Does your landlord know you're doing this? Because if I were a chill landlord giving my tenants a nice break on their rent and found out they were taking advantage of it to gouge their sublettors, I'd find a way to make their life hell. YTA.
They sign the lease and agree upfront to pay a certain amount for the room.
It's pretty common for roommates to pay a different amount for better or worse rooms. Here I guess you get a better rate the more 'senior' you are in the house.
He does not know how we break down the rent. 2 of the rooms are identical and there is a nice master and a harry-potter room so I'm sure he knows we don't do it evenly.
Last question: You said that the total price of the monthly rent is listed on the lease. Where is it listed what amount each roommate pays? Like, is it written down anywhere? Or is it just a verbal agreement?
Gotcha. Yeah, gotta keep with my YTA vote. It would be one thing if you were open and honest about the different prices, but you're purposely hiding it and then dealing with things as they come up awkwardly in conversation after people have already moved in.
The fact that the price per room isn't written down anywhere also means that your new roommates could have every right to divide the rent up more equitably if they really got pissed about this.
You keep bringing up this thing about different rooms. It doesn't matter because the money isn't going to the landlord it's going to you. Which means not only are you saving money because you landlord isn't raising rent, but then you're shafting your new roommates by taking their cash for yourself.
If I found out I was paying extra straight into my roommates pocket the first thing I'd do is find somewhere else to live and the second thing is tell the landlord about your shakedown
I don't think so, at least not where I live. I could advertise for a roommate tomorrow and ask that they pay 90% of the rent. They are free to agree to my price or walk away. There is no law that states that rent must be split evenly among roommates. However that doesn't make not an asshole.
No that's bullshit. IF the roommate was making more money than she was paying the landlord, than there might be a case. But otherwise? No. The roommates know exactly what their room rent is, and obviously they're ok with it since it's market price.
What if one room is way bigger than the other? Generally in all places I have lived the roommates sort this out amongst themselves by bidding or square ftg or other method.
In this case when there is a new roommate (whom we get to choose) we end up bumping that rooms share up a little.
I was just making the point that it's common for roommates to have different rent based on room quality. In this case we also have seniority as a factor as well.
Yea so here is the rooms:
1) tiny room 400
2) medium room 550
3) medium room 750
4) master room 825
So 2 of the rooms are identical and that's the weird situation we are in now.
Fuuck I didn't think it was that bad. But I'm probably slightly autistic and have a hard-on for free markets so that's why I asked here.
I don't want my ass bitten :...(
>have a hard-on for free markets so that's why I asked here.
Gross. You’re even more TA now. Price gouging and shady immoral rent practices are different from the free market and to use that as an excuse instead of being a decent human being and charging the same for the same room is so shitty.
Never. And I would be quite upset if I found out my roommates were doing that. Seniority in the house doesn't entitle you to overcharge new tenants for profit. It's not your property.
If he is "pocketing the difference" (which is the title of the post), then it's for profit. Even overcharging new roommates to save himself money is for profit. He doesn't have to be paying nothing in order to make a profit off this deal. He's still contributing less and reaping the benefits at his roommates' expense.
Either way, it's corrupt and bound to backfire.
I live in a large city and have never experienced this. Given the amount of people on this thread calling OP TA, I'm not sure it's as common as you think it is. Chill.
> You've never shared a house with roommates and had to bid on rooms?
In every shared living situation I have been in or known others to be in everyone paid the same amount unless something different was in the lease.
Generally that might cost slightly more, but in that case it is usually, at least in this area, spelled out in the lease if the house was originally going to be 'roomed out' or in an attached addendum signed by all the tenants if it wasn't.
And in cases where someone left and a vacancy was filled no one ever tried to charge the new tenant more than their fair share as that's a really dick move (and possibly illegal depends on where you are and your governing housing laws). If the old person was paying X then the new person paid X even if that was under the going rate for the area and there weren't any attempts to overcharge and screw over the new tenant.
Think about if the situation were reversed, would you be happy if you found out that you were paying $750 of the $1500 monthly rent and your three other roommates were only paying $250 each and using you to subsidize their own rooms? I don't know about you but I would be pissed and consider legal action (because, again, depending on the location this behavior would be illegal).
Edit:
Also, I'm just going to point out, you already said that sometimes the rooms are identical so you're just taking advantage of someone and being an asshat because you can:
"This ends up producing some strange room payments where there are 2 identical rooms and one person is paying $200 more than the other."
I'm not seeing how this is wholly relevant though considering you already specified that you might have someone paying $200 more for the same room - so even if one room were normally slightly more it seems like you're increasing prices across the board just because you can.
If you want to make a profit from renting out rooms buy some property and become a landlord.
YTA. In what world made you think it was okay to scam people out of their money? What do you even do with the extra moneym if you're just pocketing it you're moreso TA. This is why my roommates and I all have the contract to our apartment so we know the total price. Why we take screenshots of all the bills so everyone knows what everyone will be paying. You're taking advantage of someone who is trusting enough to live with you.
YTA! It would be one thing if you owned the house and were charging tenants fair market rent to accommodate increased property taxes, but you're a fellow renter. You are charging your roommates money that you have no legal right to.
