House sitters declare themselves roommates and refuse to leave when homeowners return from their trip: 'Is there a way to get them out of our house[?]'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 27, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

When you have pets or a lot of plants, or just generally want to make sure that there's someone there watching your things, you might call upon a house sitter. Usually this person will gladly take the chance to live in your place, maybe for some additional pay, but even just to have a "staycation" away from their normal living arrangements.

More recently, there have even been people chaining together these types of arrangements in order to live rent-free for a period of time, organizing stays with strangers, acquaintances, or friends of friends, with occasional periods being filled through living with friends or family. When done right, this can be incredibly successful and help to accumulate a large amount of savings fairly quickly.

Still, while having a house sitter is somewhat of a necessity for many, allowing someone to live in your house virtually unchecked is placing a lot of trust in them. You're generally hoping that they actually show up and don't back out at the last minute, that they take care of everything they say they will, and that they are generally respectful of your home and possessions. Of course, you're also hoping that they'll leave after the agreed-upon period of the arrangement is up.

These homeowners ended up in a tricky situation when they returned from their week-long vacation, hoping to have the place back to themselves. They had agreed that the couple watching their place could stay on for a "few days" afterward. A few days quickly turned into a few months, and the homeowners found themselves as frogs being boiled in a pot of water with the temperature rising far quicker than they were comfortable with. 

See the original story that they shared this week with this online community, sparking discussion with community members who responded in the comments.

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    Cheezburger Image 10380573184
    via Vitaly Gariev
  • 02
    I thought they were house sitters, they think they're roommates M So we just got back from a week long vacation. One of the guys my husband knows from board game nights needed a place to crash with his wife for a convention and some job search logistics in our city and we cats, so having them house sit seemed like a win win. Gonna call the wife Bonnie and the husband Clyde.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 03
    They also needed a bit of time after our trip, which was also fine. One of our cats is kind of difficult, and one week of dedicated care was about equal to two weeks of crash space. They asked us if they could maybe stay a bit longer based on how the job search went. We thought that meant a few days. I know we're all trying to do less guess culture, but if you're sleeping in someone's living room how would that not mean a few days? They asked for three months. Feeling a bit put on the spot, we a
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 04
    even then they're trying to tack a few more days on (until Bonnie's birthday. Now that I write this, I kinda wonder if some of the math is "they won't kick us out on my birthday"). My house isn't set up for roommates. It's barely set up for long visits. It has both my husband and I on edge. My husband is now in full eating crackers mode, where every little thing they do is setting him on edge.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 05
    And of course they do a lot of little things. Like leaving half eaten food or half drunk sodas out. Or spreading out their stuff in a common area. Which probably seems reasonable because we don't really have a private area for them. I'm really not sure why they'd want to be here for three months.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 06
    They'll be in a bad place if we kick them out. Their old place, the one they want to move from, is about 3 hours away and due to a paperwork snafu Clyde can't legally drive right now. Bonnie has a job now, but during training it won't pay enough for them to get an apartment. It's not a good situation, and I don't want to put them in a worse spot, but they can't stay here forever. Honestly, having them here past this weekend, like we'd originally agreed, is a really big imposition. I have big log
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 07
    Is there a way to get them out of our house without torching friendships? Update: We know lawyers that specialize in evictions (yeah it's a nasty business, but the dark secret of lawyers is that the more the firm looks like a Hallmark villain, the better the office culture is). If they really make us do it, we can do it pretty efficiently and there's some social consequences that will follow for them. If they were thinking that was an option, that's going to get very ugly for them very quickly.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 08
    SnooBunnies7461 11 hr. ago • Stop worrying about putting them in a bad position since they are thinking nothing of putting you in this situation. Time to torch that friendship because they have no intention of leaving. Never did. Tell them to pack up and be out by tomorrow. They told you they have an apartment. Its location is not your issue.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 09
    Small_Lion4068 11 hr. ago Get them out right now. They're trying to establish tenants rights and then you have to legally evict them. are you thinking?!
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 10
    Downtown_Ad6875 11 hr. ago Get them out ASAP. They're trying to scam their way into your house.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 11
    LompocianLady 11 hr. ago. I don't know where you are, but in some areas there are fairly inexpensive. long stay hotels or inexpensive studio Airbnb rentals. It might be worth putting out two weeks or a month of rental cost to put them up elsewhere, and let them figure out what to do after that. Where I live, if you let anyone stay with you more. than 30 days and they refuse to leave, then you have to go through the courts to evict them.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 12
    You could also offer them some cash to just leave if you feel bad about kicking them out. Or, just tell them you can no longer have them stay with you as it's creating problems in your relationship. Yeah, they'll be sad, mad or outraged, but do you value the friendship that much after they have imposed so much? Sometimes you have to set boundaries in friendships, much as you want to help.
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 13
    Plus_Data_1099 11 hr. ago . edited 9 hr. ago Be careful sometimes if they live with you for so long they can claim there room mates or lodgers and stay till you can evict them. Check the laws in your area in case that's why there asking for longer
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 14
    • Emotionally-english 11 hr. ago why is it your problem if they will be in a bad place if you kick them out? it's not your responsibility to host them indefinitely. they are taking advantage of you, so i don't think they are concerned about this friendship. kick them out asap!
    via u/Annaglyph
  • 15
    SpadgeFox 11 hr. ago • Get them out now, they're trying to establish themselves as tenants, and if they do you'll have a much harder time.
    via u/Annaglyph

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customer service karens entitled parents karen-customer customers homeowner bad roommates psycho roommate karens in the wild entitled roommates karen entitled people
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