Aunt takes in 20-year-old niece after her parents raise her rent fees, leaving parents furious at aunt after discovering she also demands rent: ‘I'm teaching her financial literacy’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 21, 2025 2:00 PM EST

Every kid did the thing where, after their parents refused to give in to a silly demand, they packed up a bag filled with toys, announced they were moving in with their fun aunt or grandparents, and walked out of the house.

Of course, every kid also quickly realized that their plan was quite terrible and that they didn't really want to leave their home and their parents. Then they return to the warm embrace of their loving parents and live happily ever after… sort of. 

If you are a 20-year-old adult, moving out of your parents' house to stay with your fun aunt is a slightly more serious decision than when you were 5. As an adult, the reason behind why you can no longer live with your parents is much more serious than if they simply didn't let you eat ice cream for dinner. 

Like the daughter in the story below, who decided to move out after her parents wrongfully raised her rent. She turned to her aunt for sanctuary, who welcomed her in despite the parents' protests. The aunt and niece agreed on a different financial plan while living together, which led to a further dispute with the parents. 

Keep scrolling to read all about it.

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  • Troubled Woman with past Due Bill
    via Pressmaster

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

  • AITA for getting my niece to move in with me, then charging her rent

    A few months ago my niece, Charlotte (20) called me saying she was kicked out after an argument with her mom.
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  • She was saying that she was already paying $500 per month and they were asking her to pay another $300, while not charging her siblings anything.
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  • I called her parents to get their side of the story. My brother immediately said to send her back because his wife didn't mean it when she told Charlotte to get out.
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  • After a while he did confirm what Charlotte said about having to pay but tried to justify it by saying she could afford it because she was working and that their car insurance went up because she was in a car accident (so minor that there was no damage to her car and you had to zoom in to see the scratch on the other car), ignoring the fact that all of their kids had been in accidents, including one of them totaling their car and causing significant damage to 2 others and then being given a new
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • I told Charlotte that she was welcome to live with me and the girls so we went back to her parents house, packed her stuff, got her important documents, returned her car, and took her back to my house.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • I got her a bank account that's only in her name, loaned her money to buy a new-ish car, and helped her enroll in community college.
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  • She's studying early childhood education, teaches a mommy and me class once a week, and she babysits 2- 4 days a week.
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  • Before she agreed to move in, I told her she was going to help contribute but nothing like her parents.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • She pays me $250 per month in rent. This goes into an account that's only will be saved and invested for her.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • She has access to the account. She also pays $100 per month for groceries. She gets $50 per month from the school for groceries, so she really only pays $50.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • I split her car insurance with her, which on her new plan comes out to $170 per month, her share is $85.
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  • I loaned her $4,500 for her car, so she's paying me $150 per month to pay that off.
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  • Gas is around $80 per month, but she gets another $50 per month from school so for now it's $30.
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  • Then we talked about how much she makes from her class and babysitting, how many hours per month she needs to work to cover her expenses, and how much she should work so she can have spending money and money put aside in case she has a bad month.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • Charlotte still speaks to her siblings and was talking about living with me, paying for herself, and learning how to budget.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • Now her parents are furious that I convinced her to move out over paying rent when I'm having her do the same thing.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • AITA for having her pay rent and other expenses?
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  • lady taking notes during relocation
    via Karola G

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

  • sow3rdoe NTA, unless Im missing something I think you're teaching her some really valuable financial literacy. It seems like her parents have a problem with favoritism and you should let them know that
    via sow3rdoe
  • OP Aitaniecerent I've tried. they either refuse to see it or refuse to admit it.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • ImpossibleAd7376 NTA your niece is lucky to have you in her life
    via ImpossibleAd7376
  • OP Aitaniecerent thank you.
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  • cruelsummerswiftie I'd say NTA because it sounds like you're doing this all with her interests in mind and saving for her while also making sure the extra person in the house doesn't make too significant of a financial dent on your part, whereas her parents seemed to just be doing it to get the money from her and cover her siblings' mistakes. Charlottes lucky to have you
    via cruelsummerswiftie
  • OP Aitaniecerent it's less about making sure she doesn't cause financial strain and more about teaching her to budget, pay bills, etc. Its like adulting with training wheels.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • jmgolden33 INFO: Did you explain to your brother in the same level of detail as you've done here? I could imagine if they just heard that you're charging rent with no additional context, it might seem like you're trying to undermine them... But if they understand all that and still just want to profit, that's different.
    via jmgolden33
  • OP Aitaniecerent I tried. They still think it's the same thing and that I'm using her for extra income and free babysitting since I'm a single mom.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • slap-a-frap NTAI crunched the numbers and with everything that you've listed, she is paying a whopping $65 dollars more living with you than at home and learning to become a responsible adult. That wasn't happening at her parents place when the parent want to charge her more for rent, just because she has it. That's a sign that mom and dad aren't responsible adults when it comes to money. Good on you and keep it up.
    via slap-a-frap
  • OP Aitaniecerent I also didn't include gas towards her expenses when she was living with her parents since she didn't give that money directly to them (she doesn't with me either) and I don't know how much she was paying
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • inscrutablejane INFO: were her parents doing the same thing and putting the money aside for her, or were they just using her to subsidize the children they obviously preferred?
    via inscrutablejane
  • OP Aitaniecerent The $500 was for car insurance, groceries, and care for the family dog. She was not shown any statements or receipts. The additional $300 was supposed to be for savings in an account that she wouldn't have access to.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • Boo-Bo097 NTA, OP but I'd suggest putting the rent money in a high yield savings account rather than a regular savings account, better interest rate.
    via Boo-Bo097
  • OP Aitaniecerent I have it in a brokerage account since I'm investing it for her.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • Good_Might_6240 How old are her other siblings???? Boys I assume.
    via Good_Might_6240
  • OP Aitaniecerent 23, 22, and 18. 2 girls 1 boy.
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068
  • x3Lola23 Yeah you interfered with her relationship with her parents without knowing the full story
    via x3Lola23
  • OP Aitaniecerent that's why I called her dad to get their side of the story
    via Fantastic-Nerve7068

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Tags

aita siblings niece parenting rent aunt dad family daughter mom money parents moving out young adult
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