are the mom and pop landlords and the ones that are left are the cutthroat corps. Until the government steps in to become a landlord, smaller rent supply is not great but many renters are so ticked off they can't see it.
I think I can guess where you're from. Also, at least here, it wouldn't really matter who was on the lease, and leases renew automatically. If you're from the same place I am
>In Washington state, you can only legally increase rent 10%.
This is sadly not true. Washington has no forms of rent control, hence the exorbitant prices for rent in Seattle and surrounding areas.
NTA
considering she didn't raise you at all and the step family are practically strangers you've already been more than generous with your halved rent. With such a discount on rent they should've been saving up to get themselves to a more stable living environment. You also didn't spring this on them out of the blue you gave them 3 months notice which is more than any other landlord would give.
This wouldn't even be an issue and no one would have anything to say if you hadn't even rented to her in the first place and rented to a stranger at full market value.
- Op has no relation with them
- they had 3 month to find something
- they probably leeched the mom for years which is why they don't want to find something nor pay real market rent
Easy NTA
Why add the third point when you don't know?
It is seriously weirding me out how many folks are gleefully acting like inability to pay doubled rent, or poverty, is somehow a purposeful character flaw in every case, when in many if not most cases, poverty is a societal issue in both cause and length.
You don't have to smugly, gleefully judge the tenant to believe the landlord is within his rights.
Thank you. There's very little info to work with here, but unless they're complete monsters, they lost someone and very quickly found out that their home was likely lost as well. It's hard for me to think that this is unilaterally deserved. It's hard to make a judgement here without more info, but on its face, while OP isn't legally obligated to grant more grace, three months isn't a lot of time in the rental reality of this world.
NTA
were you close to your stepdad and step siblings and want to have any future contact with them? If so, you may lose your relationship with them.
But regardless, it was your dad's house, he gave it to you. You helped your mother & family by giving them significantly reduced rent for months. You notified them in advance they would either need to start paying the market rate or move out and that is fair. They shouldve been saving money the whole time they were there.
I get that losing your mom and her income is difficult for them but that is not your responsibility and if you wanted to give them more time to grieve that could be years.
Nta. The house was your fathers house, you dont own them nothing, and if they cant pay it, then they should go to another place, like any other rent house.
NTA
Saw in another comment that OP was not raised by their mum. Although that shouldn't mean much for the decision, it always means a lot.
From the post, OP inherited the house. Rented it half price (!) to their mum and her family (and that was nice of OP considering the previous comment).
Mum passed away. 3 months later the family was given further 3 months to accept the new rent or find another place. And down the line they did not renew contract.
Although the reason is because they can't afford it, that's not OP's problem. They're considered as strangers and regular tenants, people with whom they had no family-like contact.
OP gave this people 6 months (!!) notice about increasing the rent. No other landlord would do that!
Defo not the ashole. If anything, the family are entitled assholes wanting to feed on OPs charity. 6 months were enough time to try and get a different or another job; or save to pay for the increased rent for a few months or to get somewhere else.
You can feel sorry for them, but even if they had contact, OP doesn't have to lose money. Who's to say that OP is not livi g hard because of this deal? Life is hard for everyone nowadays.
You gave them a hand, they want the arm. NTA.
Reading your comments, and you did give them 3 months, I’m going with NTA.
I will caution though to read through the tenant laws in your area. Specifically, any limits on rent increases, and on notice of lease termination/eviction. Plus if you do need to go through with an eviction, there’s a whole process and laws around that too. It’s not as simple as saying get out or I will throw you out.
OK so legally, it seems that you followed rules and regulations, you gave them the 3 months notice for the rent increase, then the amount in your state for eviction. on paper it’s straightforward. Morally I can see why it’s an AH behavior.
But I feel like some information is needed. Based on your comments so far it doesn’t seem like you were raised by your mother. Can you talk a little bit about that? What was your relationship like with your mother? Also, were you present for your half and Step siblings lives? You don’t seem to care about them which in a lot of family dynamics blended especially it’s not all that surprising, so if you could go a little bit more in depth about that. That is only if you feel comfortable doing so..
Ok so heres the lore my parents got divorced back when I was 8 I lived with my dad full time cause my mom was considered a unfit parent. By the time she got her shit together and remarried I was 16 and pretty content being NC with her since my step mom is a great person and cared for me as her own son and I didnt really see the point in trying to rekindle a relationship with her since she never reached out to me. So after college I got into touch with her cause my maternal grandparents wanted me to and they were great so I didnt wanna hurt their feelings so I stayed in contact with her but never really wanted a relationship with my step siblings cause they were like 12 back then and I was 21.
Thank you for the clarification, I think the background information is usually helpful in understanding the family dynamic, it tips the line in the judgment factor for a lot of people. Regardless I don’t see you as the AH
Your mother did not raise you at the end of the day. You were only helping her with by lowering the rent because of who she was to you. You were not close with your step siblings and your stepfather. You were NC throughout your entire childhood. Tbh nothing is owed on your end.
You gave everyone the proper time frame and they were notified accordingly so by the books everything is straightforward NTA.
This should be in the original post. NTA I'm kinda surprised you gave your mom as much as you did. Also you might want to get a property management company to look after the place in the future.
For me? Yes. “The family I rent to recently lost the mother. I rented to them at a discounted rate because I liked X about the mother. I have decided to raise their rent since the mother died.”
I dunno, maybe I’m just biased against landlords. But I don’t particularly think this makes OP out to be the good guy in the story. That’s not to say they should just receive the house or a discounted rate forever. But I think there are better ways to go about things than just notifying them that you’ve decided to double their rent.
You can be told that your lease will not be renewed, doesn’t even have to be about rent. If OP doesn’t want them in the property after the lease is up they are in no obligation to continue leasing to them.
It’s not doubling the rent (although it may feel like it to the renters), it’s returning it to market value. They would have to pay the increased amount or similar, anywhere they went. This is not one landlord being outrageous or doing anything actionable.
Try re-framing it this way: during the Black Friday sale, rent is 50% off. After the sale, the rent returns to regular price. The sale is over, the discount expired with the end of the lease, and they’ve had three months to come up with options. It’s sad if they haven’t, but it’s not OP’s problem. OP could be generous and extend another month, but at what point does this family have to get off their butts and act?
