Living with another person isn't just pizza parties and game nights. Whether it's keeping the noise down, respecting each other's space, or taking turns with chores, you should also compromise so both can feel at home. But not everyone gets that.
To show how annoying we can be to one other, Bored Panda collected evidence of bad roommates, shared online by those who had the "pleasure" of knowing them. Some might be more lost than others, but hopefully, these pictures will remind you to pick up your socks and return the drying rack to the closet.
#1 Roommate Tossed Out My Childhood Stuffed Animal
I know I am kind of old to be having stuffed animals but it’s not like I take them everywhere, I have it next to the couch as decorations (or at least one of them, the rest are in my room in my closet).
The dude is a friend of a friend who desperately needed a place to stay and I offered it. It has been the worst month of my life. Glad I’m done with him.
Image credits: This_Attitude_5190
#2 Who Does That?
Image credits: lv_eventing
Last year, the National Student Accommodation Survey asked over 1,000 students in the United Kingdom about the most common annoying housemate habits, and the results might give us a better understanding of the broader picture. The list was:
- Leaving dirty dishes out (65%);
- Not helping with cleaning (55%);
- Leaving lights/appliances on (44%);
- Being too loud (44%);
- Leaving food to rot (41%);
- Not removing hair from plug holes (31%);
- Stealing food (26%);
- Not changing the toilet roll (26%);
- Leaving windows open (23%);
- Leaving the toilet seat up (23%);
- Taking long showers (22%);
- Moving a partner in (15%).
As we can see, the pictures reflect this pretty well.
#3 I Have Asked Her Politely To Stop Several Times Now And My Patience Has Expired
I’ve communicated how much it bothers me, and asked politely several times that she stop draping her fallen hairs on my products. Her shelf is always hair-free and pristine. I’m done asking, just collected every hair she left on my stuff and put in on top of her products. Petty?
Image credits: Minoumilk
#4 Family Member Has Cancer And No Immune System, And Is Largely Bed-Ridden. We Sanitized Her Whole House A Few Days Ago. Came To Pick Her Up And Found This. Told Her Roommate To Move Out Immediately
Image credits: reddit.com
#5 Kicked Out My Roommate. This Was His Room, So You Can Imagine How He Treated The Rest Of The House. Really Gross, And Just Really Sad
Image credits: nothingissoothing
However, building and maintaining a good relationship with your roommate isn't so straightforward. "Spending lots of time with another person makes it easy to settle into casual irritability," said Diana Partington, a licensed professional counselor in private practice and author of 'DBT for Life: Skills to transform the way you live.'
"We become reactive to any sign of selfishness or callousness, making it hard to live together ... Your behavior changes my behavior, and then my behavior changes your behavior. Going back and forth like this can escalate quickly."
#6 Left My Apartment For About A Month Because Of Covid. Came Back To Find This, The AC Set To 40 F, The Sink Running, The Back Door Wide Open And The Roommate Moved Out
Image credits: RognogMcdogbog
#7 The Way My Roommates Makes Beef Jerky
Image credits: Ronin__Ronan
#8 Roommate Crashed My Car While Borrowing It To Go To Work Then Refuses To Pay Anything Unless I Let Her Continue To Drive It In The Future
Image credits: AloisDA
#9 My Mugs Weren’t In The Kitchen So I Checked My Roommate's Room
Image credits: FATT_TOFU
But we have to stand up for ourselves — if our roommate repeatedly behaves in a way that negatively impacts our life, we must bring it up.
The secret to talking through conflict with a bad roommate, according to Kat Cohen, CEO and Founder of college guidance company IvyWise, is calling them in, rather than calling them out.
This means inviting our roommate into a conversation about how we can get along better rather than making one-sided accusations.
#10 The Least Hygenic Person I've Ever Met Just Moved Out And Left This. It Is Exactly What You'd Hope It's Not
I will never not have this in my brain. Please help me carry this load. No pun intended.
Image credits: wesbug
#11 I Made Dinner For Us And Then Saw This Note When I Went For A Midnight Snack ?
I literally make meals for us at least 9x a week despite us both working the same hours. She never makes food. I am legit the main one who does the dishes because I’m typically feeding the both of us. She gets fast food majority of the time and never does them. She doesn’t have to worry about them because she’s always eating out when I don’t cook for us, but due to the dishes technically being “my fault”, they have to be done within the hour according to her.
