Apartment resident lends friend their assigned parking spot for free, finds out she's secretly renting it to a coworker for $80 a month, then revokes access and gets his car towed: 'It was way out of line'

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Celeste Mello • Writer and Editor
Aug 7, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

A good friend may lend out their assigned parking spot for free because they don't own a car, and since a friend works nearby, the empty space could be put to good use. But what if you discover that your friend wasn't using your spot and had a side deal with a coworker behind your back?

This "friend" was making money out of a resident's generosity. There was one condition for the deal: the parking spot was for her car only. The resident trusted her friend and handed over the garage fob so she could access the building. What could go wrong? Boundaries were clear, the arrangement was clear…

One day, the building manager reached out about a car that didn't belong to the friend. The resident confronted their friend, and she admitted having given access to a coworker and was charging him $80 a month to use it. She was charging someone for something that didn't belong to her! She didn't even ask the resident or suggest splitting the earnings; she pocketed $80 every single month without letting the owner of the spot know. In her mind, there was apparently no harm in doing that because the owner wasn't using the spot anyway, but she is wrong. And deep down, she knows it. How could anyone rent someone else's parking spot and not even ask for permission or share it with the owner? She took advantage of the situation. 

The resident is right to have ended the arrangement. However, it seems the friend didn't let her coworker know the arrangement had ended because he parked there again and got his car towed by the building's management. Now, the friend dares to be upset with the resident who borrowed her the spot for not giving her a few days to arrange alternative parking with her coworker. The audacity! As the resident put it, renting out something they allowed  her to use for free was "way out of line."

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  • A woman using a key fob beside a car in a parking garage.
    via Unsplash+ (Nikolay Kolosovskiy)

    A woman using a key fob beside a car in a parking garage.

    Subjects are models.

  • AITA for taking back my parking spot without warning after finding out my friend was renting it to someone else?

    I live in an apartment building where every unit comes with one numbered parking spot. I dont currently have a car, so my spot mostly sits empty.
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • A friend of mine works nearby and asked if she could use it a few days a week. I said yes and gave her the garage fob, but I was pretty clear that it was just for her car.
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • Cars parked inside a numbered indoor parking garage.
    via Unsplash+ (Aalo Lens)

    Cars parked inside a numbered indoor parking garage.

    This is a staged scene.

  • A few weeks ago the building manager contacted me because a completely different car had been parking there every day. When I asked my friend
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • about it she admitted she had been letting a coworker use the spot and charging him $80 a month. Apparently she figured it was fine since I wasn't using it anyway.
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • I told her to return the fob and informed the building that I no longer gave permission for either car to park there. Her coworker still parked there the next day and got towed.
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • A reserved parking sign marks that parking is for tenants only.
    via Unsplash+ (Quilia)

    A reserved parking sign marks that parking is for tenants only.

    Image is illustrative.

  • Now my friend says I should have given them a few days to find another arrangement because her coworker
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • had no idea she didnt own the spot. I do feel bad for him since it sounds like she lied to him, but I also think renting
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • out something I let her use for free was way out of line. AITA?
    via Tasty-Vanilla-7027
  • A coworker's car loaded onto a tow truck after being parked without permission.
    via Unsplash+ (Dakota Towing Inc)

    A coworker's car loaded onto a tow truck after being parked without permission.

    The situation is recreated.

  • astoner11 NTA. That isn't your friend.
    via astoner11
  • Careful_Cranberry364 Still a human being that has now been cheated
    via Careful_Cranberry364
  • Cheska1234 Then the owner of the car should get the money out of the thief.
    via Cheska1234
  • Cuddly_piranha That's a her problem. She never told them, thinking you weren't serious. I honestly hope her coworker sues her for the towing.
    via Cuddly_piranha
  • pwnageface NTA. You friend crossed the line and now they need to make right with the person they had a side deal with.
    via pwnageface
  • Mysterious-Divide803 I was gonna agree with everyone that said the person whose car got towed should go after your friend for money, but then I
    via Mysterious-Divide803
  • started thinking if you asked for the fob back, then the person driving the car already knew they didn't have permission to park in that spot because they didn't have a fob to get in the garage, so that's on them they should've known better. Either way, NTA.
    via Mysterious-Divide803
  • Freshouttapatience The audacity! NTA and she can pay out of her fraudulent funds.
    via Freshouttapatience
  • SnooCauliflowers9874 NTA. What a friend. She never even asked to share with you. And your friend is the one that should pay for his towing, perhaps out of the $80 monthly that he was paying her.
    via SnooCauliflowers9874

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Tags

friendship parking space tow truck parking spot parking drama friends towing entitled people karma apartment building entitled friend resident coworker parking entitled people
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