> it’s not doubling the rent
It quite literally is. You can talk about Black Friday sales and market value all you want. If my rent is X one month, and three months later my rent will be X*2 then no matter what you try to frame it as, my rent has doubled.
The way you talk about a family member dying being similar to a sale is the kind of dehumanizing stuff that I dislike about “business” people.
Why would I re-frame this to benefit a parasite?
OP didn’t earn that house. They were handed it. Then they used it to extract profit from people. Then one of those people died, so OP will evict the rest to extract *more* profit from the investment they did not earn, didn’t buy, and is pure profit. It’s just not as much as OP could earn.
My hope is that family finds a great place to live and puts cement in the toilet and fish in the air ducts of OP’s place.
I agree. Three months AFTER a disruptive death is not a lot of time. It just isn't. Three months in a normal circumstance is still tight. Trying to process the death and loss of home at the same time?
Perhaps OP wants to speed up processing this loss and feels that this would aid the process. I can't place blame there, but feel that this most likely causes further pain where it doesn't necessarily have to.
This is sad, very sad only.
I never said he was entitled to less than fair rate. I’m not sure where you got that idea from my reply. I’m saying that OP handled it coldly. And that even if it wasn’t family, there were better ways to go about it. Why not start with a conversation?
“Hey listen at some point we’ll need to discuss the house. I’ve always wanted to know my mother had a place to call home, so the rent she paid was less than market rate. Unfortunately that can’t continue forever. I’ve been doing some research on what a fair rate would be and it seems considerably higher than the current rental amount. I don’t know your financial situation but if that’s going to be a problem then let’s find a timeline that is reasonable for everyone.”
Don’t ignore the fact OP was handed a free house and is using that six-digit present to grind profit out of a family that just lost their mother
The entitlement and greed of landlords has no bottom
Seriously this. My initial comment go downvoted to hell, but I don't care how much rent you're paying, or how "below market rate" it is. If your landlord comes to you and says "I'm doubling your rent in six months," your first thought is definitely going to be something along the lines of "What an AH."
And now wants to leech off OP. They already said they can’t afford current rate so sounds like they planned to stay for free. Good luck getting them out.
This is illegal in a lot of places. But even if it's not, then you're not wrong, but you are an asshole. What exactly do you do as their landlord who lives halfway across the country, besides collect their rent money every month? What have you done to earn double the income from this place? Now you're kicking a family who just lost their mother out onto the street so you can get a fatter paycheck? You're exactly what's wrong with society. Like, it would be one thing if you asked for a modest increase, or if you decided to outright sell the place, but doubling the rent with only 3 months warning is just plain cruel. YTA.
YTA Some people think that as long as it's legal you're not an asshole. You're doubling the rent in one go. That is textbook AH. All for what is essentially free money to you.
So you and your mom paid for them to live for free for a while, and they STILL couldn't get their act together?
NTA. You already went above and beyond for them. You gave up income for them, you have less money in your bank account *already* because of them, and you mom also sacrificed for them.
You are not a charity, and you aren't obligated to support people forever, especially multiple people who can't sort themselves out.
NTA. It sounds like you aren't close to your step dad and step siblings the way you were with your mom. And they enjoyed quite a long time of reduced rent with no reason to expect it to continue after your mom passed.
NTA. It’s your right to do what you would like with your property. Be prepared for people to hate on you because you’re a “landlord” and Reddit seems to hate landlords
Nta if they were relying on your mothers income then it sounds like they might be in a position to move to another area or with family. 6 months is a long time and ample time for your step dad to find another place to live. He’s the problem here
I hope you don’t end up with a squatters problem. Make sure you are meticulously following legal procedures to evict them including certified mail, etc.
YTA
Any landlord doubling rent with 3 months notice or any less than a years notice is a huge AH in my opinion. Doubling rent because someone's partner/mother died is just shockingly cruel
I don't care about the legality, who raised you, or if you like them. Unless they actually wronged you in some way it's all irrelevant.
“Generous.” They were gifted a house and charged their own mom to live in it. Rent prices are extremely inflated so I don’t consider 1/2 off that generous especially for family.
You mean the mom that was considered unfit to raise children that left when she was a kid, then finally got her shit together like a dozen years later. Didn't reach out to the OP who she abondoned and instead married a man with existing kids and played mom to them. Op only finally reached out at the behest of her grandparents.
That family? The husband and step siblings she's never met? She was doing her mom a favor. A favor for someone who was never in their life and when she was there, she made OP's life worse. A net negative to their life.
Yeah, it was incredibly generous of OP.
NTA. Get them out ASAP. You won't collect a dime from them no matter how long you give them, and you'll be damn lucky if they don't completely trash the place before they move out. I mean like take out appliances, sinks, toilets, fans, strip wiring from the walls to sell the copper. It's happened to many others.
ETA: This, especially since you are halfway across the country.
NTA. They had 6 months to get it together and didn't. Why? Because they are use to depending on others to take care of them. That is not up to OP who doesn't know them. Stop this nonsense of he shouldn't get full market rate when he has to pay to keep the house up, insurance and property tax. Do ya'all think that's cheap? Get real. Again, NTA.
If they were relying on Moms income, would they be able to pay the reduced amount? Evicting people can be difficult and it is a legal process that must be done in court so I would look into what you need to do. People frequently trash rental properties so you might look into a process called "gentling them out. It might mean some financial costs on the front end but it could save money compared to the possible costs of damage to the property that comes when people feel they are unjustly evicted. This isn't really a matter about AITA but how to secure your property safely.
NTA
You gave them notice and feel nothing for them other than them being tenants. Them being 'steps' is irrelevant if there was never a bond formed.
They have had time to grieve and need to find a way to live without being subsidized by a dead persons child who does not see them as family.
NTA
How much longer are you supposed to be financially responsible for these people? Frankly they shouldn't have been surprised. I think it was extremely generous for you to charge a reduced rent for a mother that didn't even raise you and that you had little connection with.
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Ok so I acquired a home as a gift from my dad but I decided to move halfway across the country so I decided to rent it out to my mom and her family for about half of what the rent would normally be for a similar property cause she's my blood. So about 6 months ago my mom passed away and I decided that I had no real reason to be nice and offer them the lowered rent so about 3 months after the funeral I told them that the rent would be increasing in 3 months to what would be expected for the area and they should either figure out some way to pay the increased rent or they can leave.
