My Sister-in-Law Spent Her Holidays at a Luxury Resort While We Renovated the House, and Now She Wants to Live Comfortably with Us We Suggested Sharing the Renovation Costs with My Sister-in-Law, but She Refused—Now She Wants to Move In Because Her Half Has No Modern Conveniences. So It’s Her Own Fault! The House Belonged to My Husband’s Grandmother—He and His Sister Inherited It, and Though It Was Run-Down, We Decided to Renovate and Make It Our Home. With Two Separate Entrances, It Was Perfect for Two Families, Each Having Their Own Space, and the Garden Was Shared. Both Sides Had the Same Number of Rooms. The Inheritance Was Settled Quietly After We Married. My Mother-in-Law Refused Her Share, Preferring City Life, and Told Her Children to Do as They Pleased. My Husband and Brother-in-Law Saved Up to Fix the Roof and Reinforce the Foundations, Hoping to Continue the Renovations, but My Sister-in-Law Blew Up—She Didn’t Want to Invest in This “Shabby Cottage.” Her Husband Didn’t Argue. We Longed to Live There—The Village Was Close to the City, We Had a Car, and Were Tired of Our Tiny Flat. Building a New House Was Beyond Our Means. For My Sister-in-Law, the Place Was Just a Holiday Home—Perfect for Weekend Barbecues. She Made It Clear She Wouldn’t Help. Over Four Years, We Fully Renovated Our Side—Taking Out Loans for a Bathroom, Heating, New Wiring, Windows, and a Glazed Conservatory. We Poured Our Hearts Into It, Driven by the Dream of a Proper Home. Meanwhile, My Sister-in-Law Was Always Abroad on Holiday, Unconcerned with Her Half of the House—Until She Had a Baby and Went on Maternity Leave. Suddenly, Her Earnings Stopped, and She Remembered Her Half of the House. Stuck in a Small Flat with a Toddler, She Wanted the Child to Play Outdoors—So She Came to Stay for “Just a Week.” I Let Her In, But Her Son Was Wild, and She Was inconsiderate. I Had to Move Out Temporarily to Work. After Nearly a Month Away Caring for My Mum, I Returned to Find Her Still There, Acting Like It Was Her Own Place. When I Asked When She’d Be Leaving, She Said: “Where Should I Go? I’m Fine Here With My Child.” I Told Her to Move Back to the City, but She Refused—Her Half Was Uninhabitable, Without Heating or Indoor Plumbing. She Tried Turning My Husband Against Me, but Even He Was Fed Up. She Left in a Huff—Only to Get My Mother-in-Law on the Phone, Telling Me Off for Kicking Her Out of “Her Own Home.” My Husband Explained We’d Offered to Split the Renovation Costs—It Would’ve Been Cheaper and Easier, but She Declined. So Why Blame Us Now? We Then Offered to Buy Her Out, but She Demanded a Price Fit for a Newly Renovated Home—Completely Unreasonable. Now There Are Constant Arguments, His Mother Sulking and Alina Being a Nuisance. They Rarely Visit, but When They Do, They Hold Rowdy Parties and Damage the Property. We’ve Started Building a Fence to Separate the Gardens Completely—No More Compromises, Just as My Sister-in-Law Wanted.

So, you wont believe whats been going on with my sister-in-law. While we were busy renovating the old family house, she was off spending her summer at some fancy holiday park. Now suddenly, she wants all the comfort without having put in any of the work!

Wed actually suggested to her that we all chip in to fix up the house togetheryou know, split the costsbut she didnt want any part of it. Not interested, dont need it, she said. And now, because her half of the house doesnt even have the basics, shes after us to let her move in! Its her own fault, honestly.

So, the house used to belong to my husbands gran. When she passed away, he and his sister each inherited half. The place was pretty run-down, but we thought if we did it up, itd make a great home. Its got two separate entrances, perfect for both families to live side by side without tripping over one another. The garden and the shed are shared, and both halves are basically the same size with the same number of rooms.

