After roommate abruptly leaves apartment and stops paying rent, tenant decides to redecorate the apartment, only to have roommate return months later and throw a fit at the makeover: 'You deliberately made the apartment unlivable for me'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Aug 1, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

*Waves goodbye and shuts the door…yeah, she's not coming back.

Imagine having your roommate ghost you out of the blue. Much like your experience with men, you decide that no matter how many promises they make, they're not coming back. So what's a girl to do when left alone? Well, when it comes to breakups, a makeover is always the right answer: change your hair, change your clothes, become unrecognizable.

But when your roommate packs their bags and ghosts you for a "little time away," the best move is to redecorate. And that's exactly what she did. Out with the dark walls and dim lights her vision-sensitive roommate insisted on. Name a better form of alone time than transforming a little student-budget home from a dark den into the perfect oasis. There's no need to consult the old roommate about these changes…she gave up that right the moment she stopped paying rent without notice.

That is, until she shows up months later with a baffling, "I'm back from my trip?!?"

Advertisement

  • This entitled woman can't just expect to walk back into the apartment like she never left. Once you decide to make your rent someone else's issue, they become the sole decision maker of the home, and you have no say. No say in the wall's color, no say in the grocery list…nada!

    So it's important to remember, like any man, ‘a break’ will ultimately lead to a ‘break up’… That's just how it goes. 

  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10535620864
    via baseimage

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

  • 02

    AITA for redecorating my apartment while my roommate was away?

    So my roommate was struggling with work stress and said she needed to get away for a while. She told me she was taking a "temporary break" from our living
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 03
    situation and going to stay with her sister across the country. When I asked what she meant by temporary break, she said she needed space to figure things out and asked me to give her that.
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 04
    After she left, I sent her a few messages checking if she made it there okay and asking how she was doing. Radio silence. I called once and left a voicemail asking if
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 05
    she was planning to come back at all. Nothing. I figured she'd basically moved out without telling me, and my coworkers. agreed when I vented about it at
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 06
    lunch. I was frustrated about being stuck with full rent, so my manager suggested I do something positive to reclaim the space and make it feel like mine again.
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 07
    My roommate has severe light sensitivity and migraines, so we'd always kept the apartment really dim with heavy curtains and soft lighting. But since she'd
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 08
    apparently bailed on me, I decided to completely redecorate. I painted the walls bright white, hung sheer curtains, added several large mirrors, and
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 09
    installed new overhead LED fixtures. The place went from a cave to feeling like a sunny studio apartment.
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 10
    Two months later, my roommate texted saying she was flying back next week and we needed to discuss "resuming our arrangement." I was confused and
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 11
    asked what arrangement she meant. She said she was ready to move back in and had worked through her issues. She wanted to talk about getting a bigger place
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 12
    together. I texted back asking what she was talking about since she'd moved out. No response. Last week she showed up with her suitcases talking about how
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 13
    much personal growth she'd done and how excited she was about our future as roommates. Then she walked into the living room and completely lost it. She
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10535621120
    via imgenes-de-guillermo-spelucin

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

  • 15
    room and completely lost it. She asked how I could redecorate everything when I know bright lights trigger her migraines. I told her that since she'd moved
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 16
    out, I didn't think her preferences mattered anymore. She said she never moved out. I said abandoning me with no communication for two months was moving out. She said she told
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 17
    me it was temporary and she was staying with family. I said ignoring all my messages was abandoning the situation. We went in circles until she said she had to leave because the lighting was already giving her a headache.
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 18
    I think she moved out and I had every right to redecorate my own place. She thinks she was just taking a break and I deliberately made the apartment unlivable for her. Aita?
    via Efficient_Emu_8639
  • 19
    Pikelets_for_tea She didn't pay rent for two months = she moved out. NTA. If both names are on the lease you will have to sort that out, along with any stuff she left behind. Change the locks.
    via Pikelets_for_tea
  • 20
    Repulsive-Egg-2602 NTA. If she had made a plan to stay in touch and pay rent it would have been one thing. However, she stopped paying rent and ghosted you entirely. I'd change the locks and check your lease to see what your options are.
    via Repulsive-Egg-2602
  • 21
    Stoic STFU Like Madonna sang: Bye bye baby bye bye It's your turn to cry That's why we have to say goodbye So say goodbye NTA
    via Stoic_STFU
  • 22
    Inevitable_Speed_710 "I'm leaving temporarily" most people would interpret as a few days or weeks. Beyond that it was her duty to keep in touch with you. Once she stopped paying rent her claim. to the apartment ended, especially since she was still ghosting you.
    via Inevitable_Speed_710
  • 23
    Plumplum_NL NTA. If you rent a place you cannot just 'leave temporarily' without paying rent and expect to start living there again whenever you want. If you leave and stop paying rent you no longer live there.
    via Plumplum_NL
  • 24
    Ashamed-Welder8470 two weeks without payment is moving out.
    via Ashamed-Welder8470
  • 25
    MammothAverage5003 NTA. While she never said she was moving out formally, she completely cut you off and did not respond to your messages. I would assume that she had left permanently as well. She has to understand that this form of communication just is not appropriate when sharing a living space.
    via MammothAverage5003

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

disagreement money back keys redecorate rent-out sharing income drama living together rent sublet paying rent painting move out roommates entitled people refurnish
Scroll Down For The Next Article