Karen reports neighbor for having an "ugly" doormat, neighbor reports her for illegally subletting her apartment: 'She has not spoken to me since.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Mar 11, 2026 11:00 AM EDT

If she doesn't want to walk by her neighbor's doormat every day, she shouldn't live in an apartment building. 

There are a lot of downsides to living in an apartment building. The worst part about it is that you can't control who lives in the apartments below, above, and next to you. There's a reasons why NYC co-ops require you to go through an extensive application process; if you're buying property in an apartment building, you want to guarantee that you're not going to be living next to obnoxious, antisocial people. A majority of people who live in apartments don't buy, but rent, so they at least have a little more freedom to move out after a year if they live in an apartment building with irritating people. Even still, it's undesirable to have to tolerate bad neighbors for a whole year. 

Everyone has different standards for what qualifies as a "bad neighbor." I turn my nose up at the residents of my apartment building that never bring their mail in, but I think that's just a me thing. Nobody can be a perfect neighbor all the time, so if you can be forgiving and empathetic to your neighbors when they "break the rules," they will probably do the same for you. I've been lucky to never have a neighbor that would dare report my house parties to the landlord, even though it's forbidden in our lease. It's kind of a "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" situation. I'll pretend you don't have a forbidden cat, and you'll pretend I don't have forbidden parties! 

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  • Boots next to a brown and beige welcome mat in front of a front door
    via Andrew Neel

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

  • Neither of the neighbors in this story want to scratch the other's back. They want to tattle on each other behind the other one's back. One of them is furious that the other has an “ugly” doormat, and the other took revenge on her, reporting said doormat to management by squealing on the illegal sublet situation in her apartment. Now everyone is mad!

  • Am I the bad guy for reporting my neighbor for illegally subletting after she reported me for having a doormat she found ugly?

    I have lived in my apartment for three years. I pay my rent on time, I keep to myself, I say good morning in the hallway and mean it.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • In three years I have never had a single complaint about anything. Six weeks ago my building manager called to tell me a neighbor had submitted a formal complaint about my doormat.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • I actually laughed because I thought he was joking. He was not joking. She had described it in writing as an eyesore that was negatively impacting the aesthetic of the shared hallway.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • Apartment building hallway with white bicycle leaning on the wall
    via sono bono

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

  • The doormat is dark green. It says welcome. I have had it for two years and it has welcomed people without incident the entire time.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • I apologized on the phone like an idiot because I was so caught off guard I didn't know what else to do.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • Then I hung up and sat there for a while thinking about what had just happened.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • And then I thought about my neighbor. The one in the single occupancy unit. With the three other people I regularly see, hear through the wall, and watch collect mail from her mailbox on a rotating basis.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • I submitted a complaint that same afternoon. She has not spoken to me since. The building manager is looking into it.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • A group of young roommates relaxing inside of their apartment
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • My doormat has not moved an inch and honestly it looks great. AITJ for this? TL;DR: Neighbor reported my doormat.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • I reported her illegal subletting. She's not happy. I genuinely am.
    via u/Such_Age_6769
  • skinripple This is the most beautiful example of FAFO I've ever seen. She came for your doormat and you burned down her whole housing situation. That's not an overreaction, that's cause and effect. You don't get to police someone's welcome mat while running an illegal AirBnB in the same building. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Your doormat is iconic now. It made a woman lose her subletting empire.
    via u/skinripple
  • LibraryMouse4321 She deserves to get in trouble. She also sounds like a terrible neighbor.
    via u/LibraryMouse4321
  • Virtual_Weather5560 - I can't believe for thr life of me that someone would even entertain a stupid complaint like that I'm looking at the property manager. If you don't like the way something looks, just avoid it. But you have to be on a new level of ignorance if you report someone for a funny looking door mat, which is something that could be easily avoided by the eyes by simply not walking to your door. You are not the j. Heck, I'd report her for disorderly conduct and filing a false report.
    via u/Virtual_Weather5560
  • Adrock66 They poked the bear. Seems like a pretty fair reponse
    via u/Adrock66
  • Remote_Anywhere_2724 You handle it well. She went after something trivial, you went after something real. Not the j just the clever one
    via u/Remote_Anywhere_2724
  • Blackshadowredflower Did the building manager tell you who complained about your doormat?
    via u/Blackshadowredflower

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complaining neighbors rival manager doormat sublet building ugly karen apartment
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