Living with others requires courtesy, communication, and at least a basic awareness of shared space.

One renter’s roommate ignored all of that and shamelessly cooked with ingredients infamous for their intensity.

But when the renter finally stood up for his own nose, things didn’t go as planned.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for telling my roommate he can’t cook his “experimental smells” in our shared apartment?

I am living with a flatmate who loves trying out very exotic recipes, but they all come with the most pungent smells possible: fermented fish, durian, the whole nine yards.

He’s tried to reason with his roommate, but his roommate has always resisted any kind of compromise.

I have asked him, politely, to do it outside at least or ventilate, but he insists that he “has the right to cook whatever he wants in his own space.”

It has gotten to the point where, last week, the smell filled my entire apartment and I had guests over who complained.

So finally the renter lost his cool.

So I finally lost it and told him he cannot cook anything that smells this strong here.

He’s now claiming I’m controlling and unsupportive.

AITA?

Bad smells in your apartment could drive anyone crazy.

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter seems to have firsthand experience with one of the ingredients the renter listed.

One of the listed ingredients is so potent, it’s banned in some places.

Living with roommates means taking other people’s opinions into account, whether you want to or not.

Maybe this roommate just needs a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Wanting your own apartment air to be breathable isn’t unreasonable at all.

The real issue is this roommate’s utter refusal to compromise.

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.