Image credits: Mangagirll
#12 Roommate Let His Friend Use My Cast Iron Pan, She Ran It Through The Dishwasher, And Then He Left It In There For Days
Image credits: abakr0
#13 Flatmate Had A Couple Friends Over, Fine, But He Destroyed My Isolation Made Cheese! These Have Already Been Aging For 2.5 Moths And Were Almost Ready
Image credits: Diggs9136
"Frame this as a discussion of living policies and how to be a better roommate, and avoid criticizing your roommate's current behaviors," Cohen explained.
“Ask him or her if there is anything he or she would like to change about your living arrangement in order to make the conversation feel more like a discussion, as opposed to a personal attack or complaint."
#14 My Roommate Is The Worst Kind Of Person
Image credits: theclassyclavicle
#15 I'm Tired Of "Communicating"
This girl has had guests over at the apartment for days now and I already told her I wasn’t comfortable with guests staying over for this long. The space is small and we share a shower.
I’m sick of “communicating” with her and nothing happening. She’s also done other stuff like leaving hair in the shower, almost never cleaning the apartment and having her audio at max volume all night.
Image credits: Main_Statistician681
#16 What My Roommate Bought For Her Turn To Replace The Dishsoap
Image credits: reddit.com
#17 I Gave My Roommate Money To Get A Very Specific Brand Of Toilet Paper When He Went To The Store. He Brought Back This. When I Asked Him About It He Said That They Had The Type I Asked For In Stock, But He Got This One Because It’s Cheaper. He Kept The Change
Image credits: AutisticFloridaMan
By calling our roommates in rather than calling them out, Cohen believes we can make sure they feel respected and invested in making the arrangement the best it can be. By using an approachable and non-threatening tone, we can have a conversation that makes both parties feel good.
#18 Roommate Uses An Air Purifier 24/7 Instead Of Cleaning Her Cat’s Litter Robot. Whole House Smells Like Cat Poop
Image credits: lorn_niguyen
#19 3 Weeks Ago I Replaced The Vinyl Countertop Covering Because My Roommate Ruined It By Cutting Things Directly On The Counter. I Asked Them To Please Not Do That Anymore. This Is Today
Image credits: Sinister_glitter
#20 My Roommate Is Making Me Go Crazy
Image credits: DramedyWar
#21 How Is This Possible
Image credits: _aniebananie9
However, to prevent the situation from escalating to the terrible outcomes that we see in the pictures, the late Fredric Neuman, M.D., who was the Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Center at White Plains Hospital, suggested people follow these rules.
Respect your roommate. It would be better if the two of you liked or even loved each other since living together puts a strain on even reasonable people. By respect, Neuman meant certain specific things, such as not eating the other person's food unless you ask first, not borrowing clothes whenever you want, and not taking the possessions of the other person without asking first.
The wish to study or go to sleep takes precedence over someone else’s wish to play loud music or party — roommates should try their best not to wake each other up.
Follow through on financial commitments so that one roommate does not have to ask the other for rent or payment for other bills.
Chores should be done without having to be reminded.
Do not keep tabs on everything you do for your roommate with the expectation that every favor will be returned.
#22 My Roommates Put Hot Glue In The Lock On My Door
Image credits: thehalfbloodlex
#23 My Roommate Hasn’t Paid His Part Of The Rent In 3 Months, There’s A Weird Smell Coming From His Room That I Can’t Pinpoint, And I’m Pretty Sure He Up And Left So I Have To Clean It Now
Image credits: ebenz1006
#24 I’ve Told Them Countless Times To Take Them To The Bin. They Expect Me To Do It When I Don’t Even Eat Pizza
I live with 5 other people in my flat, 3 boys (23, 20, 18) and 3 girls (19, 18, 18) including myself. 2 of them keep leaving their rubbish and pizza boxes on the side.
This is the build up from a month. I’ve asked countless times for them to deal with it, and they never do and never respond - not taking responsibility when I know exactly who it is. Last time this happened I took them out because we had an inspection. This time I want them to own up and do it themselves before we leave for Xmas and as they’re adults.
I do not eat pizza, especially takeaway pizza, I don’t know what to do, I’m sick of living in a filthy environment, but I don’t want to have to keep constantly tidying up after other people, since I'm also the only one who sweeps, hoovers, and wipes down counters and tables.
Image credits: Anon0520
#25 Roommate Left Us A Present
We didn’t own the house where we were staying; it was a family member’s house. We informed roommate that we were moving out in a month but that roommate was welcome to stay longer after we left to make other living arrangements. Roommate moved out before we did and left a parting gift. Almost 30 times. When confronted about this, roommate just said “yeah I was mad”.
