It can be the opposite of fun to have bad neighbors. Oftentimes, the unfortunate event can come about suddenly, and without any due warning too. In fact, it may happen to anyone and it’s not necessarily related to how good or bad a specific neighborhood is.
You just moved to a new neighborhood in a new town or city, and there they are – the Neighbors from Hell. Wait, didn’t your realtor/landlord assure you multiple times that you’d be surrounded by lovely neighbors?
Also, in a classic case of bad luck, problem neighbors may have recently moved into the vacant house next door or the top-floor apartment in your residential building before you have the chance to realize what’s happening.
As time goes by, some bad neighbors may turn out to be not as bad as you thought they were in the very beginning – that’s the good news. The bad news is that there may also be those folks next door who can easily turn your peaceful existence into a living nightmare.
So, what should you do? How to deal with bad neighbors? And what if you can’t reason with those people – does that mean that sooner or later you’ll be forced to move out because of bad neighbors?
If living around your new neighbors did become real torture, then moving because of neighbors could be the only option left for you to keep your sanity.
Your new neighbors are too nosy or gossipy
If you’re lucky, the worst thing about your new neighbors will be their excessive nosiness and their gossipy nature. There will always be nosy and gossipy neighbors wherever you go – sad people whose only occupation and purpose in life are to know everything about anyone living around them, at any cost, and then to spread around that “vital” information.
And while the folks next door seem uncharacteristically interested in your own affairs – things that do not really concern them in any way, having to deal with gossipy neighbors is not, at least in most cases, something that you should be seriously worried about.
It may take a few encounters before you spot them, but you’ll know who those sworn gossips are soon enough. When talking with gossipy neighbors, you should be extra careful not to disclose any sensitive personal information that you wouldn’t want everybody in a 5-mile radius to know.
Moving away because of nosy and gossipy neighbors is almost never worth it. The best course of action for you is to ignore those pitiful individuals, keep them at a healthy distance, and not preoccupy yourself with what they have to say.
See also: How to meet new neighbors after moving
Your new neighbors are excessively noisy
Noise pollution within a residential area is one of the most frequent issues and a never-ending source of disagreements and disputes among neighbors. Ideally, any excessive noise coming from your new neighbors will be the result of a planned situation or a scheduled event that will only be temporary.
But unfortunately, our world is far from being ideal.
Moving house because of noisy neighbors could become a necessity in the case of:
- Loud parties. A party celebration at some time or another should be ok, but regular wild parties after 11 pm with music at deafening levels and thunderous laughter and earsplitting screams are NOT ok.
- Constant fighting. Are the new neighbors always fighting over something? Incessant shouts and serious threats that often end up with the sound of things being smashed to pieces? The unmistakable sound of someone crying and sobbing after all the fighting?
- Musical instruments. The sound of a neighbor practicing on the piano or a violin every day can be bothersome, but very few instruments can produce a more maddening racket than a drum set.
- Raucous pets. If your neighbor’s dog never stops barking or their cat keeps meowing at crazy times, night or day, then it’s time to have a serious talk with those inconsiderate neighbors of yours.
Remember that the best way to deal with noisy neighbors is to have a chat with them and explain the situation calmly without seeking to attack them first or get too confrontational. It’s possible that your new neighbors hadn’t truly realized the trouble they were causing you and they may be willing to resolve the dispute without escalating it unnecessary.
Sometimes a simple conversation with your troublesome neighbors is all it takes to clear up any misunderstandings and help you solve the noise pollution problem. If not, then you may consider making a peace disturbance call to the local law enforcement.
Read also: What questions to ask neighbors when moving
Your new neighbors are too inconsiderate or too negligent
Bad neighbors come in all shapes and sizes. In reality, having to deal with people who are too nosy or even too noisy may be the least of your worries when moving to a new neighborhood or when such troublesome folks move next door to where you live.
Very inconsiderate or highly negligent neighbors can cause a number of serious problems for you as well.
- Pets. Your neighbors are obliged to control their pets and restrain them, if necessary. Therefore, if their dogs or cats are always coming over to your property and causing all types of trouble, then you should consider erecting a proper fence or contacting the local animal control agency for additional help. As you know, there are laws that require people to control their pets or clean up after them.
Of course, you should do those steps only after the pets’ owners refuse to do anything about it. - Property damage. If your new neighbors are causing or have caused damage to your property – most often some type of water damage, then they will be legally responsible for the damage to your home and will be required to cover the repair or restoration costs.
In such cases, your local public works or the government zoning agency can help you resolve such more serious issues with the folks next door. - Trees. Believe it or not, a tree can often become a source of trouble between neighbors. A tree can block a good view or it can fall on another person’s property and cause serious damage.
So, if the trunk of a problem tree falls within your neighbors’ property, then they are the owners of that tree no matter how far its branches or leaves extend. - Fences. Fences are often a source of serious disputes among neighbors living in adjacent houses. Fences never grow overnight, so if you spot any signs that your neighbor is thinking about erecting a fence between his property and yours, you have to make sure that the property line marks are accurate.
Act quickly to prevent much bigger problems later because it’s much harder to move a fence once it’s already constructed.
Must-read: How to find the right home when moving to a new city
Your new neighbors are too suspicious or too dangerous
Many neighbor disputes and misunderstandings can range from being minor nuisances to major problems that need to be solved one way or another.
However, if you suspect that your new neighbors are involved in any illegal activities – like growing marijuana, for example, then you must inform the police immediately. Remember any offenses or crimes next door should be addressed for the safety of the entire community and for your own safety as well.
You don’t have to reveal that you’re the concerned neighbor when you call the police.
