I (21M) live with one roommate (23M) in a two-bedroom apartment. We split rent and utilities 50/50, including internet. When we moved in, we agreed that guests were fine as long as we gave each other a heads-up, especially for overnight stays.
Over the last two months, my roommate has been inviting friends over almost every night without telling me. Sometimes it’s just one person, other times it’s a group. They use the living room, watch TV late, and use the Wi-Fi heavily for streaming and gaming. I work early mornings and this has been affecting my sleep and ability to focus.
I brought it up calmly twice and reminded him of our original agreement. He said I was being “too controlling” and that since he pays rent, he should be able to have people over whenever he wants. After that, nothing changed.
Last week, he had friends over four nights in a row, including one night when they were loud past midnight. I finally changed the Wi-Fi password and told him I’d give it back once we talked and set clear boundaries about guests.
He was furious and said I had no right to do that since we both pay for the internet. He accused me of being passive-aggressive and childish. He told his friends, who now think I’m a jerk for “holding the Wi-Fi hostage.”
AITA?
ESH
You’re right – he’s not holding to the original agreement about having people over. He needs to give you a heads up before having guests, and he and his guests need to be mindful about the noise at night.
But he is right – he pays equally for the WiFi, and you have no right to
ESH – he’s being an ass but you have no right to withhold a service he is paying for.
Everyone saying y t a because the roommate pays for half the wifi seem to be ignoring that OP pays for half the rent but is being denied equal share use of the apartment in line with their pre-arranged agreement.