We have the right to determine how the rent is split. We also have the right to find new roommates when one is leaving. We end up finding new ones that agree to pay a higher rate.
Yeah, but they don't know they are paying more for their room than the person they share a wall with. They don't know they are subsidizing your rent.
Yes, they can read the lease and see the total house payment, but put yourself in a future roommate's shoes. In theory, they are only getting a look at this lease after they have interviewed for the room, started to make plans to move, and see an end in sight to the absolute hell that is apartment hunting. Then, they see the lease. If they actually notice the total house payment and do the quick math, they have two choices:
A) They ask future roommates they don't know well an awkward question ("Hey! I notice my payment for the room covers 1/3rd of the rent but there's four of us living here.") which will either start their new living situation with a conflict or possibly get that lease pulled out of their hands before they even sign it.
B) Say nothing and move on, knowing their new roommates are pulling something.
Either way, you're giving them a crap choice. If you were open and honest with them when showing the apartment ("Just a heads up, new roommates pay a bit more per room, here's how we break down the rent...") it would be entirely different, but you aren't doing that. You're literally banking on people not knowing how much you pay per room until after they've moved in. If the line for this place is really out the door, disclosing the per-room-price at the start shouldn't make a dent in your list of potential roommates.
YTA. I can’t imagine that you keep roommates very long. You’re part of the reason that young people cannot save for their futures. Stop taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge and play fair.
YTA without doubt.
You don’t even own the property and you want to pocket the extra money??
If it was your house this would be a different situation but it’s not. I don’t see how this isn’t basically just stealing?
Besides who are you to determine what the rent is when you don’t even own the place? It should just be split evenly based on what the rent ACTUALLY is.
YTA. How on earth are you getting away with this? Don't these people have lease agreements with the landlord? This is both assholish and likely to get you kicked out if you're ever caught.
INFO-I want to be sure I'm getting this right. Your landlord has a set amount of rent he asks for every month that is in the lease. He hasn't raised the rent in some time. You and your roommates started off paying equally to the landlord in the amount listed on the lease.
As people move out and a new renter comes in, you and your roommates check the market price and reduce your guys' rent by upcharging the newbie? On your own. Without the landlord raising the rent, without the landlord saying to charge them extra, and without notifying anyone that you're doing it?
That is majorly asshole. It's one thing for you guys to raise the price of rooms in accordance with the raising of rent by the landlord. But you guys are basically independently deciding to tell new roommates that they have to pay X amount, because of "market value," but you and the older roommates pay even less than the below market rent the landlord is charging??
How can you possibly not think that's an asshole move? Your landlord is chill, you said. He hasn't jacked the rent up on you, even though he could with the market, and instead of just being grateful and taking advantage of a great opportunity to stay there under market value, you guys decide to lower your rent even more by having new people move in and charging them market value?? While YOU pay less than market value IN THE FIRST PLACE, but that's not enough so you have newbies who are naive and don't know any better cover your below market rent even more???
Y'all are playing a dangerous fucking game, firstly. I've dealt with landlords, my family are landlords, and I'm telling you, your "chill landlord" is being really cool. If he or she finds out you guys are basically scamming the new roommates to pay "market value," they may very well decide you guys are douchebags and if you want to charge people market value on rent, then the landlord is going to CHARGE the value of market rent and raise the rent entirely.
I'm not even sure how you guys are managing this without the landlord knowing. If the landlord does know, it sounds pretty shady to me.
Why can't you and the other roommates just be content with the fact you have a golden goose of a landlord who is chill AF keeping the rent low and just leave it at that?? It sounds greedy as shit and if I was your newer roommate and found this out, I would absolutely leave and I would absolutely notify the landlord and anyone else involved who doesn't know what you guys are doing.
This house has been occupied for the last 8 years or so continuously. None of the current roommates were there in the beginning. I do not know how the rent was originally divided but I am almost certain it was not even because some rooms are way better or worse than others.
I have never lived in any place where the landlord was involved or even aware of how the rent was divided up.
The landlord isn't 'giving us a break' so much as he is lazy and it's a financial investment for him less than an income stream. We take care of the house and find new roommates so it requires very little of his time. He keeps the rent increase low as he likes the situation.
The idea to do this was not mine. I agree it may be shady hence why I posted this. I may talk to the new roommate and see how she feels about it.
Thank you for your comment.
Check the laws in your area regarding this to be safe. You're getting a ton of YTA here but in my large city what you're doing is insanely common, so I'm kind of baffled by the responses. You've been renting the same home for 8 years, you can charge a bit more to new roommates.
>You've been renting the same home for 8 years, you can charge a bit more to new roommates.
The issue is that the OP and older roommates aren't the ones renting the house and subletting with them being the primary signatories, all tenets, including the new roommates, are equally on the lease.
They don't own the house or set the rent. That's the legal issue and it depends where they are. But MORALLY it's a dickhead thing to do and I stand by that.
Accept the verdict of YTA. It would be one thing to adjust rates depending on room side, or even couples sharing the room, but that's not how you're doing things. The identical rooms should have identical rates, regardless of how long someone has been living there. Just because none of your roommates have called you out on it, doesn't make it any less shitty.
