Imagine living in a condo that’s part of an HOA, and there’s sewage backup problem in the shared basement.

If everyone in the condo thought you were the one responsible for the problem, would you be willing to pay for the repairs, or would you refuse?

In this story, one person is in this exact situation, and they’re refusing to pay. Keep reading to find out why everyone thinks this person is responsible for the plumbing problem.

AITA for not chipping in to pay for damages in an HOA

I live in a large old home with 5 condo units; one of the owners has not lived here for almost a year.

We recently had a sewage backup that caused a ton of damage in the shared basement but happened to spare my area which the plumber explained was because mine was the farthest away from the sewage line.

The cause of the backup was deemed by the plumbers to be “flushable wipes”. Obviously everyone is denying using these wipes.

But everyone thinks it’s OP’s fault.

Like an idiot, I stupidly made a comment that I had tossed some paper towels in the toilet a while back after an unfortunate accident in the bathroom. And naturally, all the blame somehow fell on me.

Everyone is mad at me, even though I don’t understand why paper towels I flushed over a month ago could have caused this.

The one owner who doesn’t even live here and unfortunately had the most amount of damage, keeps making passive aggressive comments saying that he should not have to pay for damages clearly done by a “certain individual”.

OP refuses to pay.

Everyone’s insurances are covering most if not all of the damages and losses but they are asking me to chip in to help pay for whatever is not covered, because in their minds, I caused this and people feel that it is unfair for me to be the only one spared.

The cost will amount to almost $1000 which is no chump change.

I feel bad that everyone else is going through this but they cannot prove that I caused the sewage backup and deep down in my heart, I don’t even think I was the only one who had tossed paper towels or wipes or whatever down the toilet.

I adamantly refused to chip in and people are now even more angry.

Just wanted to get other people’s perspectives on whether I’m being a jerk or if I’m justified.

It’s definitely a bad idea to flush paper towels down the toilet, but was that what caused the problem? Let’s see if Reddit thinks OP should be willing to pay.

This person thinks OP should admit that they are partly responsible.

Another person wonders what the HOA agreement says about who should pay.

Here’s a very good point.

But this person is on OP’s side.

This decision should be up to the HOA.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.