Access to a bathroom is essential in any living space, so it’s hard to imagine how one apartment tenant in Louisiana managed without one. Going by the username Alternative_Egg_6666 on Reddit, they posted to r/legaladvice, explaining their dilemma about using a shared bathroom with someone who allegedly refuses to share. They use a “Jack-and-Jill” bathroom setup, meaning the room serves as a shared space between the bedrooms. With permission from the landlord, Egg’s roommate is now able to lock them out from their side.
Initially, both tenants’ bedroom and bathroom doors lock from the inside, so neither of them can lock the other out of the shared bathroom, until now. “My roommate received permission from the landlord to change the locks on her bedroom door so that she can lock it from the outside,” Egg explained. When OP brought this up with the landlord, the response was rather discouraging.
The Louisiana Landlord and Property Manager Allegedly Shifted Responsibility
First, the landlord and property manager allegedly played the game of “it’s not my responsibility” for a bit before the manager urged Egg to “seek legal authorities if necessary.” In other words, they’re shifting things over for the police to handle, while one of their tenants is locked out of their own bathroom.
“Change lock on bathroom door so it locks from bedroom side,” suggested a commenter, as that would be the most straightforward solution. Egg responded, saying they don’t have approval to change the locks on their door. However, what Redditors were saying was that OP should “flip the handle” of the door, so their roommate can’t lock them out from their side.
Some questioned whether Egg even told their roommate about this issue, as there’s the possibility they’re not aware of this issue. After all, “landlords don’t tend to want to involve themselves in roommate squabbles unless it’s a super serious matter,” pointed out a user. “I wouldn’t expect much help from the landlord.”
In the end, Egg never informed anyone of their ultimatum to resolve this lack of access to their own bathroom. Their hope was perhaps to break the lease early over this, but they claim they can’t even prove their roommate is locking them out of the bathroom. That said, if they do end up being able to find another place to live, they might want to think twice about ever agreeing to a Jack-and-Jill setup again.
