We'll see if I'm in the minority here, but owning one property and renting out half of it is small potatoes. Think of it as trading one necessity (housing) for another (food).

Now, if you're making big money doing this, then you've passed a line.

You own a house. You live in it. This is fine.

You have an extra room that you add to the housing market. That's a net positive. It drives down costs.

The other option is that you live in that house alone and don't have that room available. That reduces supply and that's bad.

Sounds like you're getting a house at some point. That's great for you. Regarding the whole landlord issue you are struggling with: not all landlords are bad, in this circumstance your basically just offering extra space your not using in your house to someone else. That's pretty reasonable. If you really don't vibe with being a landlord in any capacity you could always sell up once it's your house and buy something smaller just for you.

Yes, it is possible to be a "landlord" in this fashion and keep your ethics intact. Just don't be an asshole about it.

Charge a reasonable rent for the other apartment, don't harass them if they are a few days late with rent, keep the place updated and well maintained. And certainly don't let an AI tell you what to charge. The best possible situation is to rent to a young person just starting out or a young family, who can use the time renting from you in a non-predatory fashion to build up savings to buy a place of their own, then rinse and repeat. Wouldn't that be fulfilling?

On the other hand, though, look into the basic tenant law in your area so you know what you're getting into, and make sure your lease contract is enforceable should it come to that. Some locales are notoriously tenant friendly. You might rent out your space to someone who signs all the paperwork saying that they will pay rent, and then when the time comes they never pay. This might persist even after their lease is up, and not move out when required to. But as a landlord, it will be totally your choice to decide what to do in that situation. While the law may allow you to evict that person, you don't have to escalate that far on day 1. The choices would be up to you. You can choose grace and patience if you want. It may not always be enough.

Your relative is doing this to give you a sustainable path to a better, more stable life. While this path is not for everyone, it doesn't automatically make you exploitative.

Yes it's ethical. People really don't understand basic economics and you can ignore them.

You're FAR too hung up on the term "landlord".

It is possible that they could spell out the terms in their will, and put the money in a trust that can only be used in certain conditions. There's also a good chance that they didn't, and we're just giving you some good advice on how to turn that lump sum into an income.

Even if they did spell it out in the will, There are no terms on what you must do with the duplex. You could fix it up and flip it immediately, or tear down the divider and just have one big house all to your self.

Although, I wouldn't think any less of you if you did rent out half of your home. We gotta do what we gotta do.

You want to know what's unethical? Planning and allowing someone close enough to receive an inheritance wait for you to die before you provide them housing. Hopefully I am off base here, but it sounds like they could set you up with this situation now.

It sounds pretty shitty for a landlord to charge enough to support the remainder of their life with the rental of only half of a house, and it sounds like that is the intended plan for you. Just don't charge so much as to be taking advantage of those without the privilege of inheritance, and you may even be providing value to the renters, as other comments have suggested. Feel good about that.

honoring the wishes of what is currently my last surviving relative (who I still remain in contact with and love dearly). Not to mention whatever might be a part of any legal stuff pertaining to her will. (which I know hardly anything about and still makes me panicked just typing about)

Regardless of what you decide about the ethics of it, consider that ultimately it is your life, your decision, and there are other ways to invest money. It's really unlikely that the will is going to effectively prohibit you from doing something with it other than becoming a landlord, not sure that's even possible. If you really want to prioritize honoring their wishes you can, but in the end you are the one who is going to have to actually live the life you build for yourself, not them, and no one has a right to make that kind of decision except you. Use your own judgment about what future you want and don't feel guilty for acting on it.

Based on your interest in being an ethical person, it seems like this situation could work out very well. It's totally possible to get the place set up so that you rent out a nice, very livable space for a tenant that is less expensive and/or nicer than other options they might have, and you will likely be a considerate landlord, which would make you and your tenants happy and comfortable with the situation.

Being a landlord is not inherently evil, nor is it inherently a complicated and frustrating existence. In fact, the world could probably use a lot more nice, considerate landlords. You could be one of them!

Landlords who live on the property they rent out are fine.

In the city I live in there are a lot of larger old houses that have been split into three living units, one on each floor. Theres no way to buy individual floors of these houses so if you want to own it yourself you either rent out two units or take two units of liveable space out of the market.

Owner occupied small properties are probably the least offensive kind of landlording, and in the example above, taking two units off the local market because you want to make sure the ethics are in check likely means two families will end up with worse landlords.

From a technical standpoint its still probably not 'ethical' but neither is half the things we have to do daily to not die the way the system is set up. Child and forced labor exist deep in the supply chain of materials that goes into our goods and food. Underage undocumented migrants fill US meat factories too.

First and foremost though, physician heal thyself. If this is the way you have to get housing for yourself, house yourself. No one else is going to house you because your ethics are on point. Maybe im a bad anarchist for this one, but if this property is the difference between you having a house and not, dont sweat it too much. Our society doesn't exactly shower us with housing choices these days.

This shit gives me real, lasting panic, so I actually want other peoples ethical discussion. I've reached the limits of my current strength, but don't want to be caught with pants down should they pass soon.

Why do you GAF what anybody here says? Sounds like you've been given a great opportunity. If it improves your life go for it. Let your conscience be your guide

There is a big difference between an absentee landlord and a live in one. Bar none my best rental experiences have been in flats where the landlord lived on the premesise. Your mere prescence means you will upkeep the property and also be choosy with the tenants which you are allowed to be when you live there. I also find they are the most likely to not raise the rent or keep it as modest as possible if you are a good tenant.

The type of landlord you are talking about is not the type most people complain about. In your case, this could be a fulltime and sometimes demanding job. Properties don't take care of themselves, and people suck. Expect to be repairing and repainting constantly. The rent you receive, after insurance and property taxes, might turn out to be less than minimum wage towards to the work you put in, BUT you do get a paid for roof over your head.

You don't really have to do what they tell you.