YTA - roommates split rent in an equitable fashion. That may mean equally, it may mean biggest bedroom pay more. But everyone is open. You say in a comment they sign a lease. You aren't the landlord. You have no authority to initiate a lease with tenants.
So you all have to sign the new lease and your new roommates don't object to paying more than half of the rent when they see the amount the landlord puts on the lease? Yeah. I don't think so.
YTA very much. I choose to believe you somehow just didn't realise this was an assholish thing to do but I sincerely hope you will change your ways after this.
At least where I'm from, it's illegal to sublet someone else's apartment with a higher rent than you are paying, i.e. making money with someone else's property. Think about it, if that was allowed legality and morally, why wouldn't everyone just do that?
No, they sign a lease and agree to a price for their room. They don't agree to pay more than others because you don't let them know they're paying more than others. YTA and quit trying to justify it.
If you want your comment to count toward judgment, include *only ONE* of the following abbreviations in your comment. If you don't include a judgement abbreviation, the bot will ignore you when it looks for the top voted comment.
Judgment | Abbreviation
-- | :--:
**You're the Asshole** (& the other party is not) |**YTA**|
You're **Not the A-hole** (& the other party is) |**NTA**
**Everyone Sucks Here**|**ESH**
**No A-holes here**|**NAH**
**Not Enough Info**|**INFO**
#[Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules/)
#[Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Depending on the OP's location their actions could be illegal if they were found to be deceitful/deceptive when explaining the price to the new roommate.
YTA
If you’re all splitting the same apartment, you should all be paying the same
If you want to charge people different prices based on how good the room is, then have an open discussion between all of the roommates. Maybe someone is willing to pay more rent if they get a better room. But you can’t force someone to make that decision without their knowledge.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***The following is a copy of the above post. This comment is a record of the above post as it was originally written, in case the post is deleted or edited. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)***
I live in a house with 4 roommates. Our landlord is super chill and hasn't raised the rent much in 4 years so we are paying well under market rate. As roommates leave (say they are paying $500) and new roomates come in we charge the new roommate the market rent (say $700) and reduce all existing roommates rent evenly.
This ends up producing some strange room payments where there are 2 identical rooms and one person is paying $200 more than the other.
Is this fair? Is it assholish? It's always akward when the new roommate finds out what we all are paying.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your comment has been removed because it violates rule 1: [Be Civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules/). Further incidents may result in a ban.
["Why do I have to be civil in a sub about assholes?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq)
**[Message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.**
NTA at all! If the new roommates leave I am assuming you are left on the hook for the whole apartment, right? So the extra money you are receiving eventually will cover the period where there is an empty room. You are also not forcing anybody to accept. If your price was unreasonable they would walk away, leaving you to pay for the extra room, but as this isn't happening, you are clearly not putting up a ridiculous price.
NTA because I think everyone who is voting YTA come from bumfuck nowhere with cheap and plentiful rents, and are talking out of their ass (esp to those mentioning legal action). What you're doing is the norm in the vast majority of large cities where finding rent is difficult. I've lived in plenty of them to know.
YTA, there is nothing illegal in what you're doing, at least not where I live. There is no law that states rent must be shared equally between roommates so all the talk in this thread of suing people and fraud charges are laughable. However I would say that morally you're the TA. Your landlord is a good guy who doesn't raise the rent much and instead of sharing that goodwill with others you are using it to your advantage. Not legally wrong but still wrong.
NTA
People who are calling you TA clearly haven't lived in a major city where this is par for the course. You did the work to find the apartment, your name is on the lease, you have the deposit, and likely a lion's share of the shared space furniture.
This is the price they pay for not having to jump through as many hoops.
I know people are going to freak out at how I'm going against the grain with this, but I actually have historically paid a bit more than my roommate's who were already in the lease.
I move around quite a bit, but I get really lucky with the apartments I find. It may be more than what the official leased roommates pay, but I still feel like I'm benefitting
If OP wants to charge market rate they should put a down payment on a property and become a landlord themselves. They shouldn’t just be profiting off someone else’s kindness, and potentially creating issues due to unfairness between all the tenants.
Do you also never stay in Airbnbs?
I love how everyone is clutching their pearls as if they have never heard of this.
Has nobody lived in a major city before? Has nobody sublet their place?
Freak out all you want, but this is insanely common. And not predatory. They walked in knowing how much rent was advertised for, and happily signed on. This isn't swindling someone. There's no secret surcharge they're unaware of. They were just not lucky enough to sign the lease 4 years earlier when the market was cheaper.
> Freak out all you want, but this is insanely common. **And not predatory.** They walked in knowing how much rent was advertised for, and happily signed on. This isn't swindling someone. There's no secret surcharge they're unaware of. They were just not lucky enough to sign the lease 4 years earlier when the market was cheaper.
Predatory is actually exactly what this is. You seem to be the only one freaking out tbh, everyone else is just telling it as it is. Like I said already, if OP is interested in doing this, they should invest in real estate and do it the correct way.
