I (30M) recently bought a small condo after years of renting. It’s not some luxury apartment or anything, just a simple one-bedroom, a little dated, but it’s mine. I scraped together the down payment through years of saving, picking up side gigs, and cutting out pretty much every “extra” in my life. I even got a little lucky last year, with some extra money coming my way, which I threw straight into my savings instead of doing something fun with it.

Honestly, buying this place was a huge emotional milestone for me. Growing up, my family always rented and moved around a lot. I always dreamed of having something that was mine, something stable. I’ve been really careful about setting it up the way I want, keeping it peaceful, and maintaining it properly because I know how much work and money it took to get here.

Enter my friend "Jason" (31M). Jason and I have been friends since college. We even lived together once, but it was... rough. He was messy to the point of gross (think moldy dishes left for weeks), constantly late on utilities, and had a revolving door of random people over at all hours. When I finally moved out, we stayed friends, but I always knew I could never live with him again.

Anyway, Jason just got evicted last month. He admitted he hadn't paid rent for a couple months because he "got behind" after quitting a job he hated. He texted me asking if he could crash at my condo “just for a couple months” while he gets back on his feet.

I told him no. Politely. I even offered to help him look for cheap rooms to rent on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, and said if he needed a little money to cover a deposit somewhere, I could spot him a bit. But I was clear: I can’t have a roommate right now.

He did not take it well. He accused me of abandoning him, acting like I think I’m better than him just because I “got lucky” and bought a place. He said real friends "show up" when you’re struggling. Our mutual friends are now split - some understand my side, others are saying I could let him stay temporarily and set ground rules.

I feel torn because I get that housing insecurity is a real problem, and I hate the idea of him struggling. But at the same time... this place is my safe space. I worked years to build this life. I don’t want to risk losing it because someone else can’t get it together.

Am I the AITA?