'I pay rent, so I own this house': Entitled tenant declares house to be hers after renting it for 12 years, goes on to live there for over 20 years

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Mar 24, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

When you're paying rent to your landlord, it's pretty much like putting a stack of cash in the trash every week. That money is gone, and you have nothing to show for it. Don't it wrong, that really stinks, but you can't just decide one day that the house is actually yours, even though you've been paying off the landlord's mortgage for them.

Landlords argue they offer a "service" and it's debatable whether or not this id really true. If you're renting out your home while life has taken you elsewhere or maybe it's your second home that you once lived in previously, then this could be a legitimate line of argument. Especially if the person you're renting to also owns a home

But, still, it's crazy to think that some people (and private equity firms) own dozens of homes, land banking massive amounts of properties, throwing them on Airbnb or renting them out and driving up both rental prices and the property market like it's an actual ethical business.

It's right there in the name: lord. It's a feudal system designed for one specific purpose and the end result is that most people get priced out of the housing market and are stuck renting and burning cash for longer.

Still, that doesn't mean that you're entitled to your landlord's property like this entitled tenant "Karen" seemed to think she was. This classic internet story sparked a flurry of varied responses from readers when it was first shared, with readers concerned about the fact that the tenant had been allowed to remain living there long after her declaration. One might expect this family to run into further trouble from her in the future.

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    Cheezburger Image 10484755968
    via Jacques Bopp
  • 02

    "I pay rent, so I own this house"

    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 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 u
    via -Alula
  • 03
    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 return, they asked that she notify them
    via -Alula
  • 04
    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
  • 05
    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
  • 06
    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
  • 07
    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 was a rental. My dad offered her to stop renting, should she wish to after the whole debacle, but she
    via -Alula
  • 08
    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
  • 09
    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. 2. I do know the legal actions he took when she threatened to take him to court did protect
    via -Alula
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    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 h_ II) after everything that want down.
    via -Alula
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    Cheezburger Image 10484756224
    via Ahmed

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 12
    ntengineer 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
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    carebearninjahair 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 this. Y
    via -Alula
  • 14
    [deleted] 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
  • 15
    mortstheonlyboyineed 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
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    harrywwc 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

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karens housing tenants tenant landlords karens in the wild entitled renting karen housing market entitled people
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