Man Allows Sister to Move in with His Family If She Follows 1 House Rule, but She Doesn’t Listen

Family boundaries can be difficult to manage, especially when relatives live under the same roof. Balancing compassion for extended family with the responsibility to protect one’s own household often leads to conflict.

One father recently shared his struggle on Reddit after allowing his sister to stay in his home temporarily — a decision that quickly turned contentious.

Before she moved in, he made one rule clear: he didn’t care if she smoked, as long as it wasn’t inside the house or around his children. According to his post, his sister agreed.

That agreement didn’t last. He said he repeatedly caught her smoking indoors or near his kids. Each time he confronted her, she brushed off his concerns and accused him of overreacting. Eventually, he warned her that if it happened again, she wouldn’t be able to stay.

When the rule was broken once more, he followed through and asked her to leave — a choice that immediately caused tension throughout the family.

His sister told relatives that she had been kicked out “over nothing,” while his wife, although supportive of the rule itself, felt he should have handled the situation more gently or given his sister another chance, especially since she had nowhere else to go.

The conflict deepened when his mother criticized him, accusing him of embarrassing the family and abandoning his sister when she needed help most.

Caught between protecting his children and maintaining family harmony, the father admitted he began to second-guess himself. Still, he stood by his belief that his children’s health had to come first, even as pressure mounted from both his wife and mother.

Many commenters rallied behind him, saying he did the right thing by enforcing boundaries. Several shared similar experiences of removing family members who ignored household rules.

“If you don’t draw a line in the sand, no one else will,” one commenter wrote, while another emphasized that it wasn’t the sister’s home and she needed to respect that.

Another user added that even without children involved, homeowners have the right to set rules. Others echoed that sentiment, noting that he clearly communicated expectations, gave warnings, and followed through.

“You didn’t overreact,” one commenter wrote. “You set boundaries and enforced them. No means no — and she can smoke somewhere else.”