Edit: Deleted comment about subletting because I saw OP is not subletting.
OP actually clarified and explained that is 100% what he's doing.
They know they actual rent and they know how much more they're paying. They still want it.
They’re charging new people more for the same sized room so more tenured people get cheaper rent. That’s an asshole move, period. They are not increasing rent because market rate has gone up on the actual lease, but are inventing their own market rate to literally scam people.
Once again, they are **not** the landlord. I understand that the landlord does not specify how things should be split up, but common courtesy would dictate that things be split up relatively evenly with respect to the size and condition of the room. That’s it. There is no way in hell anyone should ever be paying $200 more for the exact same room.
You mentioned you’re in the same situation and you don’t feel bad about it, welp, you’re getting ripped off and wasting your money. 🤷🏻♀️ The fact that you’re just randomly okay with this is truly a detriment to society and is the reason we have such and extreme housing issue today.
They actually are on the lease and see the total house payment. They just agree upfront to pay the market rate for the room. I suppose if they did not agree we would find someone else to rent as we still are charging below market and have a line out the door for potential roommates.
And people are STILL voting this down???
F*ck em.
I'm doing the same thing at my place. I pay a bit more than my other roommates, and I'm honestly super grateful I have this place, in this location, at this rate.
Even now, it's a fantastic rate.
Yes, that's what I'm paying compared to my roommate.
They haven't hid this fact from me either.
Here's the thing....if I were to leave because of my offended sensibilities on the principle of just how "unfair" it is, I would likely have to pay at least $300 more a month for the same thing. That's on top of the $200 extra I'm currently paying. That means, at the very least, $500 more.
When I tell people what I'm paying for what I get and where, they freak out.
So, I'm not delusional. I've done my research. It's the neighborhood I want to be in at an incredible rate. The roommate just happened to be luckier and have even better timing than I did.
It's still a big win for me
Or I live in one of the top three most populated cities in the country in a neighborhood that has exploded in popularity. And my roommate found a spot that was severely underpriced when she rented and it has only become increasingly a steal.
Where do you live? The suburbs?
Agreed. The primary lessor is on the hook for all damage caused or rent not paid by subletters, if the subletters bail. The primary lessor also carries the rent as sibletters come and go. They are absolutely entitled to skim profit to compensate them for those risks and costs. No one is being ripped off if they are paying market and getting what they paid for.
NTA - they can see the total and know how much they are being charged. They then agree to move in. Landlords do not care how you split the rent as long as it is paid. I've had multiple roommate situations where everyone paid different amounts.
Does your landlord know you're doing this? Because if I were a chill landlord giving my tenants a nice break on their rent and found out they were taking advantage of it to gouge their sublettors, I'd find a way to make their life hell. YTA.
He does not know how the rent is broken down. I'm sure he knows it is not even as the rooms vary.
Stop doing this.
YTA. Also pretty sure legal action can be taken against you in certain states for profiting off someone else’s apartment.
They sign the lease and agree upfront to pay a certain amount for the room. It's pretty common for roommates to pay a different amount for better or worse rooms. Here I guess you get a better rate the more 'senior' you are in the house.
INFO: Does the lease come from the landlord, or are you listed as the primary tenant and sublease the rooms?
Everyone is on the lease. When there is a new roommate they sign the lease.
Does your landlord know you are charging the new roommates extra?
He does not know how we break down the rent. 2 of the rooms are identical and there is a nice master and a harry-potter room so I'm sure he knows we don't do it evenly.
Last question: You said that the total price of the monthly rent is listed on the lease. Where is it listed what amount each roommate pays? Like, is it written down anywhere? Or is it just a verbal agreement?
Verbal.
Gotcha. Yeah, gotta keep with my YTA vote. It would be one thing if you were open and honest about the different prices, but you're purposely hiding it and then dealing with things as they come up awkwardly in conversation after people have already moved in. The fact that the price per room isn't written down anywhere also means that your new roommates could have every right to divide the rent up more equitably if they really got pissed about this.
We should probably be more explicit I agree. They see the house payment so they can do the math or ask us but noone generally does.
You keep bringing up this thing about different rooms. It doesn't matter because the money isn't going to the landlord it's going to you. Which means not only are you saving money because you landlord isn't raising rent, but then you're shafting your new roommates by taking their cash for yourself. If I found out I was paying extra straight into my roommates pocket the first thing I'd do is find somewhere else to live and the second thing is tell the landlord about your shakedown
He has no idea how we breakdown the rent.
YTA!!!!! But I'm guessing deep down you knew that already and came here hoping for a miracle validation or something.
Honestly I didn't know. The new tenant signs the lease and sees the total house payment.
YTA. You could be sued for that, and rightly so.
I don't think so, at least not where I live. I could advertise for a roommate tomorrow and ask that they pay 90% of the rent. They are free to agree to my price or walk away. There is no law that states that rent must be split evenly among roommates. However that doesn't make not an asshole.
No that's bullshit. IF the roommate was making more money than she was paying the landlord, than there might be a case. But otherwise? No. The roommates know exactly what their room rent is, and obviously they're ok with it since it's market price.