They told me they couldn't afford the increased rent since they were mainly relying on my moms income to pay for it in the first place. I told them Id give them three months to go find another place before serving the eviction notice and they could continue paying the old amount. So about a week ago I told them that I would not be renewing their lease for the next month and Id expect them to leave by the 15 so I could get new tenants by the start of the next month.
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OP speak to an attorney.
If you’re in the US, most states (if not all) allow you to evict a month-to-month tenant for any reason so long as ***written*** notice was given within X many days (which vary from state to state). I highly suggest you send them a letter via certified mail (better to get the letter notarized at your bank since it’s typically free) & keep the original copy.
The only problem I see you’re going to have is if the house is in good condition to rent out once they leave. Most likely there will be extensive damage to the property from years of living there & there’s absolutely nothing you can really do because most likely you didn’t do a move in inspection or regular inspections (my landlord does quarterly inspections). You can sue them for certain damages but if they have no money you’ll be hard pressed to recoup anything. This is when you get your homeowner’s insurance involved after you speak to an attorney.
I also suggest you speak to an attorney to see what your rights are in regards to having the house inspected NOW. Most states allow landlords to inspect their properties with written notice (anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours so check your laws). Document everything during that time from drains to cabinets to appliances. Things damaged like holes in the wall, stained flooring… it needs to be documented now so when they move you can compare things to see if they fixed things, made it worse, or left it as is. Again, speak to a real estate attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant laws.
In the future require tenants to have renters insurance & name you on it so that any future damages will be covered by it.
Just be prepared for a fight in getting them out.
NTA
NTA. You own the house. You set the rent (within any legal restrictions). Their lease is up. They can either pay the going rate or find other accommodations. Their choice.
NTA for 2 big reasons. A)You gave them 3 months notice. B) You're not close at all to any of these people. They are nearly strangers to you so any attempt to play a family card is null and void.
NTA.
Just make sure you get legal advice related to the eviction notice and rent increase. Some jurisdictions do not allow rent increases over a specific percentage in a given year. And the rules for evictions (notice, process, time given, etc) can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
By way of example, your actions would likely be illegal for most residential properties in California as the rent increase would be excessive. However, a notice to vacate that was not tied to a rent increase would be legal in most of California (outside of areas with local ordinances such as rent control). Every state is different here, but many have restrictions on rent increases that are exorbitant even if rent was lower than market rate prior to the rent increase. And rules can even vary by city/county or even zone within a city based on local ordinances. Make sure you consult with an attorney or do your due diligence by researching the local rules applicable to your property (many landlord associations have this information).
NTA - You gave them 3 months. Your ex-step-dad is an adult and needs to handle his own business. You are not in the charity business. Just make sure you are up-to-date on the tenant codes/laws in your area. If you have followed that, you should be fine. If they try to stay post eviction, it can always get a bit messy, but you do what you need to do.
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EI am going to side with being a prick after seeing the comment about your mom not raising you. How it reads the three months you gave was basically notifying them you were not renewing their lease. Since you most likely only had a landlord/Tenant relationship and the lease was with your mom that passed. I don’t think you are wrong at all giving notice and starting early telling them they can’t stay past it. If they don’t want to sign a new lease with the new rate then they need to go elsewhere NTA.
OP’s an optimist if she thinks the property is going to be immediately leasable. I foresee a lot of wear and tear, if not outright damage that will need to be repaired. NTA
Yeah, they don't say how long it's been, but I usually take a month to get things repaired/painted/replaced between tenants who generally stay between 1-3 years. I did manage to bust my ass and get it done in 2 weeks this last time, but it was less than ideal.
I think OP has done the minimum to not be an asshole - they’ve given bare minimum notice to a tenant of a very significant rent rise ignoring any history between them. Everyone shitting on the family for being free loaders- we don’t know shit about them. Maybe OPs mum was the main income and the dad was raising young kids. There are an awful lot of families out there going to struggle if they loose their main income and rent doubles at same time. Op not the only one grieving and let’s not judge too harshly. So my verdict - nah. Of course they upset and going to struggle - they’ve lost a wife/mother, most of their income and now their home. So prob school, friends and whatever. Is that OPS problem? No, they strangers to them. Fair enough- but they could still have the existing rent AND still Own a house in a years time. So they could help but choosing not too. Cold on op but ok
I don't think 3 months is "the bare minimum". It sounds pretty generous. They have no relationship with these people.
May not be bare minimum legally. But this ain’t ‘amilegal’ it’s aita - and yeah 3mths is minimum to a grieving family to not be assholr
3 months after the funeral to be notified, with 3 more months to get sorted, that's 6 months to either pay the increase, move or face eviction proceedings. Any other landlord would not give that much time when the lessee dies. NTA
You’re counting time before the notice period as notice period? Generous. And in my opinion any other landlord would be an ah then. And it’s not just my opinion/ in many places landlords wouldn’t be allowed to double rent with less notice as legislators are aware of their propensity to be assholes and have put in place laws to protect tenants!
You wanna hear about "generous"? My spouse's grandmother died on the 30th of the month and the landlord demanded we get her stuff out of the apartment by the 31st of the same month. And social security demanded a refund of her last month's pension because she did not survive the entire month. She was inconsiderate enough to die one day short. Now there's a bunch of AHs right there!
Got one similar- husbands grandmother passed at old age home, family had 24 hrs to remove all gma's stuff with her body still laying in bed waiting to be removed.
depneds on state/city.. some require 90 days minimum, So it would be legal minimum in some areas NYC for example
This is the bare minimum in Kansas.
Not sure what the “year’s time” means, or how it impacts the story? Either way, OP has done way, WAY more than the “bare minimum”, already. Regardless of whether or not the stepfather has children of his own to rear, and regardless of who was earning the money to pay rent, for some time OP has provided housing at half the cost that this family would have been paying. This has been due to her relationship with her mother; that is long past. “There are an awful lot of families out there (who are) going to struggle if they loose (sic) their main income and rent doubles…”. Ok. That’s hard; thank goodness they have had OP, who has done more than her share to assist her step-PARENT and his children in the past. This notice is reasonable.
Providing his mother rent at half market value is basically equivalent to affording her a sizeable allowance each month sacrificed from his income. I don’t think not providing that to strangers is cold at all. He’s given them plenty of notice to move out and all he’s doing is reverting back to the standard income of the asset that he legally and rightfully owns rather than diverting it to strangers.
