AITA for telling my neighbor to mind her business and leave me alone?

One apartment dweller thought a portable washing machine was the perfect solution for laundry day convenience. Little did they know, a nosy neighbor had other plans and a direct line to the landlord, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown over suds and rules. This simple purchase was about to turn into a full-blown building feud.

I bought a portable washing machine online and it was delivered to my apartment. My neighbor saw my package and told me that isn’t allowed. I just ignored her and went back inside. She knocks on my door telling me I need to return it because it is against the rules.

A day later I get a text from my landlord telling me portable washers aren’t allowed and she knows I have one because she has photo evidence (neighbor took a picture before I was able to get to the package). I was outside one day taking groceries out of my trunk when my neighbor saw me and she asks me if I returned it.

I did not reply. I asked her to leave me alone. She told me it is not fair if everyone cannot have in-unit laundry and that I need to do the right thing. I again tell her to leave me alone as I walk back inside. She follows me telling me I am being inconsiderate and how the landlord will raise our rent because of me and how rude and selfish I am.

I told her I spoke to the landlord about it already and it is none of her concern. She said she lives in the building so it is her concern and she won’t let it go until she knows for certain I returned it.

Here’s how people reacted:

Valkrhae

~~ESH. Neighbor cares way too much about someone else’s business. But you don’t get a free pass for breaking the rules of the place you’re living in. I’ sure it sucks not having an easily accessible washing machine, but unless the landlord hid that info from you, it was something you agreed with when moving in.~~

Edit: baased on the info in comments, NTA. A verbal rule not included in the lease or any other paperwork/written down somewhere is not an acceptable rule. I don’t believe it can be legally enforced, and tenants should be notified of all rules before they sign a lease.

Trick_Photograph9758

NTA Sounds like you handled it perfectly.

infernoflower

NTA Neighbor and landlord need to mind their own business. For all they know the box they saw was a gift for a friend, delivered to your address because a family member wouldn’t be able to sign for it at their own home, box was reused and something else entirely was in the box. Tell them you had your witchcraft supplies delivered in that box to maintain your privacy.

WelfordNelferd

If your landlord said it was OK, NTA. Don’t even engage with your nosey neighbor anymore.

smart_farts_1077

INFO: Do you pay for your water usage, or is it included as part of your rent?

Also, what is the exact wording in your lease about the washer?

Klutzy-Squirrel8896

How old is your building? I live in a hundred year old building. It’s old, the wiring is old, everything is old. I had a new neighbor move in upstairs from me and while technically there is no clause in the lease about adding appliances, it’s understood by the residents, and gone over by the building manager prior to move in, that because of the age of the building, the old wiring won’t support more appliances. This new neighbor thought it didn’t apply to him because it wasn’t ‘”in the lease”.

So he bought what he wanted and blew out the fuses in all his neighbors apartments over 40 times in two months, ending with a blowout so bad that a bunch of us had no electricity to part of our apartments for over a month until the electrician could come lay some new wire and fix it. We told him about if after the first couple times, but he just kept plugging his shit in because “he’s allowed”. Needless to say, everyone in the building hates him and treats him like shit because he is an inconsiderate selfish asshole.

So, while yes, your neighbor is being an asshole for constantly harassing you about it, you are also kind of being an asshole for not listening and not following up with the landlord to see how an extra appliance might actually effect your neighbors. ESH. (saying I talked to the landlord to your neighbor doesn’t actually count as talking to them)

slap-a-frap

INFO: Do you really think it’s a good idea to split hairs and go AGAINST the verbal rule the landlord gave you when it comes time to renew your lease? I mean if you’re planning on moving at the end of the lease then no worries. But if you’re not, you do know that the landlord doesn’t have to renew on his end leaving you looking for a place that does allow portable washers, yeah?

wittyidiot

YTA. Maybe E_S_H given your busybody neighbor’s behavior, but she’s right and you’re wrong. You broke the rules and aren’t trying to rectify that. Reddit can’t give you permission to install an appliance you aren’t allowed to have.

SnooRadishes8848

YTA

CharmingGarlicky

ESH. She should mind her business, you broke the clearly stated rules, and the landlord shouldn’t be banning portable washing machines lol

P164

YTA people keep sneaking those into my building so the boiler constantly gets messed up and everyone has to go half a day or more without hot water

the_owl_syndicate

INFO

OK, so having read your comments, I have to ask, is the portable washing machine worth being evicted? Because depending on where you live and what kind of lease you have, your landlord can evict you, using the fact that you ignored her text about the washing machine as grounds that you broke the lease.

In other words, take the L on the washing machine and keep your home or keep the portable washing machine and set it up if you can find a new place with an eviction on your credit.

It doesn’t actually matter if it’s “right” or not, BTW. The real world doesn’t actually give a damn about “right”.

Conclusion

The tenant stood their ground, revealing they had already spoken to the landlord, effectively shutting down the neighbor’s interference. It seems this resident wasn’t about to be bullied into returning their new appliance, leaving the meddling neighbor fuming and the portable washer case closed. Was this the end of the feud, or just the beginning of more tenant drama?