'I pay rent, so I own this house': Delusional tenant falsely assumes she owns her place after renting it for 20 years, tries to take the owners to court

Imagine how entitled and untethered to reality you'd have to be to convince yourself that you own the house you rent.

This tenant had been renting a home for over twenty years. Most of the time, she wasn't an issue to the owners of the house. In fact, these owners used to live there at one point in time and had planned to move back several years down the road. This was communicated to their renter from the get-go, and the owners promised to inform her of when that day would come several months to a year in advance so that she could find another place to live with ample time at her disposal. 

However, when that day finally did come, the lady insisted that she now owned the place. Of course, according to documentation, this was not the case, and she would have to leave at the agreed-upon date. She was so convinced that she was in the right that she even threatened to take the owners to court. Keep scrolling below to see how that ended up turning out for her…

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    A stern woman with crossed arms stands in the middle of a dirt road.
    via Unsplash+ (A.C.)

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

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  • Considering the facts of this agreement, the owners of the house were not concerned about this woman's impending lawsuit. They knew the law was on their side and that they had given her more than enough generosity over the years. Perhaps some of the time and energy this woman used on her bogus lawsuit could have been better directed toward finding a new home. Now, all those legal fees must have had some sort of an impact on her finances and budget. Good luck to you, ma'am!

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    "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
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    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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    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:
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    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 in advance should she wished to move out so they could find a new renter.
    via -Alula
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    my The lease also stated that 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
    via -Alula
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    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
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    For a few years Karen was an okay renter, she payed the rent through a check each month. She sm d 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
    via -Alula
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    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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    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
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    on a bitch 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) therefore it should be hers. She threatened to take my dad to court.
    via -Alula
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    Now, where I live there are many laws which protects the renter and it can be a real bitch to deal with when you have nasty renter.
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    (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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    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 shit show when they decide to take back the house.
    via -Alula
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    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 :
    via -Alula
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    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
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    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.
    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 hell) after everything that want down.
    via -Alula
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    Frontal view of a brick house on a suburban street.
    via Micah Carlson

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

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    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
    via -Alula
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    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
    via -Alula
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    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.
    via -Alula
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    I agree with others that he should have ended her lease as soon as legally possible. It s Is so hard that people get scr d over like this. Your dad sounds like a great guy.
    via -Alula

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