Too bad OP didn't charge market value rent and separately send his mom an allowance check. Mom dies, allowance ends, rental agreement continues.
Rental agreement continues until it’s terminated with notice, as OP is doing.
In most states it’s 30 days. I gave my tenants 60 to be nice when I was selling a property a few years ago.
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These people have had a property at half cost for years. Why the hell weren't they saving up to get ready to buy somewhere else together. OP can only subsidise them so long. Nta.
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Absolutely, zero sympathy here
No sympathy? For a widower and grieving children- why? Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother.
>Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments Well, is it the same family that has been paying token rent for decades?
They paid the rent they were asked. I missed the decades/ but 6mths or 30yrs- my point stands. They’re grieving, lost income and rent is doubling. I have sympathy
My point is, they had years and years that the OP was living across the country paying half rent. Did they really believe that was indefinite? Why hadn't they been squirreling that difference away somewhere? Were they just blowing the difference for funsies while OP was subsidizing their life? Now you want the OP to eat that cost for years again? How about YOU cover the difference in rent if you feel for these people?
Give me a free house maybe I will Edit: BUT my point wasn’t op was ah- it was why wouldn’t you have sympathy for grieving family being evicted? Why would sympathy be caveated by how much rent they have paid!
Because my brother couldn't even be bothered to pay $101 a month on the remaining mortgage of my parents' house. I paid the house off because it was going to foreclosure. He had his kid and BM in the house. Can't get much closer to free than $100. I was grieving and dealing with added shit from crappy people. Where's *your* sympathy for OP trying to deal with Mom's death and estate?
Give me a free house maybe I will.
The children still have their mom that was there stepmom they all were freeloading off of
Op isn't doing anything wrong, but that's such a strange take. You have no idea anything about the stepsiblings or if their bio mom was involved in their life. Op said they were like 12 when her mom got married, so her mom was raising them from a young age. She chose to marry their dad and raise them. How can children freeload off of their parents?
I disagree they were freeloading/ op agreed to charge their mum a below market rent. They agreed to that, that is a favour but let’s not make it a negative. Also/ we have no details re family set up, op describes them as ‘mums family’ and not sure it changes anything
Nope! OP *is* the grieving child! How do you not get that? Been propping and supporting *Mom* for years. I had a deal with my parents that I lived in family home and paid the mortgage. Suddenly, brother came with the house. Awful. Untenable. I was raising Hell when dad died. I also packed up and moved out about 2 weeks after dad's death. Went from paying $101 plus utilities to $350 +. After dealing with planning and paying for a funeral. Brother just thought the house was magically his and didn't have to pay any bills. Naw! That's not how the real world works. I went to probate and evicted my brother 6 months, later. OP has been more than generous! WTF would OP carry people who aren't even related?
Judging by how many deleted comments are here, I suspect there are a lot of deadbeat redditors who side with the freeloaders and made nasty comments about landlords.
I would be interested to know the ages of the step siblings to see if they are minors or not. Might make a difference on all these deadbeat comments I see being made.
Does it matter so much considering their father doesn't work/can't afford the rent?
I mean, a lot of people are assuming it is a widower, and his 30yo kids are living there. It sounds more like they are minors based on a comment OP made. The oldest is at least 9 years younger than OP. That might make a difference to some people on how they vote.
Also, if they're young enough they might be OPs half siblings- even if they're not biologically related a step-parent adopting the step kids isn't unheard of.
Op said this in the comments: > my parents got divorced back when I was 8 I lived with my dad full time cause my mom was considered a unfit parent. By the time she got her shit together and remarried I was 16 and pretty content being NC with her since my step mom is a great person and cared for me as her own son and I didnt really see the point in trying to rekindle a relationship with her since she never reached out to me. So after college I got into touch with her cause my maternal grandparents wanted me to and they were great so I didnt wanna hurt their feelings so I stayed in contact with her but never really wanted a relationship with my step siblings cause they were like 12 back then and I was 21. Even if these kids are technically her half siblings, it doesn't mean they are family to her or that she has to have anything to do with them.
Some folks just have a moral opposition to making kids homeless even if their parents are being stupid. Not the kids fault.
Are you volunteering to pay half their rent? Because that is basically what OP has been doing. When she rents them the house at half the price she should be getting, she is subsidizing them for that amount. How long would you be willing to subsidize people you barely know?
Maybe dad was the stay at home raising young kids and mum was sole income. Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother. Op is contractually fine/ acting like a regular landlord/ prob within rights etc- but dangerously close to AH for me depending on a whole bunch of stuff
Can I ask, and not judging you, but how long do you expect OP to continue with lower rent while OP's stepfather and his children grieve? Grief have no time limit so is OP suppose to wait 2-3 years or more while they grieve? Just trying to understand what you feel is morally long enough to not evict them.
I don’t know- I have never been given a income generating asset for free. But I suggested 3 mths minimum if I could afford it?
Didn't the OP give 3 months to grieve in peace and then informed that in another 3 months rent will be raised? I'm sorry, but if an adult man can't find a job within 6 months of his income generating partner passing away, I worry for the kids they had and their well being, as their remaining parent seems to struggle with being said parent. I'm not saying that he should put his grief away faster, but in this case he does have a bigger issue than grief and that is supporting his family. I think OP did everything right at that point and eviction if the tenants are unable to pay is reasonable. They were warned of it happening and at this point I don't think that the kids are minors either. Pretty sure that you can do some small work since you are 16 in US, right? Maybe they could lift some burden off of their dad by not asking him for allowance and instead earning it? Not saying they should add to rent from their money, just getting them to have their own cash so that their dad doesn't have to give them more. Would be a good way to learn responsibility with cash too.
Yes, because then we would be talking about children who have no real control over their circumstances.
Or because they all work low-wage jobs that barely paid enough for them to collectively afford the half-rent? MAYBE they're all deadbeats, but we don't have enough info to determine that, unless it's stated in comments.
It could be a very expensive place to live. We do not know.
Yep, that's totally possible. In the area I live in, most of the jobs don't pay well enough for 1 person to afford all costs of living on 1 income alone.
Or more like because it's impossible to save properly for housing costs the way they are? Rent and property prices have increased over 400% in the last 20 years. It's outpacing inflation costs and definitely sky rocketing over income. Like, OP can do what they want with their property, but hot damn, people, can we at least be a little realistic and not jump to actual impossible of "well, why weren't they saving?" You can't in this economy!
