Lazy dude demands his friend let him sleep at his house after he quit his part-time job and got evicted: 'Until he can prove he can be responsible and show some work ethic, I cannot help him.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 28, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

You can't help people who don't help themselves. 

If you are a kind-hearted individual, it can be easy to find yourself getting taken advantage of by family members and friends who will walk over anyone to get what they want. You might see the best in everyone, and never think that someone you've known and loved for decades upon decades would betray you by trashing the house you let them live in for free when they're going through a difficult period of their life. Unfortunately, you can't always predict when somebody will take advantage of you, so you have to be the one to protect yourself first. 

If you've been burned once, you're much less likely to be burned again. If someone lets a drifter friend of theirs sleep on their couch for 6 months and discovers that they've been stealing money from them the entire duration of their stay, there's a good chance they won't let anyone else stay over at their house for a prolonged period of time like that ever again. They might trust their college-student sister or their chronically employed cousin more than they trust their "friend," but they know that if they make the same mistake twice, it will be unequivocally their fault this time. 

Even if you know that someone cannot be trusted to live rent-free in your home without trashing it and making the residents' lives miserable, it can be challenging to say no to someone who is desperately begging for help you aren't going to give. Luckily, the guy in this story was able to stand his ground against his manipulative, lazy friend. 

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  • A model represents the lazy man who has the opportunity to get full-time work but doesn't take it, and ends up getting evicted.
    via Sandra Seitamaa (Unsplash+)

    A model represents the lazy man who has the opportunity to get full-time work but doesn't take it, and ends up getting evicted.

  • Am I the bad guy for telling my buddy he cannot stay with me to get back on his feet, after he just got an eviction notice?

    My buddy really calls himself "high end" because he likes the high end lifestyle, clothes, and food, BUT aint got any money! He had an 18 mos contract job making
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • good money, and he blew it all on going out and being "outside". Instead of looking for a new job he decided to take the summer off and party while getting
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • unemployment. 2wks before Unemployment ran out he decides to start looking for a job. By this point he is already 2 mos behind on rent and the management co took
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • him to court. In the meantime: - he accepts a PT commission only sales job - the FT job he got hired for he ended up declining
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • because he couldnt afford to get certified - he refuses to take FT employment at what he considers low end jobs (stores, waiting tables,
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • A picture of a waiter, who can afford to pay his bills because he works full-time, unlike the lazy guy in this story
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A picture of a waiter, who can afford to pay his bills because he works full-time, unlike the lazy guy in this story

  • maintenance) despite those openings being available and looking to hire asap... - he has tried to access all the public services for help and got mad they
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • gave him the bare minimum - he now has gotten evicted after going back to court Months ago I have tried
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • to talk to him about a plan of action for IF he got evicted, and told him living with me is not an option (even though I have a spare room). He told me "leaving it in
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • A guest room, which could be used to house a friend who is responsible enough to keep a part-time job, especially when they're struggling with money.
    via Sarang LEE

    A guest room, which could be used to house a friend who is responsible enough to keep a part-time job, especially when they're struggling with money. 

  • God's hands". Last month I checked in again and asked what his backup plan is, he says "I have a friend I can crash with". Now after this last court date I ask him what hes
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • going to do, he tells me he has nowhere to go. He QUIT the PT job, so that means he has no income, he is able bodied and can work he just isnt, and yet he STILL was going out
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • for happy hours?!?! He reached out today crying, telling me he is so depr_sed he is ready to "end it all" snd just needs a place to crash for a few
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • weeks until he gets back on his feet. I told him NO...and I explained that the time he spent at happy hours he could've been working. And until he can prove he can be
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • responsible and show some work ethic, I cannot help him Was I wrong?
    via u/Abouttokeepit100
  • Greedy_Principle_342 NTA. Tough love seems like the best solution here. In addition, you should never let anyone move in with you. It's a recipe for disaster. Especially someone like this.
    via u/Greedy_Principle_342
  • Ronald McFirbank Yeah, whatever you require him to do (splitting the utilities, doing the dishes, locking the front door at night), he'll stop doing it after a month.
    via u/RonaldMcFirbank
  • AdamantChorus "Requirements", as if those aren't totally normal decent things for any roommate to do for each other without even needed to be spoken in the first place (well the first maybe, quickly, but even that would be offered by any decent moving-in roommate, rather than asked for).
    via u/AdamantChorus
  • Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're wrong to say that as if it's obvious things that shouldn't be said here: I'm agreeing that those are the kinda thing this kinda person would need to be asked for. And if you do need to ask those things from someone, like you say, it won't be something they'd be willing to keep up of their own accord anyway. So if you even need to ask, that's a sign they shouldn't be moving in at all!
    via u/AdamantChorus
  • AccomplishedChart873 When he says that he's 'leaving it in Gods hands' he means that he will do nothing and someone else will clean up his mess. He thinks that you're that person. He may have always thought that you would save him. NTA. If you let him stay even one night, he will never leave. And be prepared for him playing the victim. It's going to come at you hard.
    via u/AccomplishedChart873
  • Dear Molasses5134 Nta you were his backup plan the whole time.
    via u/DearMolasses5134
  • Abouttokeepit100 OP Ugh...that stings. But I think you are right
    via u/Abouttokeepit100

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Tags

landlord part time house lazy friends rent evicted full time work ethic
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