The inheritance was sorted after my husband and I were already married, and everything was done calmly. My mother-in-law wanted nothing to do with itshes always been the city type. She told her kids to do whatever they liked, didn’t want the house herself.

My husband and his brother-in-law managed to save up a bit, so they fixed the roof and shored up the foundations. Wed hoped to keep renovating, but my sister-in-law kicked up a proper fuss. She wasnt about to invest in that old dump, as she called it. Her husband just looked at his shoes and left the roomhe never stands up to her.

Our plan was always to move into the house ourselves. The village is not far from town and weve got our own car, so commutings not a problem. Plus, we were both fed up of squeezing into our tiny little flat. Building a new house from scratch would have cost a fortune, but this place was something we could actually make our own.

For my sister-in-law, the house was nothing but a holiday cottage. She just wanted to come over in the summer, have a few barbecues and chill out. She told us not to count on her for anything.

Over the next four years, we completely gutted and refurbished our half. It wasnt easywe had to get a loanbut we put in a bathroom, sorted the heating, rewired everything, got new windows put in, and even properly glazed the porch. There were times it felt like we never slept, but we were determined to make it happen.

All the while, my sister-in-law was swanning off on her holidays. She couldnt care less what we were doing with her side of the house. She wanted to enjoy life and not worry about boring things like home improvements. But then she had a baby and started maternity leave.

Thats when the holidays stopped, and money got tighter. Suddenly, she remembered her half of the house. With a little one to think of, her cramped city flat started to feel even smaller and she realised how nice it would be to let her boy run around in the fresh air.

By that time, wed moved into the house ourselves and were renting out our old flat. We hadnt touched her side, but after years of neglect, it had gone pretty much to ruin. I honestly dont know how she expected to live there with no heating or proper bathroomshe turned up for a month with just a suitcase! She began begging to stay at ours just for a weekwhat could I say? I let her in.

Her son is a real livewire. To be fair, so is she. She did as she pleased, never thought about anyone else. Since I work from home, it totally threw me off balance, so in the end, I stayed at my mates place for a while. She was going away anyway, so at least someone was keeping an eye on her flat.

As things turned out, I ended up staying away nearly a montha week at my friends, then Mum got ill and needed looking after. Honestly, I forgot all about my sister-in-law, I just assumed shed gone back home ages ago.

You should have seen my face when I got back and found her still at ours! Acting like she owned the place. I asked her when she was leaving.

She goes, And where would I go? The little ones happy here.
I said, Well, tomorrow well run you back into town.
She just shrugs, Dont fancy going back to town.
So I tell her, You didnt even bother to clean up, you know. This isnt a hotel.
She snaps, How dare you kick me out? This is my home too.
I replied, Your homes on the other side of the wall, not here.

She tried to get my husband on her side, but, thankfully, he backed me up and let her know she’s out of line. Off she went, all offended. A few hours later, my mother-in-law started ringing up:
You had no right to throw her out! Its just as much her house.
My husband said, She can stay in her own half; we didnt stop her.
But hows she meant to live there with a young child? his mum said. Theres not even heating, and the loos in the garden! You should be looking out for your sister.

He lost his rag and told her everythingthat wed offered to do all the work together from the start, it wouldve cost a lot less. She refused. Whys everyone blaming us now?

So, weve offered his sister an alternative: she could sell us her half. She agreed, but the price she wanted was what youd pay for a place in tip-top shape, not a crumbling wreck. Not exactly fair.

Now its all argumentsmy mother-in-law sulking, and Rebecca (thats my sister-in-law) being a pain. They hardly come round, but when they do, its always a noisy gathering, something gets broken, or the garden gets trashed.

Weve decided enough is enough. Were putting up a proper fence to split the properties. No more trying to compromisethis is what Rebecca wanted, after all.