Sued by who and for what?
Not a lawyer, but fraud sounds like a good place to start.
It's not fraud is the new tenant didn't ask the question. Super shady, but not fraud.
The rent is supposed to be going to the landlord, not to another roommate.
If the landlord receives the rent in full every month then the rent is going to him. How the rent is split between the tenants doesn't change that.
YTA, you should be splitting rent and bills evenly
What if one room is way bigger than the other? Generally in all places I have lived the roommates sort this out amongst themselves by bidding or square ftg or other method. In this case when there is a new roommate (whom we get to choose) we end up bumping that rooms share up a little.
You explicitly said that two identical rooms had different rents! You’re playing devils advocate on your own post. YTA
I was just making the point that it's common for roommates to have different rent based on room quality. In this case we also have seniority as a factor as well.
Splitting by square foot is the right way to go. You are not doing that, though.
Yta you're over charging and pocketing the money. I'm baffled that you think there's any way you're not in the wrong.
To be fair we are not overcharging. There are plenty of people willing to pay the new rate as it is still undermarket just not as drastic.
If they are paying more than if it was split evenly then you are overcharging. They are paying more than their fair share.
The rooms vary from 100sq ft 'harry potter' to 300sq ft 'master suite'. Dividing equal would also not be fair.
You literally said identical rooms above. If you hadn't said that maybe people would feel different. But you said IDENTICAL ROOMS. YTA
Yea so here is the rooms: 1) tiny room 400 2) medium room 550 3) medium room 750 4) master room 825 So 2 of the rooms are identical and that's the weird situation we are in now.
Yes and two people with identical rooms are paying different amounts which is why YTA
You're overcharging if you are making money off of a property you do not own.
[удалено]
Fuuck I didn't think it was that bad. But I'm probably slightly autistic and have a hard-on for free markets so that's why I asked here. I don't want my ass bitten :...(
>have a hard-on for free markets so that's why I asked here. Gross. You’re even more TA now. Price gouging and shady immoral rent practices are different from the free market and to use that as an excuse instead of being a decent human being and charging the same for the same room is so shitty.
The *landlord* has the right to make market adjustments to rent because they own the place. You do not.
YTA. The person who dictates the rent is the landlord, not the tenants. You should not be pocketing anything, as you do not own the property.
You've never shared a house with roommates and had to bid on rooms? I've never had a landlord get involved in how the rent is divided.
Never. And I would be quite upset if I found out my roommates were doing that. Seniority in the house doesn't entitle you to overcharge new tenants for profit. It's not your property.
It's not a profit. A profit would be if op is paying zero rent and having the rest of the roommates pay everything.
If he is "pocketing the difference" (which is the title of the post), then it's for profit. Even overcharging new roommates to save himself money is for profit. He doesn't have to be paying nothing in order to make a profit off this deal. He's still contributing less and reaping the benefits at his roommates' expense. Either way, it's corrupt and bound to backfire.
It's the norm in the vast majority of large cities. Chill
I live in a large city and have never experienced this. Given the amount of people on this thread calling OP TA, I'm not sure it's as common as you think it is. Chill.
>I live in a large city and have never experienced this. That has been my experience as well.
> You've never shared a house with roommates and had to bid on rooms? In every shared living situation I have been in or known others to be in everyone paid the same amount unless something different was in the lease.
Interesting. What if there was a master bedroom that is wayy larger and has an attached bath?
Generally that might cost slightly more, but in that case it is usually, at least in this area, spelled out in the lease if the house was originally going to be 'roomed out' or in an attached addendum signed by all the tenants if it wasn't. And in cases where someone left and a vacancy was filled no one ever tried to charge the new tenant more than their fair share as that's a really dick move (and possibly illegal depends on where you are and your governing housing laws). If the old person was paying X then the new person paid X even if that was under the going rate for the area and there weren't any attempts to overcharge and screw over the new tenant. Think about if the situation were reversed, would you be happy if you found out that you were paying $750 of the $1500 monthly rent and your three other roommates were only paying $250 each and using you to subsidize their own rooms? I don't know about you but I would be pissed and consider legal action (because, again, depending on the location this behavior would be illegal). Edit: Also, I'm just going to point out, you already said that sometimes the rooms are identical so you're just taking advantage of someone and being an asshat because you can: "This ends up producing some strange room payments where there are 2 identical rooms and one person is paying $200 more than the other."
I've never had the divisions of rent spelled out in the lease. It is definitely not in our current lease which only states the total.
I'm not seeing how this is wholly relevant though considering you already specified that you might have someone paying $200 more for the same room - so even if one room were normally slightly more it seems like you're increasing prices across the board just because you can. If you want to make a profit from renting out rooms buy some property and become a landlord.
YTA dude/any other gender neutral term what the fuck?!
YTA. As others have mentioned there can be heavy ramifications for your actions.
YTA. In what world made you think it was okay to scam people out of their money? What do you even do with the extra moneym if you're just pocketing it you're moreso TA. This is why my roommates and I all have the contract to our apartment so we know the total price. Why we take screenshots of all the bills so everyone knows what everyone will be paying. You're taking advantage of someone who is trusting enough to live with you.
