Neighbor Returns Tools Damaged: AITA for Refusing to Lend Again?

AITA for refusing to lend my neighbor tools after they returned them damaged? Opinions are divided, with some saying NTA due to damaged property, while others suggest giving a second chance.

Damjan

Published in Interesting
10 Mar 2026

Neighbor Returns Tools Damaged: AITA for Refusing to Lend Again?

It started with a simple loan, a neighbor asking to borrow an electric drill, and it turned into the kind of small-town drama nobody asked for. OP is the type who collects tools for DIY projects, not because he’s a hoarder, but because he actually fixes things. So when the neighbor came by for a quick shelf job, it sounded harmless.

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The first time, everything seemed fine until the drill came back with a bent bit and a cracked battery casing. OP knew it was not “already like that,” because he had used it just a week earlier. He didn’t want a fight, so he replaced the damaged parts himself, then tried to move on.

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Then the ladder request showed up, and suddenly “neighbors help each other” sounded a lot like “neighbors keep replacing your damage.”

Original Post

I like doing small DIY projects, so over the years I’ve collected a decent set of tools. Nothing extremely expensive, but some of them definitely weren’t cheap either.

A few months ago my neighbor asked if he could borrow my electric drill to fix a shelf in his garage. I said sure and told him to just bring it back when he was done.

He returned it a couple days later, but I noticed the drill bit was bent and the battery casing had a c***k in it. When I asked him about it, he said it must have already been like that, which I know wasn’t true because I had used it the week before.

I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I just let it go and ended up replacing the damaged parts myself. Last week he knocked on my door again asking if he could borrow my ladder and a few other tools for another project.

This time I told him I’d prefer not to lend out my tools anymore. He got a bit annoyed and said neighbors are supposed to help each other out and that I was being stingy.

Now a couple of other neighbors have heard about it, and one of them said I could have just given him another chance. From my perspective, I already helped once and ended up with damaged equipment.