My Sister-in-Law Holidayed at a Resort While We Renovated the House—Now She Wants to Live in Comfort…

My sister-in-law has just come back from holidaying at a seaside resort while we were busy doing up the house, and now she expects to live here in comfort.

I suggested to her that we both chip in to refurbish the house, but she insisted she didnt need our help with the costs. Now, however, she wants to stay with us because her half of the house has no amenities. Thats entirely her own doing!

The house used to belong to my husbands gran. When she passed away, my husband and his sister inherited it between them. It was quite old, but we decided to restore it and make it our home. There are two front doors, so two families can comfortably live side by side without getting in each others way. The garden and back yard are shared, and both halves have the same number of rooms.

The inheritance was sorted out after my husband and I were married. It all went smoothlywe avoided drama. My mother-in-law made it clear from the start that she had no interest in the place, having grown used to city life. She told her son and daughter, Do as you please.

My husband and my brother-in-law managed to scrape together enough to fix the roof and shore up the foundations. We were eager to press on with the repairs, but my sister-in-law was in a strop. She wanted nothing to do with investing in what she called a ramshackle hut. Her husband simply bowed his head and walked awayhe’s never the arguing type.

My husband and I really wanted to live in that house. The village isnt far from town, and weve got a car, so commuting isnt a problem. Plus, we were fed up with being cramped in a tiny flat. Wed dreamed for ages of having a house of our own, but the cost of building one from scratch would have been eye-watering.
To my sister-in-law, the house was just a holiday bolt-hole. She only planned to come on weekends in the summer, fire up the barbecue, put her feet up. She warned us not to pin our hopes on her.

In four years, we completely renovated our half. We had to take out a loan, but that wasnt what mattered. We built a bathroom, installed proper heating, rewired, put in new windows, and painted the sunroom. It felt as if the work never endedand it was all worth it to chase our dream.

My sister-in-law spent most of her time off on holidays. She didnt care what we were doing or what became of her share. She lived for fun and comfort, unbothered by anything else. But then she had a baby and went on maternity leave.

Thats when her travels stopped and money got tight. Suddenly, she remembered her half of the house. Being stuck in a small flat with a little one must have been tough, when in the country the child could run free in the garden.

By this time, wed already moved in and were letting out our flat. Her half of the house was just as wed left it, but after all that time, it was practically falling to bits. I cannot imagine how she thought shed live there with no heatingshe turned up with just a suitcase for a whole month. After a week of her asking to stay with us, I had no choice but to let her in.

Her little boy is loud, and shes no differentshe just does as she pleases with no regard for others. Since I work from home, it really got to me, so in the end I went to stay with a friend for a bit. Luckily, my friend was away, so it worked out for everyonesomeone to keep an eye on her place.

As things happened, I came home nearly a month later. Id spent a week at my friends, but then my mum got ill and I needed to look after her. Id honestly forgotten all about my sister-in-law, thinking surely shed gone back ages ago.

Imagine my shock to find her still living at our place! She acted like the house was hers. I asked when she was planning to leave.

Where am I supposed to go? Ive got a young child, and were settled here, she said.
Tomorrow well take you back to town, I replied.
I dont want to go back to town.
You havent even bothered to help tidy up the house while youve been here. This isnt a hotel. Go back home.
What gives you the right to throw me out? This is my house!
Your house is the other side of the walloff you go.

She tried to turn her husband against me, but even he told her shed overstayed her welcome. She took offence and left, but a few hours later, my mother-in-law was on the phone to me:
You had no right to kick her outthats her property!
She could have stayed in her own halfshes the boss there, my husband told her.
And how is she supposed to live there with a child? Theres no heating, the loos outside. You could have taken care of your sister.

My husband finally had enough and told his mum the whole storyhow wed wanted to renovate both sides together. It would have cost less that way, but his sister refused. Why is everyone on our case now?

We decided to offer my sister-in-law a different arrangementshe could sell her half to my mum. She agreed, but she named a price so high we could buy an entire house in perfect condition for it. So that was a non-starter.

Now we keep falling out. My mother-in-law’s always offended, and Emily is a proper nuisance. They hardly ever come round, but when they do, theres loud music, mischief, and the garden ends up in a mess.

Weve started putting up a fence to clearly separate our part of the property. No more compromisesthat’s exactly what my sister-in-law wanted.