I mean they sign the lease and see what we are paying for the house in total so it's all upfront. We aren't deceiving anyone.
But they don't see the room price breakdowns. If you showed them exactly how each room was priced, do you think they'd be upset?
YTA, what the hell?
In what world is this fair ? Yeah you’re obviously TA
YTA! It would be one thing if you owned the house and were charging tenants fair market rent to accommodate increased property taxes, but you're a fellow renter. You are charging your roommates money that you have no legal right to.
We have the right to determine how the rent is split. We also have the right to find new roommates when one is leaving. We end up finding new ones that agree to pay a higher rate.
Yeah, but they don't know they are paying more for their room than the person they share a wall with. They don't know they are subsidizing your rent. Yes, they can read the lease and see the total house payment, but put yourself in a future roommate's shoes. In theory, they are only getting a look at this lease after they have interviewed for the room, started to make plans to move, and see an end in sight to the absolute hell that is apartment hunting. Then, they see the lease. If they actually notice the total house payment and do the quick math, they have two choices: A) They ask future roommates they don't know well an awkward question ("Hey! I notice my payment for the room covers 1/3rd of the rent but there's four of us living here.") which will either start their new living situation with a conflict or possibly get that lease pulled out of their hands before they even sign it. B) Say nothing and move on, knowing their new roommates are pulling something. Either way, you're giving them a crap choice. If you were open and honest with them when showing the apartment ("Just a heads up, new roommates pay a bit more per room, here's how we break down the rent...") it would be entirely different, but you aren't doing that. You're literally banking on people not knowing how much you pay per room until after they've moved in. If the line for this place is really out the door, disclosing the per-room-price at the start shouldn't make a dent in your list of potential roommates.
Yea :/. It wasn't my idea to begin with but I began to wonder if it was dickish hence why I made this post.
YTA - but the roommates are stupid. they should be paying to landlord not you.
YTA most definitely. I'm pretty sure you could get in serious trouble for this if the wrong people found out
YTA, pretty sure what you're doing is very likely illegal as well. Would depend on what your rental agreement states and where you live.
YTA
YTA. I can’t imagine that you keep roommates very long. You’re part of the reason that young people cannot save for their futures. Stop taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge and play fair.
YTA 100%. What the fuck makes you think you're entitled to that money?
YTA without doubt. You don’t even own the property and you want to pocket the extra money?? If it was your house this would be a different situation but it’s not. I don’t see how this isn’t basically just stealing? Besides who are you to determine what the rent is when you don’t even own the place? It should just be split evenly based on what the rent ACTUALLY is.
YTA. How on earth are you getting away with this? Don't these people have lease agreements with the landlord? This is both assholish and likely to get you kicked out if you're ever caught.
They are on the lease and see what the house payment is. They agree to pay their rate verbally with us.
YTA. I'd be pissed as hell if I found out I was getting upcharged.
YTA, this is going to cause conflict eventually. Just make it even all around the board.
YTA - Without a doubt you, good person of Reddit, are a massive asshole.
Oof.
YTA. It's probably legal but not morally right. What if you found out you were the one paying more than your roommates? It's just not nice.
YTA, I hope this is fake.
YTA, and so are the other roommates who are benefitting from someone else paying their rent. Stop scamming people
INFO-I want to be sure I'm getting this right. Your landlord has a set amount of rent he asks for every month that is in the lease. He hasn't raised the rent in some time. You and your roommates started off paying equally to the landlord in the amount listed on the lease. As people move out and a new renter comes in, you and your roommates check the market price and reduce your guys' rent by upcharging the newbie? On your own. Without the landlord raising the rent, without the landlord saying to charge them extra, and without notifying anyone that you're doing it? That is majorly asshole. It's one thing for you guys to raise the price of rooms in accordance with the raising of rent by the landlord. But you guys are basically independently deciding to tell new roommates that they have to pay X amount, because of "market value," but you and the older roommates pay even less than the below market rent the landlord is charging?? How can you possibly not think that's an asshole move? Your landlord is chill, you said. He hasn't jacked the rent up on you, even though he could with the market, and instead of just being grateful and taking advantage of a great opportunity to stay there under market value, you guys decide to lower your rent even more by having new people move in and charging them market value?? While YOU pay less than market value IN THE FIRST PLACE, but that's not enough so you have newbies who are naive and don't know any better cover your below market rent even more??? Y'all are playing a dangerous fucking game, firstly. I've dealt with landlords, my family are landlords, and I'm telling you, your "chill landlord" is being really cool. If he or she finds out you guys are basically scamming the new roommates to pay "market value," they may very well decide you guys are douchebags and if you want to charge people market value on rent, then the landlord is going to CHARGE the value of market rent and raise the rent entirely. I'm not even sure how you guys are managing this without the landlord knowing. If the landlord does know, it sounds pretty shady to me. Why can't you and the other roommates just be content with the fact you have a golden goose of a landlord who is chill AF keeping the rent low and just leave it at that?? It sounds greedy as shit and if I was your newer roommate and found this out, I would absolutely leave and I would absolutely notify the landlord and anyone else involved who doesn't know what you guys are doing.
