When a friend falls on hard times, it is good to help them if you are able.

What would you do if you let a friend live in one of your rental units for free if he agreed to do some repairs to it, but instead, he caused a bunch of damage?

That is what happened to the landlord in this story, so he evicted his friend, but now he feels bad about it.

Check it out.

AITA for evicting my friend of 12 years from my rental unit?

I let a friend of 12 years live rent-free in my rental unit after he fell on hard times.

He lost his house and car and was dealing with custody issues.

I don’t judge because he had always been a loyal friend.

In return for the free housing, I asked him to work on some repairs at the property.

I covered the bigger expenses, he agreed to handle smaller costs like paint and wood.

He isn’t making the repairs a priority.

When I visited about 6 weeks later, he had only completed one task from a 12-task list.

I was a little frustrated, especially since he wasn’t maintaining the yard either but I gave him grace because of his personal issues.

I voiced my frustration and let him know he’d still have about two more rent-free months after finishing the list so there’s no reason to stall if that was his worry.

Then last night, his girlfriend came over.

They had been there drinking with a friend and it ended with my unit being completely trashed—over $5k in damages.

The glass patio door connecting to the kitchen was shattered, fresh tile and hardwood was ruined with sage paint, holes in the drywall and light fixtures were ripped out.

I would not stay calm about this.

I was furious but kept calm and asked him how long it would take to secure the door and fix the damages, this time on his dime.

He said he could board the door right away but would need about 3 months to fix everything, plus another 3 months to finish the original list.

Too long for me.

I no longer trust him to stay there, especially considering this wasn’t the first serious argument he’d had with this girlfriend.

One time she even tried to run him over with her car.

So, I told him he had 3 days to leave and had him sign a notarized letter confirming the notice and damages, to protect myself.

He didn’t seem upset when I spoke with him, just sad.

He doesn’t have anywhere to go because of his own choices.

I know he has nowhere to go and was couch-hopping before.

But this is still my property and reputation within the neighborhood.

I don’t want to be associated with chaos.

Since the incident, I’ve arranged to install security cameras, change the locks, and update the home security system.

I’m not asking him to pay for any damages since we agreed on eviction.

This was the only negative experience we’ve had in our friendship, so I’m wondering if I am wrong for kicking him out?

Did I go too far having him sign an eviction letter even though I never had him sign a formal lease?

AITA?

Not wrong at all, you need to protect yourself and your property.

Hopefully the friendship can survive this, but if not, it is on the tenant for his bad behavior.

Read on to see what the people in the comments say about it.

It really shouldn’t be that hard not to ruin a house.

Yup, this commenter is exactly right.

Some people have to hit rock bottom to learn their lesson.

Good point, make sure to follow the rules.

Some people just can’t take responsibility.

Actions. Meet consequences.

This guy needs to be held responsible or he’ll never learn.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.