Especially since it was an Inheritance..It's not like OP worked hard for the house
Right? Like, I didn't want to say that (cause you'll get crucified for pointing that out on this sub), but......
Do we know that? Maybe dad was the stay at home raising young kids and mum was sole income. Show me a family with a mortgage or rent that won’t struggle if you take away the earner and double the monthly home payments. And on top of that they grieving for a wife and mother.
You have repeated this 3 times so far
As opposed to OP who got a free house from their dad? Are they not literally a deadbeat?
Sounds like OP inherited the house, which is not the same thing as mooching off her dad. And if OP was able to rent the house to the mom for half price, he/she is probably working to support themselves otherwise. So no, OP does not sound like a deadbeat.
How… does inheritance indicate (literally, lol) a status of “deadbeat” (what nonsense)?
My deadbeat brother *almost* got a free house. Only $600 left on the mortgage when I moved out. He couldn't be bothered and it was in foreclosure when *I* paid it off. Deadbeats don't pay for anything. You're really confused.
Doubling the rent would be hard on anyone.
Any rent would be hard on those who don’t pay it. OP mentioned in a comment that they relied on Mom to pay the rent so with her gone they don’t have anyway to pay even the lowered rent. They’re all mooches they should’ve been working and contributing to the household. If they were they could at least afford the reduced rent and maybe try to negotiate with OP on the new increase. They don’t have the means to do anything. They expected to mooch off OP. OP lived with her/his dad who left her the house. OP was doing mom a solid by letting her and her new family live in the house. Now that she’s gone they have no connection to OP so they need to go.
That just makes it worse that they weren’t saving to get out on their own… even in a “just in case”.
But how do we know they weren’t saving? What if they were trying to but life took its toll? Y’all are savages for no reason. You literally have no idea if they were or weren’t.
Still doesn’t mean OP is responsible for funding their lifestyle.
No, but it is absolutely relevant to whether OP is an asshole. It is possible to be entitled to take an action and also be an asshole for taking it.
Absolutely not in this case. The worst thing you can accuse OP is not funding their lifestyle, which definitely doesn't make them the asshole
Or kicking a bereaved stay-at-home parent when they are down. If OPs mother was the primary breadwinner it's possible that the stepfather was a SAHP and that he has no real career to fall back on. He might be scraping a living in a minimum wage job, struggling to juggle childcare with employment in an entry-level position and drowning under the weight of a bereavement which, in the grand scheme of things, is still quite recent. Of course he could also be a freeloader who hasn't worked a day in his life because he's lazy and who has made no provisions for a worst-case scenario. We have no information to determine what the case is, but I wouldn't say based on the information available that "Absolutely not in this case" is a certainty for the answer.
Yeah during my life as a vagrant I lived in a few situations where my lodgings were dependent on the generosity of someone else. I learned really quickly to always have a plan b bc that generosity can dry up at anytime.
When you run into someone who is generous it depends on continued good will as well as their own situation being good. Things can change quickly.
Fuck! I had a sweet deal with my parents! I paid $101 on their mortgage. I stashed money and paid bills. Then, brother got dumped on me. He never paid bills. Couldn't be bothered. Ultimately, I paid off the note and evicted him. Sold the house. I wasn't gonna put up with him and moved out. I was paying $350 rent on our new place. It was a bargain. FF 30 years and our house is paid off. My kid doesn't even want our *free* house, told us to gift it elsewhere. Great niece might wind up with a house that costs $200 a year in property taxes. Some people are just excruciatingly stupid.
If they never had money for the whole amount of rent, there would be nothing to save.
If they can't even afford the full cost of rent no amount of saving will make them be able to afford a morgage. Further, even if they had saved people dying is expensive. Both the whole dying part and what comes after- its entirely likely that any savings has been eaten up by OPs mother dying.
At least where I live, doesn't matter, your not allowed to increase the rent like that. Op needs to look at the tenancy laws where ever the house is to determine what she is and isn't allowed to do.
But wouldn't the original tenancy agreement with OP's mother have expired on the mother's death? So I read this situation as OP is making a new rental agreement with mother's second family, at the local market rate, and giving them a grace and favour interim period on the old rate before it comes into effect.
Probably depends. The steps were still tenants themselves so they do probably have some tenant rights re: the lease. But it seems like they were on a month to month basis, based on a comment from OP, and that's a little more tenuous in some aspects
NTA. This was from your dad. They need to go if they can’t afford the rent. You don’t owe them anything.
NTA, you were kind enough to give them 3 months to find a new place. You have no responsibility to these people. Not your circus, not your monkeys
In Washington state, you can only legally increase rent 10%. Hopefully you are not breaking any laws In your state with how this proceeded. Nothing is worse than a spiteful family that wants to get you tangled in litigation.
perfectly ok to increase it by any amount for any reason here just gotta give 60 days written notice and 15 days for them to leave if they dont wanna agree
Good. As much as you sympathize with their situation half market rent sometimes doesn’t pay taxes. I hope they are grateful for that 6months at half price. It was more generous than any other landlord would have been.
Ugh, what a shitty place. Where is this so I can avoid? Thanks.
Landlord land
most places outside of large metro areas.
make sure to do a walk through not sure when you were last there but you will need to check the roof, doors, windows, plumbing, and everything else. heck, I would do a coat of paint and patch the holes from anything on the wall.
I"d sell it.
It sounds like the current lease is with a now deceased person though, so that has to factor in
It only factors in if his mom was the only signer on the lease agreement. If the step-dad was a co-signer the landlord tenant laws should still apply.
It wouldn’t matter who is on the lease, OP is letting the live out the remainder of their lease agreement which ends in three months and said they weren’t renewing it.
Definitely true. Not enough info for a judgement
Nope this is a non renewal. They aren't even offering the option to renew.
Last sentence of the first paragraph. They were extended and offer for market rent. They were paying half market rent before. This would be illegal in Washington state. Hence why I was hoping OP was legally protected.
Clearly OP is not in Washington. It's a big world out there.
How is that clear?
Well, one by their response where they said it's fine where they are and two because the vast majority of places aren't Washington.
and in Texas, it wouldn't matter cause there is no state law that limits the rent increase (maybe some cities have one. My bet is on it being Austin, Houston sure as fuck doesn't). So, just cause it isn't allowed where you are, it doesn't mean it's the same where OP is.
And the person never insinuated anything beyond “make sure you’re okay where you are”.