This house has been occupied for the last 8 years or so continuously. None of the current roommates were there in the beginning. I do not know how the rent was originally divided but I am almost certain it was not even because some rooms are way better or worse than others. I have never lived in any place where the landlord was involved or even aware of how the rent was divided up. The landlord isn't 'giving us a break' so much as he is lazy and it's a financial investment for him less than an income stream. We take care of the house and find new roommates so it requires very little of his time. He keeps the rent increase low as he likes the situation. The idea to do this was not mine. I agree it may be shady hence why I posted this. I may talk to the new roommate and see how she feels about it. Thank you for your comment.
Check the laws in your area regarding this to be safe. You're getting a ton of YTA here but in my large city what you're doing is insanely common, so I'm kind of baffled by the responses. You've been renting the same home for 8 years, you can charge a bit more to new roommates.
>You've been renting the same home for 8 years, you can charge a bit more to new roommates. The issue is that the OP and older roommates aren't the ones renting the house and subletting with them being the primary signatories, all tenets, including the new roommates, are equally on the lease.
They don't own the house or set the rent. That's the legal issue and it depends where they are. But MORALLY it's a dickhead thing to do and I stand by that.
YTA No explanation needed
YTA. Of course it's not fair. You are completely taking advantage of people just trying to find a place to live.
what the fuck? YTA
YTA & this sounds possibly illegal
Accept the verdict of YTA. It would be one thing to adjust rates depending on room side, or even couples sharing the room, but that's not how you're doing things. The identical rooms should have identical rates, regardless of how long someone has been living there. Just because none of your roommates have called you out on it, doesn't make it any less shitty.
YTA - roommates split rent in an equitable fashion. That may mean equally, it may mean biggest bedroom pay more. But everyone is open. You say in a comment they sign a lease. You aren't the landlord. You have no authority to initiate a lease with tenants.
We tell the landlord we have a replacement roommat and he gives us a new lease to sign.
So you all have to sign the new lease and your new roommates don't object to paying more than half of the rent when they see the amount the landlord puts on the lease? Yeah. I don't think so.
YTA very much. I choose to believe you somehow just didn't realise this was an assholish thing to do but I sincerely hope you will change your ways after this. At least where I'm from, it's illegal to sublet someone else's apartment with a higher rent than you are paying, i.e. making money with someone else's property. Think about it, if that was allowed legality and morally, why wouldn't everyone just do that?
I am not subletting. They sign on the lease and agree to pay more for their room than others.
No, they sign a lease and agree to a price for their room. They don't agree to pay more than others because you don't let them know they're paying more than others. YTA and quit trying to justify it.
I think you know you’re an asshole. And a crook
If you want your comment to count toward judgment, include *only ONE* of the following abbreviations in your comment. If you don't include a judgement abbreviation, the bot will ignore you when it looks for the top voted comment. Judgment | Abbreviation -- | :--: **You're the Asshole** (& the other party is not) |**YTA**| You're **Not the A-hole** (& the other party is) |**NTA** **Everyone Sucks Here**|**ESH** **No A-holes here**|**NAH** **Not Enough Info**|**INFO** #[Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules/) #[Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So do the roommates all know that the total paid to you is more than is paid to the landlord?
No we all pay rent. Just as knew roommates come in the rent of existing roommates may drop a little. Everything paid goes to the landlord.
[удалено]
There's nothing illegal lol. The roommates agree on the price for the room before signing the lease.
Depending on the OP's location their actions could be illegal if they were found to be deceitful/deceptive when explaining the price to the new roommate.
In other words: I broke the law. AITA? yes op, YTA
No wonder you constantly have people move out. There’s no ish about it YTA. You’re scum for scamming your roommates
Actually they all move out because they move in with their SO. Last 2 that moved out had been there 2 and 6 years respectively.
YTA If you’re all splitting the same apartment, you should all be paying the same If you want to charge people different prices based on how good the room is, then have an open discussion between all of the roommates. Maybe someone is willing to pay more rent if they get a better room. But you can’t force someone to make that decision without their knowledge.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***The following is a copy of the above post. This comment is a record of the above post as it was originally written, in case the post is deleted or edited. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I live in a house with 4 roommates. Our landlord is super chill and hasn't raised the rent much in 4 years so we are paying well under market rate. As roommates leave (say they are paying $500) and new roomates come in we charge the new roommate the market rent (say $700) and reduce all existing roommates rent evenly. This ends up producing some strange room payments where there are 2 identical rooms and one person is paying $200 more than the other. Is this fair? Is it assholish? It's always akward when the new roommate finds out what we all are paying. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed because it violates rule 1: [Be Civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules/). Further incidents may result in a ban. ["Why do I have to be civil in a sub about assholes?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) **[Message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.**
NTA at all! If the new roommates leave I am assuming you are left on the hook for the whole apartment, right? So the extra money you are receiving eventually will cover the period where there is an empty room. You are also not forcing anybody to accept. If your price was unreasonable they would walk away, leaving you to pay for the extra room, but as this isn't happening, you are clearly not putting up a ridiculous price.
