How to deal with controlling and petty roommate

Hey all,
I decided to move in with my roommate who I had knowm for about a year before moving in from a previous job. I moved in with him because I needed a new place to go and since Im new to the area I didnt know many people besides the people I had worked with. He seemed normal at the time. He is a male and I am a female. So this all started because he didnt like that my bf would stay the night once or twice a week. He demanded rent from him which I had told him my boyfriend would not pay because he did not live here and would only visit those few nights, just for the night. My bf offered to pay him money for utilities to keep things calm but that did not make him happy. My roommate contacted peoperty management AND the owners of the home and complained to them, then later that night said hed take the money for the utilities. After this a lot happened so Im just going to list things.
-roommate specifically told me he just wants to be “aquatences and not talk at all besides bills” which was fine with me.
-roommate stopped paying his half of bills in my name (internet and gas)
-would play his drums or music any night my bf was over (sleeping in my room) until 2 or 3 am.
-would have people over without letting me know (would tell old coworkers that i need to move out and doesnt care about telling me theyre there)
-doesnt buy any soap, tp, paper towels, trash bags, etc.
-doesnt help clean bathroom and leaves pubes/beard hair all over bathroom.
-parks in both the garage and driveway and lets friends park in my spot right in front of the house on the street.
-revd his car in the garage for an hour when i had my cousins over
-closes the blinds as soon as i open them
-unplugs my rice cooker when its just keeping my rice warm.
Then things got weird. He tried to be all nice to my friends and family and tried to make it seem like i was the one making things hostile. Told them they didnt have a problem with them only my bf. Tried to tell my bf he doesnt care about rent, etc.
-roommate knocked on my door for 10 mins straight because I didnt want to talk to him.
-doesnt allow me to use washer/dryer which he brought into the place at beginning of rent even though i was going to put my own there. Told him to move his out so i can put mine in, he refuses. yet uses my detergent.
-I changed password to internet since he wasnt paying his half and he took my paperwork for it and the lease and called the internet company under my name.

So really I just want to get out of this lease but the problem is, I cant get out unless he signs me off which I am positive he wont do because he doesnt have the money to afford the place himself.

Reported for forum change.

what?

what?

This is the forum for factual answers. It was reported to be moved to In My Humble Opinion (IMHO), where people can give you advice.

[yeah, ninja’ed, like I knew I would…]

General Questions is for questions of a factual nature. This will probably get moved to In My Humble Opinion, because there’s no one right answer here. It’s not a big deal or a problem; it will get plenty of attention over there as well. The moderators ask us to “report” threads that we think they might need to review and move. We like tidy fora (forums?). :slight_smile:

As for your question…hoo boy. Roommate issues are my second least favorite interpersonal issues, right after teenagers. Things rarely go well once people start behaving badly.

I know this might be a silly question, but have you tried talking to him? I mean, sometime when you’re both calm and not actively fighting about something? He’s sending some strange mixed signals, which probably mean that he just doesn’t want to come off as the bad guy here. But it might mean something icky like he wants a relationship with you, and he’s been a jerk about/around your boyfriend because he’s jealous. If that’s what’s going on, then your strategy is going to have to be very different.

Are you his first roommate? Is he yours? Because it sounds like he’s treating you like he’s living with his mom or something, not pulling his weight as half “owner” of the space.

If you can sit down with him calmly and work out some “Good Roommate Rules”, that would be where I’d start. Things like paying half the utilities should of course be on there, but also beard trimmings in the bathroom (GROSS!) and…whatever you do that annoys him. (Don’t pretend there’s nothing. There’s always something our roommate does that we wish they wouldn’t. Own those things and use them as bargaining chips.)

If you can’t sit down with him and work out some rules, then it’s time to find a subletter and/or be let out of the lease. I would let that be his choice. That is, tell him that you’re moving out on June 1st (or whatever) and that you would be happy to find a subletter if that’s what he wants, or he can take over the lease on his own. If he protests that you can’t do that, quietly and calmly point out that he’s already committed identity theft, and that you’d rather dissolve this relationship as amicably as possible than bring the courts into it.

Some ideas to get you started:

24 Rules for Living with Roommates

13 Essential Rules To Have With Your Roommates, According To Reddit

ROOMMATE RULES AND CODE OF ETHICS (OR HUMAN DECENCY CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT WHILE LIVING WITH ROOMMATES)

Wow. What an unbelievable douche.

Moderator Action

Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.

Really? I find it depressingly believable.

Well, except the bit about the internet company. Half the time, I can’t even convince them I’m me, and he got into an account with a female name and got the modem reset (or something to release the password)? Dude’s got game. And balls. Big, huge, pendulous balls.

The extent of the doucheiness is what I find unbelievable. Not the story. Poorly worded on my part.

Yes, I am his first roommate besides a girlfriend that he had lived with before. He moved straight from his parents place to living with me. Everytime i had tried to talk to him he would avoid me and contact me only through message. But i stopped responding to him after he had said some rude things after the whole calling my landlord about my bf paying rent situation. He had called me a douche and threatened to call the police when my bf came over. So i pretty much just stopped talking to him like he wished. I think the fact that I am fine not communicating with him has made things worse

Do you think it’s possible that he is attracted to you and has developed some sort of crush?

Honestly, I think that is possible. I didnt really think of it until my family and friends all suggested it. I think maybe thats why he had such an issue with my boyfriend as we were always kind and respectful towards him and invited him out with us. It just doesnt really make sense, it seems like it would have to be something personal like that.

How much longer do you have on your lease?

7 months :confused:

Have you tried finding someone to sublease?

The only way I can do that is if my roommate approves that person.

Dude was definitely caught of guard when you didn’t warm up to him and you kept your boyfriend. Now he’s mad and taking it out on you for not being attracted to him.

I’d find him another guy to room with him and tell him if he doesn’t approve him, that you’re walking and not paying him anything.
The other option is for you to start sleeping with him and then tell him that you don’t think it’s right for you two to be living together just yet, and they you need to move out, for you two to stay together. He lets you move out and then dump him.

Oh, for Og’s sake. No, pulling pigtails doesn’t mean a boy likes you. It means he’s a bully. It’s only in movies that the girl falls for the dick.

Just like this guy. For your own safety, I would talk to the landlord about getting you out of the lease. Start looking for another place and start documenting all the shit he’s pulling.