Boundaries in shared living spaces are vital, but they only work when everyone respects them.

One unexpected guest turned a simple weekend visit into a full-time residency, one roommate realized he was living in a free hostel he never signed up for.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITAH for kicking out my roommate’s friend who shows up unannounced in our dorm room

So, I (21M) share a dorm room with my roommate, Martin (21M).

We’ve been living together since the start of the semester, and for the most part, things have been fine.

We’re not best friends or anything, but we respect each other’s space and keep the room relatively clean, which is something we both agreed upon from the beginning.

That all changed when an unexpected guest came to town.

Last week, Martin told me his high school friend, Liz, was coming to visit for the weekend.

I didn’t have a problem with that — I figured Liz would stay for a night or two, and it would be fine.

But here’s where things got messy.

It turns out, Liz wasn’t planning on leaving when she said she would.

Liz showed up on a Friday night, and by Sunday, she was still there.

Not only that, but she made zero effort to leave.

She was sleeping on our floor, eating our food without contributing anything, and using our shower every day like she lived there.

She was starting to act more like a permanent resident than a guest.

Worst of all, she refused to help clean up anything since she claimed it was on Martin’s side of the room and not mine.

She makes huge messes everywhere.

The room is separated by a curtain, but it really makes me uncomfortable that Martin has her over here.

He tries to reason with Martin, but Liz has him wrapped around her finger.

I’ve tried several times to tell Martin she has to go, but he told me that Liz has been in a tough financial spot and that her family pretty much doesn’t cater to her needs.

He says she just needs some time to reset and that he is the only person who can help her, so she will be out in no time.

I’ve mentioned the issue in front of both of them, at least to make the place livable, but Liz plays the emotional card on Martin.

He is so hooked that he doesn’t hesitate to be lenient with her just because she is struggling with her stuff.

It would all be fine and good if it was just Martin’s problem, but it’s affecting both of them.

I would say Liz is using Martin to live off of him, but now it’s affecting me.

This isn’t a college dorm room, so I can’t call anyone on this situation.

She has been here for almost a week, and one of us has to crack, and I’m not planning on it being me.

He’s set a date and if she’s not out by then, drastic measures will need to be taken.

I’m planning on moving her out by this Friday forcefully.

AITAH?

There’s a fine line between hospitality and being taken advantage of.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s clear to this Redditor that Liz is in a mess of her own making.

This kind of prolonged guest situation is prohibited in many lease agreements.

At the end of the day, it’s a home, not a charity.

There is, in fact, someone they could call.

Martin clearly won’t draw the line, so someone else is going to have to step in and set some hard boundaries — and fast.

Living with roommates may be an exercise in patience, but everyone’s patience has a breaking point.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.