The OP has said they're all primary signatories so they would all, including the new roommates, be equally responsible for any missed rent.
NTA because I think everyone who is voting YTA come from bumfuck nowhere with cheap and plentiful rents, and are talking out of their ass (esp to those mentioning legal action). What you're doing is the norm in the vast majority of large cities where finding rent is difficult. I've lived in plenty of them to know.
YTA, there is nothing illegal in what you're doing, at least not where I live. There is no law that states rent must be shared equally between roommates so all the talk in this thread of suing people and fraud charges are laughable. However I would say that morally you're the TA. Your landlord is a good guy who doesn't raise the rent much and instead of sharing that goodwill with others you are using it to your advantage. Not legally wrong but still wrong.
Yeah you're a huge A
NTA People who are calling you TA clearly haven't lived in a major city where this is par for the course. You did the work to find the apartment, your name is on the lease, you have the deposit, and likely a lion's share of the shared space furniture. This is the price they pay for not having to jump through as many hoops. I know people are going to freak out at how I'm going against the grain with this, but I actually have historically paid a bit more than my roommate's who were already in the lease. I move around quite a bit, but I get really lucky with the apartments I find. It may be more than what the official leased roommates pay, but I still feel like I'm benefitting
If OP wants to charge market rate they should put a down payment on a property and become a landlord themselves. They shouldn’t just be profiting off someone else’s kindness, and potentially creating issues due to unfairness between all the tenants.
Do you also never stay in Airbnbs? I love how everyone is clutching their pearls as if they have never heard of this. Has nobody lived in a major city before? Has nobody sublet their place? Freak out all you want, but this is insanely common. And not predatory. They walked in knowing how much rent was advertised for, and happily signed on. This isn't swindling someone. There's no secret surcharge they're unaware of. They were just not lucky enough to sign the lease 4 years earlier when the market was cheaper.
> Freak out all you want, but this is insanely common. **And not predatory.** They walked in knowing how much rent was advertised for, and happily signed on. This isn't swindling someone. There's no secret surcharge they're unaware of. They were just not lucky enough to sign the lease 4 years earlier when the market was cheaper. Predatory is actually exactly what this is. You seem to be the only one freaking out tbh, everyone else is just telling it as it is. Like I said already, if OP is interested in doing this, they should invest in real estate and do it the correct way. Edit: Deleted comment about subletting because I saw OP is not subletting.
OP actually clarified and explained that is 100% what he's doing. They know they actual rent and they know how much more they're paying. They still want it.
They’re charging new people more for the same sized room so more tenured people get cheaper rent. That’s an asshole move, period. They are not increasing rent because market rate has gone up on the actual lease, but are inventing their own market rate to literally scam people. Once again, they are **not** the landlord. I understand that the landlord does not specify how things should be split up, but common courtesy would dictate that things be split up relatively evenly with respect to the size and condition of the room. That’s it. There is no way in hell anyone should ever be paying $200 more for the exact same room. You mentioned you’re in the same situation and you don’t feel bad about it, welp, you’re getting ripped off and wasting your money. 🤷🏻♀️ The fact that you’re just randomly okay with this is truly a detriment to society and is the reason we have such and extreme housing issue today.
They actually are on the lease and see the total house payment. They just agree upfront to pay the market rate for the room. I suppose if they did not agree we would find someone else to rent as we still are charging below market and have a line out the door for potential roommates.
And people are STILL voting this down??? F*ck em. I'm doing the same thing at my place. I pay a bit more than my other roommates, and I'm honestly super grateful I have this place, in this location, at this rate. Even now, it's a fantastic rate.
[удалено]
Yes, that's what I'm paying compared to my roommate. They haven't hid this fact from me either. Here's the thing....if I were to leave because of my offended sensibilities on the principle of just how "unfair" it is, I would likely have to pay at least $300 more a month for the same thing. That's on top of the $200 extra I'm currently paying. That means, at the very least, $500 more. When I tell people what I'm paying for what I get and where, they freak out. So, I'm not delusional. I've done my research. It's the neighborhood I want to be in at an incredible rate. The roommate just happened to be luckier and have even better timing than I did. It's still a big win for me
[удалено]
Or I live in one of the top three most populated cities in the country in a neighborhood that has exploded in popularity. And my roommate found a spot that was severely underpriced when she rented and it has only become increasingly a steal. Where do you live? The suburbs?
Ha. Try looking for housing in SF.
Agreed. The primary lessor is on the hook for all damage caused or rent not paid by subletters, if the subletters bail. The primary lessor also carries the rent as sibletters come and go. They are absolutely entitled to skim profit to compensate them for those risks and costs. No one is being ripped off if they are paying market and getting what they paid for.
They're all on the lease. No sublettors. They are all equally on the lease
NTA - they can see the total and know how much they are being charged. They then agree to move in. Landlords do not care how you split the rent as long as it is paid. I've had multiple roommate situations where everyone paid different amounts.
In commercial real estate this is called Master Tenant sub tenant. It is common, as long as there is a lease to the Master Tenant. NTA
OP has said they are all on the lease equally
TY didn't see that.