Brother living rent free but asking for “sick” niece’s bigger room dragged

A man is being slammed for trying to “take over” his preteen niece’s bedroom—while she’s away at an eating disorder recovery center.

Reddit users were up in arms after learning that the 26-year-old man—who lives with his sister rent-free—wanted to move into his 11-year-old niece’s room, which has an ensuite and is larger than his own.

The post, which was shared to Reddit’s Am I the A******? (AITA) forum on 6 September, received more than 6,000 upvotes and 500 comments, with one user describing the situation as a “hostile takeover.”

A Rise in Multi-Generational Households

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans living with relatives or in multi-generational households has increased in the last 2 years due to the pandemic and the economic downtown.

Multi-generational households have quadrupled since 1971, but even before the outbreak of COVID-19 this figure had been rising. Multi-generational households became more common during the 2007 recession, and have steadily increased since.

Young adults choosing to marry later and pursue higher education are two reasons for the surge, as are finances and caregiving responsibilities. The odds of living in a multi-generational household vary by age, race and cultural background, as well as location.

The arrangement can have financial advantages if multi-generational households pool resources. Homes with multiple working adults under one roof are less likely to live in poverty, with this type of living situation more able to provide a safety net during tough times.

In 2020, over half of US young adults lived with their parents—a figure not seen since the Great Depression. However, 14 percent lived in the household of another relative, such as a grandparent or sibling.

‘Major trauma’

In her post, u/Icy_Tea2573 explained that her 26-year-old brother lives with her and her 11-year-old daughter rent-free.

“He can afford to stay in an apartment with roommates, but he has social anxiety and chooses not to,” he wrote.

“He stays in a reasonably sized room, but my daughter has a bigger room with a bathroom attached.”

Her daughter was recently diagnosed with an eating disorder and is staying at a residential recovery program for the next three months. The mom was “horrified” when her younger brother asked if he could stay in his child’s room in the meantime.

“I was not letting my brother live rent free in my sick daughter’s room while she was recovering from an eating disorder,” he said.

“Later that day, I told him that eventually he would have to move out. He got really mad at me.

“So, AITA?”

Redditors agreed the mom wasn’t the a***** in this situation, with unled_horse describing the brother’s approach as a “hostile takeover.”

“I’d want that guy out of my house too,” she said.

“What kind of AH is more concerned about what room he is staying in than the health of his own niece,” asked Natural_writer9701.

“Imagine her coming home after this major trauma to find out her personal space was violated,” wrote a-_rose.

Others suggested that the brother gets help for his own mental health issues, with Kathrynlena describing his behavior as a “red flag.”

“The fact that he not only thought he was entitled to take someone else’s room ‘because she’s not using it,’ but that he just assumed he would live rent-free in someone else’s home…[checks notes]…forever (!!!) is just an entire parade of red flags,” she said.

“Niece is in therapy for her issues. The brother should be in therapy for his,” added lizyouwerebeer.

While crystallz2000 wrote: “Your adult brother should be going to therapy every week, if not a couple of times a week, and have a move out date. He can’t just live with you forever.

“The second you ask him to leave, he still won’t be ‘ready’ if he hasn’t tried working on himself.”

Newsweek has reached out to u/Icy_Tea2573 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.