AITA for Not Mailing a Previous Tenant’s Old Letters?

A person who recently moved into a Brooklyn apartment has been holding onto mail belonging to a previous tenant. Despite offering multiple ways for the tenant to retrieve her mail, including leaving it in the building lobby and connecting her with the person’s wife in Manhattan, the tenant couldn’t make any of the arrangements work.

She then asked for the mail to be sent to her, but the person declined, citing the inconvenience of walking to the nearest post office. Now, the tenant seems offended, leaving the person questioning if they should have mailed the letters. read the original story below…

‘ AITA for Not Mailing a Previous Tenant’s Old Letters?’

I recently moved into a new apartment that has been vacant for 6+ months. Upon checking the mailbox, there were several important looking letters and possibly checks that had been delivered for the previous tenant. I reached out to the landlord who put me on an email with them.

I offered to meet them at the apartment, but one of the former tenants indicated that she no longer lived in the area. However, she was going to be in town for work for three days, so she asked if I could meet her by her office building in Midtown Manhattan.

For context, the apartment is in Brooklyn, roughly 1 hour from Midtown. I let her know that I don’t work in Manhattan but offered to connect her with my wife who will be at her office in Downtown Manhattan, about 15 minutes from Midtown during one of those days.

We offered some time slots, but the previous tenant was not able to make those times. Then, I offered to leave them in my apartment building lobby to be picked up at her convenience. She agreed to this and said she would pick them up the next morning.

In the morning, she called and said that her plans changed and she was no longer able to make it. She asked if I can mail the letters to her. For context, I don’t have a car and the nearest post office is a 0.7 mile walk from the apartment.

I asked if she could have a friend pick up, or if one of her former roommates (who is coming later this week) could take them and mail to her. She said she would ask, but sounded offended that I would not mail them.

I felt like I already went out of my way to reach out, hold the letters in a small apartment (they’ve been sitting on one of my dining room chairs), and offer solutions for her to get them.

Going to the post office is a 45 – 60 minute errand, and I didn’t feel it was justified given that she had made no real effort to retrieve her letters. However, maybe I am being too critical and should have been a nice person and done it. AITA??

Let’s dive into the reactions from Reddit:

BigBigBigTree −  BRO. Write “not at this address, return to sender” on the pieces of mail and drop them in a mailbox. Or like, there’s probably a way to get the mail carrier who delivers your mail to take them with. Either way, you’re making this way more of an issue than it needs to be. NAH but none of this is necessary.

ImpressionAcademic −  NTA, but in the future the best thing to do is write “wrong address” and/or “return to sender” on the envelope and drop it in any outgoing mailbox. No need to actually take it to the post office.

It was very nice of you to try to get her mail to her, but it’s really on her to set up forwarding and update her address. You don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s mail or be accused of stealing it.

CandylandCanada −  Wild guess here – do you consider yourself a people-pleaser? You’ve done more than enough. This is not – and never was – your problem.. NTA

PlantManMD −  Did the original receiver file an official change of address form with the post office? If so, mark them “Addressee Moved, Please Forward”. Otherwise “Addressee Not At This Address, Return To Sender” and drop them into the mail.

Miserable_Dentist_70 −  Sounds like a lot of fuss over nothing. Just write “not at this address” and leave in the box for the carrier to pick up. No idea why you went through all of this.. ESH

Waste_Worker6122 −  NTA. You’d think former tenant would make more of an effort. Just write “return to sender addressee not at this address” on all the envelopes and d**p them in the nearest mailbox. They’ll eventually make their way where they belong.

SeveredSandwich −  NTA, they should have arranged to have their mail redirected. You’d done more than enough by offering.

woodant24 −  Are you for real? After one attempt to get the letters to her it’s not your problem! Write in the letters” wrong Address Return to Sender”

SavingsRhubarb8746 −  Why are you going to all that trouble? If you have the new address of the former tenant from the landlord, cross out yours and write in the new one and drop the mail in any mailbox.

If you don’t have the former tenant’s new address, write “Not at this address” or “Moved” and drop the mail in any mailbox. Maybe you live somewhere this is not possible… Sure, it could be kind to return the mail in person, but that’s common if they’ve moved, say, next door or down the street – not making a special trip to Manhattan, or across Manhattan.

Only-Memory2627 −  You don’t have to go to the post office to forward mail. Just write the new address on the envelopes and drop in mailbox.

Should someone be expected to go out of their way to mail items for a previous tenant, or was the person justified in setting boundaries? What would you have done in this situation? Share your thoughts below!