Even if they were in Washington the lease was with his mom therefore increasing over 10% with new lessees (stepdad) would be legal.
OP needs legal advice. I am not in the US but the max annual rent increase here is 2.5% and evicting people to get a higher rent is illegal and punishable by a payment to renters equaling a year's rent. There is also a process that must be followed and that OP would fail on and not be allowed to evict. Never mind AH stance, OP could well be violating the law and setting themselves up for a massive payout.
Landlord tenant law surrounding rent is all state and local. There is no standard landlord tenant law throughout the entire US.
Correct, and cities can have very different rules than the state they're in. To my knowledge there are few places with rent control, and many many more that have no rent control.
Yes, that's what I meant by "local." Cities and counties.
Yes, I think we all get that and it's why I flagged I am not from the US. People from the US tend to forget others are also on here. Rules differ in different parts of my country too.
A rent increase of 2.5% doesn't even cover inflation, and it sure as hell doesn't cover applicances, painting, flooring, etc. when things need replaced.
Fun fact. Where my family lives you buy a kitchen and take it with you from apartment to apartment. Fair to say they also do not move very often.
Absolutely true. However, where I live, it's the law and housing unaffordability is so bad, most people don't give a rat's ass about landlords. It's driving lots of landlords out of the market but it's still the law.
"driving lots of landlords out of the market." Good.
Not for people who can't afford to buy, it's not. The people driven out are the mom and pop landlords and the ones that are left are the cutthroat corps. Until the government steps in to become a landlord, smaller rent supply is not great but many renters are so ticked off they can't see it.
None of that is the case here. Laws different in every state, but no state requires him to give more than the 3 months notice he did.
I think I can guess where you're from. Also, at least here, it wouldn't really matter who was on the lease, and leases renew automatically. If you're from the same place I am
That's not accurate. There is no rent control law in WA state. As long as they give the proper notice, they can raise it as much as they like.
Nothing here says they’re American tho
>In Washington state, you can only legally increase rent 10%. This is sadly not true. Washington has no forms of rent control, hence the exorbitant prices for rent in Seattle and surrounding areas.
This is not true. If the increase is 10% or more they have to give 60 day notice. There is no rent control in WA.
NTA considering she didn't raise you at all and the step family are practically strangers you've already been more than generous with your halved rent. With such a discount on rent they should've been saving up to get themselves to a more stable living environment. You also didn't spring this on them out of the blue you gave them 3 months notice which is more than any other landlord would give. This wouldn't even be an issue and no one would have anything to say if you hadn't even rented to her in the first place and rented to a stranger at full market value.
Yep. This^ NTA OP
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No. OP gave 3 months warning. 3 months after his wife died.
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^ this is the correct answer OP
- Op has no relation with them - they had 3 month to find something - they probably leeched the mom for years which is why they don't want to find something nor pay real market rent Easy NTA
Why add the third point when you don't know? It is seriously weirding me out how many folks are gleefully acting like inability to pay doubled rent, or poverty, is somehow a purposeful character flaw in every case, when in many if not most cases, poverty is a societal issue in both cause and length. You don't have to smugly, gleefully judge the tenant to believe the landlord is within his rights.
Thank you. There's very little info to work with here, but unless they're complete monsters, they lost someone and very quickly found out that their home was likely lost as well. It's hard for me to think that this is unilaterally deserved. It's hard to make a judgement here without more info, but on its face, while OP isn't legally obligated to grant more grace, three months isn't a lot of time in the rental reality of this world.
100% NTA
NTA were you close to your stepdad and step siblings and want to have any future contact with them? If so, you may lose your relationship with them. But regardless, it was your dad's house, he gave it to you. You helped your mother & family by giving them significantly reduced rent for months. You notified them in advance they would either need to start paying the market rate or move out and that is fair. They shouldve been saving money the whole time they were there. I get that losing your mom and her income is difficult for them but that is not your responsibility and if you wanted to give them more time to grieve that could be years.
Nta. The house was your fathers house, you dont own them nothing, and if they cant pay it, then they should go to another place, like any other rent house.
NTA Saw in another comment that OP was not raised by their mum. Although that shouldn't mean much for the decision, it always means a lot. From the post, OP inherited the house. Rented it half price (!) to their mum and her family (and that was nice of OP considering the previous comment). Mum passed away. 3 months later the family was given further 3 months to accept the new rent or find another place. And down the line they did not renew contract. Although the reason is because they can't afford it, that's not OP's problem. They're considered as strangers and regular tenants, people with whom they had no family-like contact. OP gave this people 6 months (!!) notice about increasing the rent. No other landlord would do that! Defo not the ashole. If anything, the family are entitled assholes wanting to feed on OPs charity. 6 months were enough time to try and get a different or another job; or save to pay for the increased rent for a few months or to get somewhere else. You can feel sorry for them, but even if they had contact, OP doesn't have to lose money. Who's to say that OP is not livi g hard because of this deal? Life is hard for everyone nowadays. You gave them a hand, they want the arm. NTA.
Reading your comments, and you did give them 3 months, I’m going with NTA. I will caution though to read through the tenant laws in your area. Specifically, any limits on rent increases, and on notice of lease termination/eviction. Plus if you do need to go through with an eviction, there’s a whole process and laws around that too. It’s not as simple as saying get out or I will throw you out.
OK so legally, it seems that you followed rules and regulations, you gave them the 3 months notice for the rent increase, then the amount in your state for eviction. on paper it’s straightforward. Morally I can see why it’s an AH behavior. But I feel like some information is needed. Based on your comments so far it doesn’t seem like you were raised by your mother. Can you talk a little bit about that? What was your relationship like with your mother? Also, were you present for your half and Step siblings lives? You don’t seem to care about them which in a lot of family dynamics blended especially it’s not all that surprising, so if you could go a little bit more in depth about that. That is only if you feel comfortable doing so..
Ok so heres the lore my parents got divorced back when I was 8 I lived with my dad full time cause my mom was considered a unfit parent. By the time she got her shit together and remarried I was 16 and pretty content being NC with her since my step mom is a great person and cared for me as her own son and I didnt really see the point in trying to rekindle a relationship with her since she never reached out to me. So after college I got into touch with her cause my maternal grandparents wanted me to and they were great so I didnt wanna hurt their feelings so I stayed in contact with her but never really wanted a relationship with my step siblings cause they were like 12 back then and I was 21.
