AITA for breaking the flat contract
After university, my two friends (a couple) and I decided to rent a place together for a year. We were all exhausted after uni and didn’t want to deal with random housemates or difficult landlords, so we stayed in the same location all 10 minutes away from our university, but far from pretty much everything else. We were on different courses but we knew each other from the first year and after we finished, we got together and thought it's a great plan.
The problem is that I work in the city centre, so my commute is around 1.5 hours each way, while they both work locally. I had lived with one of them during university (just for the last year) and he was genuinely a great friend and easy to live with, which is why I agreed to this arrangement in the first place.
But once it became just him and his girlfriend, it honestly felt like I was living with completely different people.
Over time, it started feeling less like a shared flat and more like their flat that I happened to pay for. They took over most of the kitchen and living room space, the washing machine was constantly occupied, dishes piled up for days, and there were often no clean plates or cutlery available (I complained about them not doing the dishes so they started using the dishwasher but there's no one to empty it).
His girlfriend was also unemployed for around two months, and during that time the heating was on basically 24/7, which obviously affected bills as well.
I’ve always tried to be clean, considerate, and easy to live with, but it never really felt reciprocated. Honestly, I started feeling like they really wanted to live alone as a couple, but couldn’t afford to, so having me there was just a financial necessity.
Now, with the new UK tenancy rules, I can leave the contract with two months’ notice. My tenancy officially ends in September, but I’ve already seen several good places available this summer. I already told them I wouldn’t be staying for another year, and they’ve started asking friends about replacing me.
The issue is that if I leave earlier, it speeds everything up by about three months, and there’s a good chance they’ll have to either move out or live with a stranger to keep the flat.
I think I’ve already made up my mind about leaving early because I’m honestly fed up with how ignored and uncomfortable I’ve felt living here. But I also know I’m a massive people pleaser, and I feel guilty about causing inconvenience for them.
So I guess I’m asking - would I be an asshole for leaving early (which would cause all the potential problems for them).