Hi. Last year, my aunt and uncle asked me to rent their house because they would be moving out of the country for a couple of years. I was about to move into a different apartment at the time, so the offer and opportunity seemed perfect. 

I ended up asking a family member’s friend (we were cool and hung out from time to time pre-pandemic, and I used to do her hair), if she wanted to help split the mortgage since she was looking to move from her apartment as well. She said yes. We’ve been living together now, for almost a year and a half, but when we moved in, my family left some kitchen items, their couch and a dining table for us to use. 

Fast forward, over the last several months, she has broken six glasses and another item that I am aware of. She said that she’ll replace them before she moves out, but she’ll be renting for at least one more year. I, however, will be moving out this month, as I got a promotion that’s taking me to another state.

Since I invited her to move in, and have been taking care of the house and collecting the rent every month, I figured she should just replace the items before I leave, instead of waiting almost two years to do so — “before she moves out.” We got into a heated debate about it because she stated that she doesn’t have to “run out” to replace the items just because I’m sure overreacting about it — a summarization of her words.

She also said, that my aunt probably wouldn’t care since she left the items for us to use and put away the items that were most important to her. Lastly, since my family doesn’t know that the items were broken, she can replace them “before she leaves.“ I got a puppy last year and informed her that anytime my dog chewed on a cord of hers (twice),

I replaced it immediately. I washed a spoon holder that belonged to her, it slipped out of my hand and broke. I replaced it the same day! Stuff happens, yes. But, you should always replace some else’s shit sooner rather than later. It’s the principle. Am I the asshole for telling her that the items should be replaced before I leave, no matter how inexpensive (IKEA) the glasses are that were left for us to use? Is it not the principle of the matter?