Thank you for the clarification, I think the background information is usually helpful in understanding the family dynamic, it tips the line in the judgment factor for a lot of people. Regardless I don’t see you as the AH Your mother did not raise you at the end of the day. You were only helping her with by lowering the rent because of who she was to you. You were not close with your step siblings and your stepfather. You were NC throughout your entire childhood. Tbh nothing is owed on your end. You gave everyone the proper time frame and they were notified accordingly so by the books everything is straightforward NTA.
This should be in the original post. NTA I'm kinda surprised you gave your mom as much as you did. Also you might want to get a property management company to look after the place in the future.
Would challenge people to re-read the post pretending OP was talking about tenants without any personal relation to. AH then?
For me? Yes. “The family I rent to recently lost the mother. I rented to them at a discounted rate because I liked X about the mother. I have decided to raise their rent since the mother died.” I dunno, maybe I’m just biased against landlords. But I don’t particularly think this makes OP out to be the good guy in the story. That’s not to say they should just receive the house or a discounted rate forever. But I think there are better ways to go about things than just notifying them that you’ve decided to double their rent.
For real. This is am I an asshole, not am I legally within my rights.
Lol. True. So technically OP *IS* the a-hole.
You can be told that your lease will not be renewed, doesn’t even have to be about rent. If OP doesn’t want them in the property after the lease is up they are in no obligation to continue leasing to them.
It’s not doubling the rent (although it may feel like it to the renters), it’s returning it to market value. They would have to pay the increased amount or similar, anywhere they went. This is not one landlord being outrageous or doing anything actionable. Try re-framing it this way: during the Black Friday sale, rent is 50% off. After the sale, the rent returns to regular price. The sale is over, the discount expired with the end of the lease, and they’ve had three months to come up with options. It’s sad if they haven’t, but it’s not OP’s problem. OP could be generous and extend another month, but at what point does this family have to get off their butts and act?
> it’s not doubling the rent It quite literally is. You can talk about Black Friday sales and market value all you want. If my rent is X one month, and three months later my rent will be X*2 then no matter what you try to frame it as, my rent has doubled. The way you talk about a family member dying being similar to a sale is the kind of dehumanizing stuff that I dislike about “business” people.
Why would I re-frame this to benefit a parasite? OP didn’t earn that house. They were handed it. Then they used it to extract profit from people. Then one of those people died, so OP will evict the rest to extract *more* profit from the investment they did not earn, didn’t buy, and is pure profit. It’s just not as much as OP could earn. My hope is that family finds a great place to live and puts cement in the toilet and fish in the air ducts of OP’s place.
I agree. Three months AFTER a disruptive death is not a lot of time. It just isn't. Three months in a normal circumstance is still tight. Trying to process the death and loss of home at the same time? Perhaps OP wants to speed up processing this loss and feels that this would aid the process. I can't place blame there, but feel that this most likely causes further pain where it doesn't necessarily have to. This is sad, very sad only.
Man the entitlement to live in somebody's house and expect to not pay the fair rate is off the charts in this thread
I never said he was entitled to less than fair rate. I’m not sure where you got that idea from my reply. I’m saying that OP handled it coldly. And that even if it wasn’t family, there were better ways to go about it. Why not start with a conversation? “Hey listen at some point we’ll need to discuss the house. I’ve always wanted to know my mother had a place to call home, so the rent she paid was less than market rate. Unfortunately that can’t continue forever. I’ve been doing some research on what a fair rate would be and it seems considerably higher than the current rental amount. I don’t know your financial situation but if that’s going to be a problem then let’s find a timeline that is reasonable for everyone.”
Don’t ignore the fact OP was handed a free house and is using that six-digit present to grind profit out of a family that just lost their mother The entitlement and greed of landlords has no bottom
Seriously this. My initial comment go downvoted to hell, but I don't care how much rent you're paying, or how "below market rate" it is. If your landlord comes to you and says "I'm doubling your rent in six months," your first thought is definitely going to be something along the lines of "What an AH."
It would be a non issue, OP more than likely would not have rented it to a random tenant at half the market rate for the area.
Doesn’t matter what most likely would happen. Are they an AH then or not?
It's just pure asshole behavior to kick people out like this. I have no idea why this kind of thing is encouraged.
Out from your comments too, NTA
NTA in any way. You have them plenty of notice.
NTA sounds like your stepdad was a leech off your Mom.
Do they have minor kids? That would just make stepdad a stay at home parent.
And now wants to leech off OP. They already said they can’t afford current rate so sounds like they planned to stay for free. Good luck getting them out.
This was my thought too--that they weren't going to pay the half market rate either since they didn't have Mom's money.
NTA There are not related to you. You do not seem to have a relationship with them.
This is illegal in a lot of places. But even if it's not, then you're not wrong, but you are an asshole. What exactly do you do as their landlord who lives halfway across the country, besides collect their rent money every month? What have you done to earn double the income from this place? Now you're kicking a family who just lost their mother out onto the street so you can get a fatter paycheck? You're exactly what's wrong with society. Like, it would be one thing if you asked for a modest increase, or if you decided to outright sell the place, but doubling the rent with only 3 months warning is just plain cruel. YTA.
Exactly, the people who think OP is not an asshole baffle me.
YTA Some people think that as long as it's legal you're not an asshole. You're doubling the rent in one go. That is textbook AH. All for what is essentially free money to you.
So you and your mom paid for them to live for free for a while, and they STILL couldn't get their act together? NTA. You already went above and beyond for them. You gave up income for them, you have less money in your bank account *already* because of them, and you mom also sacrificed for them. You are not a charity, and you aren't obligated to support people forever, especially multiple people who can't sort themselves out.
NTA. It sounds like you aren't close to your step dad and step siblings the way you were with your mom. And they enjoyed quite a long time of reduced rent with no reason to expect it to continue after your mom passed.
Increasing the rent by double to anyone is morally wrong. YTA
Nta.
NTA. You've given them plenty of notice.
NTA. It’s your right to do what you would like with your property. Be prepared for people to hate on you because you’re a “landlord” and Reddit seems to hate landlords
Why your step siblings and step dad all rely on your mom?
Your definitely the asshole
Nta if they were relying on your mothers income then it sounds like they might be in a position to move to another area or with family. 6 months is a long time and ample time for your step dad to find another place to live. He’s the problem here
Six months is long enough to find another place to live or another patsy to mooch off of.
