'My backyard looks like a construction site': Dad insists on using 29-year-old daughter's yard as business storage, flips out when she tells him to stop

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 2, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

When somebody purchases a home, they normally expect to be the person in charge of what it's used for.

The whole point of owning your own property is that you can, within reason, do what you want with it and enjoy all the freedoms that come from not having to answer to anybody but yourself. It is part of what makes buying a house so great, but also what can make it a headache.

One issue that can arise when people take their first steps into home ownership is that all of a sudden, friends and family can decide that they want a piece of the action as well. From unexpected roommates to last-minute storage space, a homeowner can wind up being burdened with favors that never seem to be returned if they are not careful. Having strong boundaries and understanding when it is OK to say no becomes an even more important skill.

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  • a man in overalls mows a lawn on a sunny day
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • This is a lesson that one woman learned when she initially agreed to let her dad store some equipment from his landscaping business in her backyard, thinking the arrangement would be temporary. However, the arrangement ended up continuing for months, with her father dumping multiple pieces of equipment in the garden.

    She told him that it was time for this to end, and he felt that she was being unreasonable. With her mom also not supporting her decision, she wanted a second opinion.

  • AITJ for telling my dad he can’t use my backyard as his 'business space'?

    I (29F) recently bought a small house with a decent backyard. My dad (58M) runs a landscaping business and asked if he could "store some extra equipment" in my yard until he found a new rental space. I said okay, thinking it would be temporary.
    via Smooth_Pineapple_802
  • Two months later, my backyard looks like a construction site. He has three lawnmowers, piles of mulch, and random tools scattered everywhere. He even started sending his workers to pick stuff up from my place without telling me.
    via Smooth_Pineapple_802
  • a lawnmower parked on concrete behind some shrubbery
    via Mohammad Rahman
  • I told him it's stressing me out because | wanted a yard to relax in, not a storage yard. He said I'm "ungrateful” because he's family and this is how "we help each other." When I told him he has two weeks to move everything out, he accused me of disrespecting him and said I'm prioritizing "aesthetic over family."
    via Smooth_Pineapple_802
  • My mom says I should let him keep it "a little longer" because business is hard right now. But it's been months and it feels like I lost my yard. AITJ for telling my dad to stop using my backyard as his business storage?
    via Smooth_Pineapple_802
  • neglected plant pots sat on concrete
    via wave wu

  • People reassured her that she was within her rights to refuse to continue the arrangement.

    chez2202 NTJ. Tell him to move his stuff back to wherever he was storing it BEFORE you bought your house. It's honestly THIS simple.
    via chez2202
  • ShutUpDoggo NTJ - Boundaries are healthy.
    via ShutUpDoggo
  • traciw67 Ntj. You gave him an inch, and he took a mile.
    via traciw67
  • Dazzling Point6437 Wow. NTJ. Dad's in landscaping- he knows that piles of mulch will destroy your lawn. Random employees stopping ?? How do you know by to get stuff? they're employees and not just random people coming to steal his stuff? No. Just, no. He's out of line. At minimum he should have given you a timeline for how long AND offered x amount of free landscaping service to you in exchange. He needs to vacate and he can restore your ruined turf free of charge.
    via DazzlingPoint6437
  • Content_Print_6521 You lost your yard. Why can't your dad store this stuff at his house?
    via Content_Print_6521
  • DanielDimes89 Absolutely not, your yard your rules. I mean he is family, he is your father. Maybe cut him some slack? Or if he doesn't want to move it out, have him pay you for the space he's using. Better yet, have him buy a shed & put it all in there! That way it's organized & you're not seeing it
    via DanielDimes89
  • jws1102 Funny how "helping each other" usually involves one person making a sacrifice and the other taking advantage.
    via jws1102
  • JEWCEY Give him an itemized bill for the time he's been renting your yard for storage. Tell him he needs to pay up or get out and if he makes a fuss, you're taking him to small claims court.
    via JEWCEY
  • redcd555 your father is not respecting family, not offering payment to you, taking away your space. he should have found a space by now
    via redcd555
  • Reasonable-Bad-769 NTA. Why can't he use his own backyard? My guess he doesn't want his yard to - look like yours.
    via Reasonable-Bad-769
  • VI1970 Nope. Unless he pays the bills he can find somewhere else to abandon his equipment.
    via VI1970
  • kiwimuz NTJ. Give him 7 days which is generous and then it is all for disposal. He has not paid rent for using your property for commercial storage and using the 'family' argument is purely manipulative. Tell him any of his workers will be trespassed if they step foot on your property without permission. Your property and your rules.
    via kiwimuz
  • LobesLabs Who pays the bills? There is your answer. Start a car dealership and start storing cars at his place.
    via LobesLabs
  • Active-Echidna6834 NTJ. How dare your father even ask something like that of you! He knew your yard would end up looking like a junk/salvage yard! Then he has the audacity to try and play some "family" card. We all know if we lived in neighborhood and somebody moved in and they started piling all that kind of stuff in their backyard we would have something to say about it. The audacity of your father.
    via Active-Echidna6834

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