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Karen tries to claim ownership of the place she has been renting for 20 years: 'I pay rent, so I own this house'

Let's face it: paying rent stinks. It's like setting a pile of money on fire every week just for the privilege of surviving and oddly reminiscent of paying mob dues. You have virtually no rights to the home, along with virtually no guarantees, and in a lot of places, you can basically be asked to leave or pay more arbitrarily at virtually any point. Still, if you're fortunate enough to have a place of your own, you'll come to find that you're basically still just renting from the bank anyway, paying more in interest at the start of your mortgage than you have ever paid in rent, but at least you're not going to be asked to move without defaulting on your payments.

Anyways, while paying your landlord's mortgage hurts, and as bad of a rap as landlords might have, it would be insane to just suddenly go around acting like you own the place and attempt to wrench control of the property from them. The reality is that whatever side of privilege they're on and from whatever walk of life, entitled people will be entitled and try to take advantage of any situation presented to them. 

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Posted by Brad Dickson
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  • Squatter's rights and the legality surrounding them can get pretty strange in a lot of situations, and there are stories every now and then about someone getting access or rights to a property through legalities surrounding their continued residence on the property. This tenant had probably heard some of those stories when she decided that she was indeed entitled to the property she was renting, owing to her long-standing residence there. But, of course, you're not a squatter if you're paying rent, which is where the whole argument sort of falls apart.

    This original post was shared five years ago with this online community; the original poster returned this week to share an update on what had happened since with their family's Karen tenant. It sounds like everything ended surprisingly amiably, given the situation and how these stories normally go. And the poster's parents, the owners of the property, now have their property back after a minor amount of drama surrounding moving dates.

    See the original post from five years ago immediately below, followed by the update shared this week starting from item #22.

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  • 1
    "I pay rent, so I own this house" HOU

    Image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Image is for illustration only and subjects are models.