Image credits: DisgruntledGremlin
The rest of Neuman's rules were:
No sleep-over guests should be allowed unless both parties have already agreed to it in advance.
The inclination to be orderly or messy must be compromised with the other person’s wishes.
If bedrooms are separate, do not go into the other person's bedroom unless they are present.
If your roommate is of the opposite sex, assume or she does not want to enter into a sexual relationship.
And of course, don't be rude or insulting, and do not undermine your roommate’s friendships with other people.
#26 My Brother In Law Is Living With Us, This Is His Room
I hadn’t been in his room since November of last year. But I noticed a foul smell coming from the hallway and finally went to investigate. I am beyond disgusted and I don’t even know how to approach him on this.
Image credits: 6Emo6Witch6
#27 My Roommate Uses My Towels To Wipe Her Makeup Off
Image credits: shortylikeamelody
#28 Roommates Keep Cranking The Heat To 32°c/90°f
Is this not absolutely insane? I always wake up soaked in sweat, and no matter how many times I turn it to like 21°C/71°F (which I'm pretty sure is like average temperature for an apartment in any season) they always crank it back up. It's winter, but 21°C/71°F is not cold at all. I don't understand.
Image credits: IntrovertNeptune
#29 What Did I Do Wrong In Life To Have To Deal With This Guy
Image credits: stereotypicalst
#30 My Boyfriend’s Roommate Doesn’t Wash His Pan Between Uses
Image credits: camcam210
#31 Bro
Image credits: flash2204
#32 Roommate Opens New Bottles Of Water Rather Than Finishing The Ones He’s Already Drank From
Image credits: wormgenius
#33 This Is Why I Keep My Stuff In My Room
Image credits: gimmeawomanafter12am
#34 I’m At My Wit’s End With This Idiot
Image credits: reddit.com
#35 I Hate My Roommate
Image credits: Pr0v3nD1sc1pl3
#36 My Roommate Flushes Food Down The Toilet And Now It’s Perpetually Clogged
So I’ve had many issues with this lady. This is just one of them. Does anyone else’s roommate do this? Is this normal? Also we live in a historic house so the pipes are old as hell.
Image credits: Chedd-ar
#37 Roommate Using The Air Fryer To Dry Random Sticks And Gumballs
Image credits: CommentBetter
#38 My Roommate Made Eggs In All These Pans Instead Of Just Washing One Pan Every Time They Make Eggs. Someone Save Me From This Nightmare
Image credits: Juancho511
#39 My Roommate Defrosts Meat In The Cabinet
So, as straight forward as it sounds: my roommate puts the meat in the cabinet in the morning, leaves for work and in the evening he uses that meat to cook.
Image credits: HowtoUninstallSkype
#40 I'm The Only One Who Cooks In This House And I Have No Room For Groceries
Image credits: NoConversation615
#41 My Roommate Used My Mouthwash And Replaced What He Used With Water
Image credits: SydneyRenne
#42 An Actual Text Conversation Between My Roommate And Me After She Woke Me Up At 4 AM
Image credits: Hour-Function-7435
#43 My Roommate Admitted To Using My Mixing Bowl To Soak His Feet While He Had An Ingrown Toenail
"But he washed it after!"
Image credits: FATT_TOFU
#44 Roommate Threw A Party Before Moving Out & Left His Mess For Us To Clean. Found His Cooler Full Of Alcohol Months Later
The smell was atrocious when I opened it, but worst of all is that that’s not water. It’s literally a moldy, stinky gelatinous clump. Tips on how to dispose / clean this appreciated.
Image credits: ashl3yjoe
#45 My Boyfriend Has Told His Messy Roommate Multiple Times That His Overwhelming Messes In Their Public Spaces Give Him Anxiety And Worsen His Depression. He Still Never Cleans
This is all only his stuff in the dining room and living room.
Image credits: yelworcyelhsa
#46 Every Day I Clean My Apartment Before Work, By The Time I Get Back It Looks Like This Thanks To My Roommate
Image credits: RedMontana369
#47 This Is The Doing Of One Person: My Roommate
Image credits: Stirnez
#48 This Is A New Low From My 40-Year-Old Man-Child Roommate That I Can’t Even Comprehend
Image credits: faridamehreen
#49 My Roommate Doesn’t Close Things
Image credits: callmestinkingwind
#50 Roommate Moved Out Without Warning With 12 Months Left In The Lease, Taking All The Furniture, Won't Pay His Half Of The Rent, And I Just Got Laid Off Due To Budget Cuts
He's coming back for the chair tomorrow and it's my dogs favorite.
Image credits: CauseOfBeth
