Man Wonders If He's Wrong For Kicking Tenants Out Of Old Family Home So His Son Can Live There — 'I Felt Horrible, But Family Always Comes First'
While family may come first, should it result in the displacement of another family?
Monkey Business Images and Prostock-Studio / Shutterstock A man has found himself in a difficult situation while renting out his old family home to a woman and her young son. After the family had been tenants at the old family home for a few years, a sudden life-changing event prompted the man to kick them out of the house so that his son could move in.
While he admits to feeling guilty about the situation, the man claims that “family always comes first.”
The man kicked his tenants out of his house so that his son could live there with his new baby.
Sharing his story to the subreddit, r/AmITheA–hole, the 50-year-old man revealed that he and his wife have been renting out their family home for quite a few years.
“We don't need the extra space anymore but are too attached to the house to sell it,” the man explained.
Renting out the house also allows the man and his wife to earn some extra money. Since they began renting out the house, a young woman and her son have moved in for $700 with the promise that they do not alter anything in the home.
Recently, the man's 20-year-old son not only discovered that he was the father of a newborn baby girl, but that he also had full custody of her, as the baby’s mother has no interest in co-parenting.
“He's spent all his savings on his education and has no support system where he lives so as soon as I heard about my granddaughter I immediately offered up our old house and he immediately agreed,” the man wrote. “He asked if there was someone currently renting it and I stupidly told him not to worry about it.”
The man’s son and granddaughter arrived shortly after notifying his university that he would be continuing his education elsewhere. Therefore, he had to evict the home’s current tenants “quickly” in order for his son and new baby to settle in.
Photo: Pormezz / Shutterstock
“I felt horrible, but family always comes first, so my wife delivered the news and helped them pack,” the man wrote. He also offered to pay the full cost of the tenant’s relocation, but never received a response from her.
A few days later, the woman dropped by the house again while the man’s son was moving in, and informed him that his father had evicted her and her son.
“He was mortified and also offered to pay for her relocation but she again said she wasn't interested,” the man shared.
The man’s son confronted him about his decision, and his father repeated that “family always comes first.”
“He said that I could have instead used the money from her rent to get him an apartment and asked me how I would feel if someone evicted him and his daughter for their own child,” the man wrote. Now, he is wondering if he was in the wrong for evicting his current tenants so that his son could move into the house.
“I don't regret my decision but I'd like some unbiased opinions,” he added.
Redditors disagreed with the man’s decision since he put his tenants in an unfair situation.
“I get family comes first but considering that you probably evicted her without much notice for her to find new arrangements, she’s likely on the street, homeless with a child,” one user pointed out. “You could have found a million better solutions than abruptly making a family homeless.”
“Your son is right you could have used the rent money to get him an apartment OR you could have had your son and granddaughter move in with you,” another user suggested. “Instead you kick out a tenant for no reason, no warning, and from the sounds of it a very short amount of time (less than 30 days). Yes, family comes first however, you handled this situation wrongly.”
Other users questioned the legality of the situation.
While eviction laws vary by state, landlords are generally not allowed to suddenly evict paying tenants with little to no notice.
They are required to follow a formal eviction process in their states. Tenants also have the right to take legal action against their landlords and receive compensation for any property losses.
While family is certainly important and the man should have done whatever he could to support his son and new granddaughter, another family should not have had to pay the price for it. A mother and son who have always respected the house and paid rent are equally as important as the man’s son and his new baby.
After all, they too are a family.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.