    Via Getty Images For Unsplash+
  • 2
    "I pay rent, so I own this house" Though this would fit here. English is not my maternal language. Backstory: My parents used to own a house on a big land. When my older siblings went away for college, the house felt too big for our needs so my parents decided to sell the house, but not all the land. They built a smaller house on the part of the land they didn't sell. A few years after, we moved to a city 2 hours away and kept the house as a place to go
    Via -Alula
  • 3
    during the summer. My parents decided to rent the house as it was well located and had a really nice view. Renting it meant that they could use the money towards the mortgage and taxes.
    Via -Alula
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  • 4
    Enters our Karen. Karen and her boyfriend rented the place so she could be closer to her work. From the start, my dad made it clear: the place was for rent and my parents planned on living in that house after retiring (at that time, both of them planned to work for at least another 20 years+). They would, of course, notify Karen in advance when they wanted to take back the house so she would have plenty of time to find a new place. In
    Via -Alula
  • 5
    return, they asked that she notify them in advance should she wished to move out so they could find a new renter. The lease also stated that my parents would have some of their things in a locked storage in the basement as well as in a shed on the property and that they would always call Karen before dropping by to get something out of the storage (which was in the basement and connected by the garage so they wouldn't even disturb Karen).
    Via -Alula
  • 6
    For a few years Karen was an okay renter, she payed the rent through a check each month. She smoked inside and didn't take care of the land, but my dad didn't make a fuss about it. Real trouble started after around 12 years. Every few months, Karen's checks would bounce back. My dad would call her to ask about it, Karen would profusely apologize and rectify the situation. Then it became every other month, until it was every month.
    Via -Alula
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  • 7
    Finally, my dad had enough and called her about the lease and the rent. During the call, Karen argued that since she had been paying rent for the past 12 years, the house was now hers. My dad was shocked since that came out of nowhere. He tried to explain to her that she was renting the place like they had agreed on since the beginning. Karen went on a b fit about how she had payed so much over the years and she was the one living there and taking care of the place (which she was not at all) the
    Via -Alula
  • 8
    Now, where I live there are many laws which protects the renter and it can be a real b to deal with when you have nasty renter. My dad hired a lawyer to make sure everything was in order. After a meeting with Karen, where the lawyer was present, she realized she didn't have much of a case since all paperworks concerning the house was at my dad's name and the original lease clearly stated that it
    Via -Alula
  • 9
    was a rental. My dad offered her to stop renting, should she wish to after the whole debacle, but she wanted to stay in the house. He made her sign a new lease where it stated (again) that this was a rental and that should she not pay or cause trouble again, my dad would give her the shortest possible notice of eviction allowed by the law.
    Via -Alula
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  • 10
    Karen is still renting the house after almost 20 years. My parents are not close to retiring yet. Do hope it won't turn into a sh show when they decide to take back the house.
    Via -Alula
  • 11
    Edit: The question « why did your dad let her sign a new lease? » comes up a lot in the comments. I will say what I answered throughout the comments : 1. I don't have the slightest clue why he would do that. As I was a kid much younger when this happened I wasn't kept in the loop much. It was also not the reaction I would expect my dad to have since he is respectful to others and expect the same in return.
    Via -Alula
  • 12
    2. I do know the legal actions he took when she threatened to take him to court did protect himself and many future problems that might arise. I do appreciate all the concern and the advices! Although I do think my dad had a good reason to keep her as a tenant (from ) after everything that want down.
    Via -Alula
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  • 13
    ntengineer 5y ago • . I would have never let her stay. Your Dad is just asking for trouble when he wants to move her out. She will fight it and carry it out as long as she can until she gets removed physically, and probably will destroy the inside of the house. She already showed what type of person she is and he should have just continued with the eviction process to get her out of the house.
    Via -Alula
  • 14
    carebearninjahair 5y ago Unless the lease agreement had strict verbiage that said it was a lease to own, I don't know why she thought she had a case. My second house I ever owned was a lease to own and there was a legal contract that a percentage of my rent went to a trust to build up a down payment over 5 years. Then I could offer to buy the place, which I did. I agree with others that he should have ended her lease as soon as legally possible. It s ks so hard that people get screwed over like
    Via -Alula
  • 15
    Lord Jacen 5y ago • make a new post when they retire
    Via -Alula
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  • 16
    [deleted] 5y ago kinda reminds me of my roommate's mother but she didn't pay rent she paid internet so assumed she was a half owner of the house (my roommate was the owner. The mother just lived upstairs.)
    Via -Alula
  • 17
    mortstheonlyboyine... • 5y ago. It took us a year to get our tenant out when we wanted to move back into our flat. He had lived there for around 15 years and my grandmother who had been handling all of it as we lived in another country hadn't put the rent up in all of that time so of course he wasn't going to leave easily. He knew rent was now 10x what he was paying. When he left the flat was trashed and my dad had spent a fortune on legal fees.
    Via -Alula
  • 18
    . Purple_oyster • 5y ago Start raising the rent each year to drive her out
    Via -Alula
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  • 19
