Flatmate takes my food (even from my room) and avoids shared responsibilities — how to handle this
Living in a 3BHK with 4 people. Two of us have individual rooms, and the other two share a room.
I’m someone who naturally shares food, if I cook or buy something, I usually offer it. I don’t expect strict accounting, just basic mutual respect.
But one flatmate seems to take that as a free pass. He’ll eat my stuff or use things if given the chance, but never contributes or offers anything himself.
Example: I wanted to get milk for tea (no one else in my room drinks it). He asked me to get a ₹10 pack for himself, but that size wasn’t available, so I bought a 500ml pack. I used a little and told him he could take some if needed. Next morning the entire pack was gone.
Another time I went home for a week. Came back to find most of my dry fruits (cashews, almonds, raisins, dates — which I keep in my own room) almost finished.
There’s also a general lack of shared responsibility for example, we have one common washroom, and if I don’t clean it, no one does. I end up doing it because I can’t use a messy washroom.
It’s not about the cost it’s the overall pattern. I don’t want to create tension since this is company-provided housing, but I also don’t want to feel taken advantage of.
How would you handle this without turning it into a full-blown conflict?