August 8, 2026 at 3:35 pm

“You Picked the Wrong Person”: Landlord Refuses Every Replacement Tenant, Leaving Moving Woman in Limbo

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It’s interesting when you realize how certain people react to different situations.

You might think that something is no big deal at all…

But someone else could have a reaction to that same thing that causes you to scratch your head.

In today’s story, a woman explained why she’s getting some blowback from her landlord because she’s moving into a new place…

And things are getting to be pretty complicated.

Read on and see what you think!

AITA for moving out even if my housemates might have to pay for my room?

“I (26F) live in the UAE and work as an engineer. After losing my online job, my income was cut in half, so I moved into a room in a shared villa because it was more affordable.

Before this, I was renting my own place for around AED 2,000–3,000/month. The villa room costs AED 900 plus utilities, so it helped me save money.

The other tenants were kind when I moved in. They helped me negotiate with the owner so I wouldn’t need to pay a deposit, and I was told I only needed to give one month’s notice before leaving.

After some time, I decided I wanted my own place again because I prefer having my own kitchen, bathroom, and privacy.

Score!

I found an apartment for AED 1,400 all-inclusive with better space and a quieter area. Since good rentals are difficult to find, I accepted it and planned to move on August 1.

The problem is that my current landlord expected me to stay until the last week of August, meaning I could only give less than one month’s notice.

I explained my situation and asked if I could pay half a month’s rent since I would already be leaving, but he refused. I accepted that I would pay the full month’s rent even though I would no longer be staying there.

This wasn’t going smoothly…

I also tried to solve the problem by finding someone to take over my room. I found a person willing to rent it, but the owner refused because her husband is Egyptian.

Her husband does not live there and only visits occasionally, maybe once every week or two, but the owner still did not accept her.

Now the owner says that if the room remains vacant after I leave, the other tenants may have to help cover the rent for that room.

What’s she supposed to do now…?

My sister suggested reporting the situation to the municipality because she thinks it is unfair, but I don’t want to do that because some tenants may have residency issues and I don’t want to put them at risk.

I feel guilty because I don’t want to create problems for anyone, but I feel like I tried to handle this responsibly. I agreed to pay the extra rent, tried to find someone to replace me, and gave notice as soon as I secured another place.

AITA for continuing with my move on August 1, even if my housemates might have to pay for the vacant room because the owner refused the replacement tenant I found?”

Here’s what readers had to say.

This person weighed in.