    harrywwc • 5y ago • Do hope it won't turn into a sh show when they decide to take back the house. uh, yeah, about that. of course there will be a sh.. show when they finally evict her. And no doubt, this time she will take it to the rental tribunal (or whoever) and fight it all the way "I've lived in this house for 20 years and I have rights!"
    Via -Alula
  • 20
    Shatora Dragon • 5y ago • I would firmly impress on your parents that if the checks start to bounce to start evictions and to start doing monthly walk threw to check for damage. Or if she moved or took the locked up items they had in storage
    Via -Alula
  • 21
    Shelldonix • 5y ago • . Would definitely suggesting your parents prepare for advance in taking back the house. It seems like it may take up to 2 years to get her out if she fights it hard enough. I'm sure your parents will approach the situation with the same approach as the first time round.
    Via -Alula
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  • 22
    I pay rent, so I own this house" UPDATE 5 years later L This is the update of a post from 5 years ago. Some people asked for an update in the comments and there has been new developments in the last few months.
    Via -Alula
  • 23
    TLDR from the original post: My parents own a summer house that has been rented for a few decades. After a dozen years of renting, "Karen" decided that since she had been paying rent for so long, she now owned the house. My father had a lawyer make sure that everything was in order and, despite what was quite a surprising decision, agreed to renew her lease. Most people in the comments (understandably) predicted trouble when my parents. would want to take back the house.
    Via -Alula
  • 24
    The timeline Since the beginning: There was a mutual agreement between Karen and my parents that they would both give a 6 months notice before she moved out or my parents would like to take back the house. Last week of June: My dad received a phone call from a representative of Karen. Due to financial. circumstances she was giving a month's notice before moving out. My parents were surprised by the short notice, but didn't really mind it, as they were looking forward to taking back the place.
    Via -Alula
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  • 25
    Last week July: Karen was set to move out, but she asked for a week extension as she couldn't find anybody to help her move. My parents agreed. She was now set to move out by August the 3rd.
    Via -Alula
  • 26
    August the 4th With the car all loaded up (with essentials, dinnerware and cutlery, small furniture), we left for our first trip to the house. The plan was to look at the state of the place, clean a little bit and take measurements for the remodeling my parents are planning. As we get to the place, we notice a small sign in the driveway to advertise for a garage sale at the house. We figured she forgot to take it down... We were wrong. As we get to the house, we can see boxes and furniture throu
    Via -Alula
  • 27
    Cue the shocked pikachu face as she answered the door. Turns out she hadn't moved yet and "meant to call my dad to let him know" but of course she never did. She clearly didn't expect us to drop by so soon after her supposed moving date. My parents were both extremely ped, but they gave her an additional week and expectations of payments for the weeks she overstayed.
    Via -Alula
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  • 28
    August 18th: My parents received the confirmation that she left the week she was supposed to (they had a neighbor drop by to make sure her things were really gone), but we didn't have time to make the trip until a week after. We found the place in a much better shape than we expected. Of course, the place is not in perfect condition, as it clearly has the wear and tear of a place that's been lived in for years. It needs a good cleanup, some fresh paints in most of the rooms and a looooot of work
    Via -Alula
  • 29
    Turning a new leaf over: So this ends this whole chapter. My parents got the summer house back years before they expected, and although the renter was difficult until the end, she mostly went away without all the trouble we all expected. My parents are happy to take back the place and are looking forward to all the projects they have for it. They have been almost every week to clean and sort through the things we had stored there. My dad did a fresh paint of
    Via -Alula
  • 30
    coat in some of the rooms and they are looking for furniture. My brother went once and started to clear up some of the trees to get back the awesome view we used to have from the kitchen. My dad bought an old lawn tractor to help with the yard work and is excited like a little boy with a new shiny toy. We'd like to get the place cleaned and ready to hopefully spend Christmas "camping" there, as we most likely won't have a lot of furniture yet.
    Via -Alula
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  • 31
    TLDR: Karen gave a month notice, but then asked for a week extension. We went to the house the day following her planned moving out date to find all her stuff still there. Karen didn't expect us to drop so soon, parents were p ed. They gave her an additional week which she (finally!) respected. The house is in better shape than what we expected, my parents are happy to take back the house even if it's sooner than expected and they are very excited by all the plans and projects they have.
    Via -Alula
  • 32
    bosanac • 6h ago • I was expecting this to be some sort of long and dragged out process where Karen gets the law involved and ultimately gets shut down. But this was nice and quiet.
    Via -Alula
  • 33
    yrabl81 6h ago • Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear that it ended too you're liking.
    Via -Alula
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  • 34
    RedDazzlr 5h ago . I'm glad it turned out better than expected.
    Via -Alula
  • 35
    Guvzilla 4h ago Make sure they change all the locks. Don't want her letting herself back in at some later date
    Via -Alula
  • 36
    Wanderluster621 4h ago . . Oh my goodness! I'm so glad that this turned out positively! Honestly, I was expecting it to be so much worse! Your parents sound like they are enjoying themselves too!
    Via -Alula
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  • 37
    3Heathens_Mom ⚫2h ago • I hope they changed all the locks.
    Via -Alula

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