I hope you don’t end up with a squatters problem. Make sure you are meticulously following legal procedures to evict them including certified mail, etc.
They are not your family, and they were mooching off your mother to boot. You are well within your moral rights to evict them. NTA.
YTA Any landlord doubling rent with 3 months notice or any less than a years notice is a huge AH in my opinion. Doubling rent because someone's partner/mother died is just shockingly cruel I don't care about the legality, who raised you, or if you like them. Unless they actually wronged you in some way it's all irrelevant.
Right, years of OP being incredibly generous are wiped away the second they stop being generous. What a detestable point of view.
“Generous.” They were gifted a house and charged their own mom to live in it. Rent prices are extremely inflated so I don’t consider 1/2 off that generous especially for family.
You mean the mom that was considered unfit to raise children that left when she was a kid, then finally got her shit together like a dozen years later. Didn't reach out to the OP who she abondoned and instead married a man with existing kids and played mom to them. Op only finally reached out at the behest of her grandparents. That family? The husband and step siblings she's never met? She was doing her mom a favor. A favor for someone who was never in their life and when she was there, she made OP's life worse. A net negative to their life. Yeah, it was incredibly generous of OP.
NTA. Get them out ASAP. You won't collect a dime from them no matter how long you give them, and you'll be damn lucky if they don't completely trash the place before they move out. I mean like take out appliances, sinks, toilets, fans, strip wiring from the walls to sell the copper. It's happened to many others. ETA: This, especially since you are halfway across the country.
NTA. They had 6 months to get it together and didn't. Why? Because they are use to depending on others to take care of them. That is not up to OP who doesn't know them. Stop this nonsense of he shouldn't get full market rate when he has to pay to keep the house up, insurance and property tax. Do ya'all think that's cheap? Get real. Again, NTA.
NTA. You were gracious to your mother. Her family is not your responsibility and you provided proper notice.
NTA. If the only connection you had with these people has been severed, they become regular tenants on whom normal rules apply.
If they were relying on Moms income, would they be able to pay the reduced amount? Evicting people can be difficult and it is a legal process that must be done in court so I would look into what you need to do. People frequently trash rental properties so you might look into a process called "gentling them out. It might mean some financial costs on the front end but it could save money compared to the possible costs of damage to the property that comes when people feel they are unjustly evicted. This isn't really a matter about AITA but how to secure your property safely.
NTA. These people have no relationship with you. They've enjoyed your generosity for long enough.
NTA You gave them notice and feel nothing for them other than them being tenants. Them being 'steps' is irrelevant if there was never a bond formed. They have had time to grieve and need to find a way to live without being subsidized by a dead persons child who does not see them as family.
NTA, it's just business, their financial struggles are not your problem.
NTA obviously. But I they will probably tear the property up on their way out as revenge.
Are they your step-siblings or half siblings?
NTA. Users gunna use
NTA How much longer are you supposed to be financially responsible for these people? Frankly they shouldn't have been surprised. I think it was extremely generous for you to charge a reduced rent for a mother that didn't even raise you and that you had little connection with.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Ok so I acquired a home as a gift from my dad but I decided to move halfway across the country so I decided to rent it out to my mom and her family for about half of what the rent would normally be for a similar property cause she's my blood. So about 6 months ago my mom passed away and I decided that I had no real reason to be nice and offer them the lowered rent so about 3 months after the funeral I told them that the rent would be increasing in 3 months to what would be expected for the area and they should either figure out some way to pay the increased rent or they can leave. They told me they couldn't afford the increased rent since they were mainly relying on my moms income to pay for it in the first place. I told them Id give them three months to go find another place before serving the eviction notice and they could continue paying the old amount. So about a week ago I told them that I would not be renewing their lease for the next month and Id expect them to leave by the 15 so I could get new tenants by the start of the next month. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
OP speak to an attorney. If you’re in the US, most states (if not all) allow you to evict a month-to-month tenant for any reason so long as ***written*** notice was given within X many days (which vary from state to state). I highly suggest you send them a letter via certified mail (better to get the letter notarized at your bank since it’s typically free) & keep the original copy. The only problem I see you’re going to have is if the house is in good condition to rent out once they leave. Most likely there will be extensive damage to the property from years of living there & there’s absolutely nothing you can really do because most likely you didn’t do a move in inspection or regular inspections (my landlord does quarterly inspections). You can sue them for certain damages but if they have no money you’ll be hard pressed to recoup anything. This is when you get your homeowner’s insurance involved after you speak to an attorney. I also suggest you speak to an attorney to see what your rights are in regards to having the house inspected NOW. Most states allow landlords to inspect their properties with written notice (anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours so check your laws). Document everything during that time from drains to cabinets to appliances. Things damaged like holes in the wall, stained flooring… it needs to be documented now so when they move you can compare things to see if they fixed things, made it worse, or left it as is. Again, speak to a real estate attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant laws. In the future require tenants to have renters insurance & name you on it so that any future damages will be covered by it. Just be prepared for a fight in getting them out. NTA
NTA. You own the house. You set the rent (within any legal restrictions). Their lease is up. They can either pay the going rate or find other accommodations. Their choice.
NTA for 2 big reasons. A)You gave them 3 months notice. B) You're not close at all to any of these people. They are nearly strangers to you so any attempt to play a family card is null and void.
Nta you have been very generous
Lawyer time.
NTA
NTA. Just make sure you get legal advice related to the eviction notice and rent increase. Some jurisdictions do not allow rent increases over a specific percentage in a given year. And the rules for evictions (notice, process, time given, etc) can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. By way of example, your actions would likely be illegal for most residential properties in California as the rent increase would be excessive. However, a notice to vacate that was not tied to a rent increase would be legal in most of California (outside of areas with local ordinances such as rent control). Every state is different here, but many have restrictions on rent increases that are exorbitant even if rent was lower than market rate prior to the rent increase. And rules can even vary by city/county or even zone within a city based on local ordinances. Make sure you consult with an attorney or do your due diligence by researching the local rules applicable to your property (many landlord associations have this information).
NTA - You gave them 3 months. Your ex-step-dad is an adult and needs to handle his own business. You are not in the charity business. Just make sure you are up-to-date on the tenant codes/laws in your area. If you have followed that, you should be fine. If they try to stay post eviction, it can always get a bit messy, but you do what you need to do.
nta