They say that renting with friends isn’t a good idea as the friction of everyday life may lead to broken friendships. On the flipside, renting with strangers isn’t a walk in the park either. Some flatmates can be lazy or forgetful, or even downright filthy.
When renting with others, it’s a given that everyone does their part in keeping the house tidy. After all, the rental space is shared between all co-tenants of the flat. But Kenneth’s flatmate, Darren, ignored these unspoken rules. This meant hell for Kenneth, who cleaned up after Darren for two years until he’d had enough and terminated the lease.
Sounds bad enough already, right? Wait till you hear the full story about Kenneth’s horrible roommate from hell.
Moving into the rental flat
Image credit: Singapore Walking Tours TV
As he wanted to live nearer to his workplace, Kenneth decided to rent a room in a 4-room HDB flat near Kallang. He was looking forward to meeting his new flatmates, one being the landlord Noah and the other being the co-tenant, Darren.
Landlord Noah was a middle-aged man who was often absent due to his overseas business trips. Darren, on the other hand, was in his mid-20s and seemed like a yaya papaya who had too much free time.
After a month of living together, Kenneth quickly realised that their personalities were different. Kenneth was a tidy and upright person who thought that time was better spent upskilling oneself rather than getting wasted. Darren was the opposite – he was unkempt and loved gaming and clubbing.
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Image credit: TubShroom
At first, his disgusting behaviour started small and involved things such as forgetting to flush the toilet and not keeping the sink clean. “Back then, I thought he was having a rough time, so I closed an eye. In hindsight, it was simply Darren being himself all along,” Kenneth shared.
Putting up with his habits
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Image credit: Unsplash
Kenneth spent the next two years tolerating Darren’s bad habits. Since Darren was an avid gamer who rarely took breaks, he often ate easy fixes such as cup noodles and takeout. However, Darren would often leave the empty food containers by his door, as if he’d ordered room service and was waiting for hotel staff to retrieve the dishes.
Other times, he’d leave the dirty containers in the kitchen sink, which invited pests such as ants to feast on the food. This irked Kenneth, who was taught to dispose of unwanted leftovers immediately and properly.
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Image credit: Unsplash
Another of Darren’s vices was clubbing, which often resulted in him coming home absolutely wasted. He’d pass out anywhere in their flat without showering or at least changing into clean clothes. “The next day, I’d wake up to find vomit on the floor while he would be back in his room sleeping or simply go missing,” Kenneth said.
Kenneth told himself that he was being a good co-tenant by helping Darren clean up. Clearly, his kindness was taken for granted.
A shocking discovery
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the insidious and pungent stench coming from Darren’s room. “Initially, I’d assumed it was his own body odour. But even when he wasn’t around, the stench persisted. It smelled like something was rotting, so I wanted to clear it out ASAP,” Kenneth said.
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Image credit: @lusand_cleaning
Kenneth took matters into his own hands; he opened Darren’s door and entered his room. The floor was strewn with soiled clothes since Darren couldn’t bother washing them. But even so, Kenneth knew there was something more, and the stench didn’t come from just dirty laundry.
Kenneth approached Darren’s bed, dismayed at the booger-filled headboard – Darren was collecting nose boogers and displaying them like a trophy board. “After that, my foot accidentally touched something lying on the floor. When I picked it up, I realised was a bottle filled with yellow liquid,” said Kenneth.
“Then it hit me. I was holding a bottle of pee.”
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Image credit: Reddit
Spurred on by a gut feeling, Kenneth bent down to look under the bed. He was aghast – more bottles of pee were stashed under the bed. Some weren’t even capped properly, so stale pee leaked onto the floor. All of these contributed to the pungent stench.
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Image credit: Reddit
Talking to Darren and the landlord
Kenneth was understandably fed up with Darren’s dirty habits and finally confronted him. Though Darren had sheepishly admitted to his doings, he didn’t apologise or promise to rectify the matter.
“Till now, I still get angry when I recall his words: ‘Kenneth, not all guys are clean like you. You just have to understand this. Some guys are even dirtier than me, so you’re better off with me than anyone else.’”
Kenneth had no choice but to surface the matter to his landlord, Noah. That’s when his whole ordeal got even stranger. Noah was utterly indifferent to Kenneth’s degeneracy. This situation seemed absurd to Kenneth – he was living with a roommate who was beyond dirty while the landlord didn’t care. It was like Kenneth was the strange one at this point. Did Noah not care about the state of his own apartment?
The last resort
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Image credit: Vimbox Movers Singapore
When he realised neither Noah nor Darren were going to fix the situation, Kenneth wanted out. He packed his belongings and went to the landlord to terminate his lease early. As a result, Kenneth lost his security deposit. Though it was a significant amount, Kenneth thought it was worth it if it meant that he could escape from Darren.
“I couldn’t take it anymore after tolerating it for two years. I gave Darren so many second chances and even cleaned up after him. He proved to be an obstinate, filthy man. I would never wish this on anyone,” Kenneth shared.
Kenneth learnt to be more discerning about his potential flatmates when renting, as well as lending kindness only to the right people. He shared that one should prioritise their own well-being, and if that means terminating your lease early and losing your deposit, go for it. Your mental health is worth more than that.
Names and stories have been edited slightly for clarity and privacy.
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Cover image adapted from: @lusand_cleaning, Reddit
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