Steps to take against your bad neighbors
Moving out because of bad neighbors should be the last resort – you should do all in your power to resolve whatever issue(s) you have with the folks next door and consider a house move only after you’ve exhausted all the possibilities to make peace with your Neighbors from Hell.
The majority of neighbor disputes should follow these resolution steps:
- Step 1. TALK with your neighbors about the problem at hand and try to work out a solution that will work out fine for everyone. Be candid and non-confrontational. Talking out first is, by far, the easiest way to solve most problems. If this fail, then
- Step 2. GET in touch with the homeowners’ association (HOA) if your community has one. HOAs have clear guidelines for almost everything, including the height of fences, so the association should step in and hopefully help you resolve the dispute in your favor. If this fail, then
- Step 3. ALERT local government agencies in the absence of a HOA – local ordinances and laws may be able to help you out with a specific complaint against your bad neighbors. If this fail, then
- Step 4. SPEAK with an attorney to find out whether taking your awful neighbors to court is a step worth taking. If this fails, then
- Step 5. MOVE OUT – your health is the most important thing, don’t ruin it with senseless fights with appalling people who cannot possibly be reasoned with.
Good to know: How to find good long-distance movers
Thanks for the helpful article, though I have to say that in my experience, talking to and trying to reason with neighbours from hell is s complete waste of time. All it does is place you on their radar for acts of petty revenge and general belligerence. Several years ago, I bought a small semi detached house to retire in as I hit the age of seventy. It wasn’t big or fancy but it was home and I spent a lot of money getting it renovated and installing things like disability ramps as I am extremely arthritic. The owner of the adjoining property turned out to be a young jerk who gets a kick from bullying and abusing older women. He refuses to maintain his side of the property which has caused me no end of trouble and expense, like his gutters for example, which he never cleans out, and which overflowed during a storm and caused water damage to my property. Whenever I try to talk to him he calls me a mad old bag and tells me to shut-up and leave him alone. When he moved out because he’d purchased s second house I was joyfully relieved. But, then my troubles really ramped up. He rented the house next door to a couple of rednecks. Not only were they extremely noisy and left their front door wide open in winter and summer with their seventy inch tv booming until the small hours each and every night, they took over my parking spot for one of their trucks and refused to let me have it back, which forced me to park out in the street. The heavily tattooed husband was a surly bully, and his wizened shrewish wife took great pleasure in conducting loud phone conversations outside my bedroom window. She quit her job and turned the house into a soap and candle factory which was illegal in our residential only zoned area. I was forced to call local authorities who issued a fine but this only enraged them further and they took it out on me in a variety of ways. The husband would urinate on my potted plants and the wife allowed customers to come and buy soap and candles day and night which the authorities had strictly prohibited her from doing. The overwhelming smell of cheap perfumed oils she used in her candle manufacturing, as well as soap fumes, invaded my home to the point where I wound up in hospital on three separate occasions suffering serious attacks from my asthma. When I tried to speak reasonably with her she just called me a B to my face and continued on regardless. She and her husband began going through my trash which was extremely stressful, and she poured candle wax down the drains and blocked the water pipes and caused one to rupture and flood part of my property. When I tried to claim on insurance, whose policies are taken out jointly by both owners as the law states here, they refused to pay out because the other owner had lied on his policy, saying it was owner occupied, not rented and that no business involving manufacturing was being conducted on the premises. When I tried to confront him he blocked my number and splashed red paint all over my fence. I am elderly, widowed and my few remaining friends and relatives are elderly and can’t help other than to offer comfort and suggest I call the police. When Covid struck, the neighbours moved out in the middle of the night and the owner was forced to install a new tenant quickly. Our joint property contract states that no one can own a dog without written permission from the other owner. I love animals and would have happily agreed to a small dog but instead, he rented the property to yet another red neck who owns a massive pit bull Rottweiler cross. Again, my parking spot was used without my permission, and loud music and internet pornography booms from his huge tv in his living room at night. He and his girlfriend go camping most weekends and leave the dog in the yard. Ditto during the week when he’s at work installing air conditioners. So, soon after he moved in, aside from barking incessantly an howling loudly whenever the dog is left alone in the tiny, metal fenced yard, the dog began digging its way out and escaping. It attacked me and tore my coat when I was getting the mail. I had to fight it off with my umbrella and only just made it inside. On another occasion it attacked my elderly neighbour’s small dog when she was taking it out for a walk, and now she is terrified to go out. It attacked another neighbours two tiny dachshund. It runs amok in the street and goes into people’s yards and driveways, and has been picked up twice now by the pound, running miles away along busy main roads without a collar, which the owner refuses to put on him. Today it was picked up outside an elementary school and taken to the pound again, where the owner will just pay the fine and take it home. It digs massive holes under the fence in no time flat, and has exposed and bitten through drainage pipes. Today the owner was so angry he had to pay a hefty fine at the pound, he yelled at me when he got home, which frightened me because he is a big, strong man, and blamed me for his dog getting out. He told me his job was very important and I was not to call him when the dog gets out in future, which I have done on several occasions to save him getting fined by animal management. But even more importantly, in taking it out on the dog by punching it really hard on its lower back, making it yelp in pain,!and then not feeding it as punishment. I am at my wits end as he just shoves plastic garbage bins and wooden palates over the holes the dog digs to deter it from escaping, but it always gets through. Now this is happening twice a week at least, and Im afraid to go out my front door, and walk down our joint driveway, because the dog charges at me and knocks me down. My health is suffering. I am severely stressed, and can’t sleep. I have become a pathetic old lady too anxious to leave my own home for fear of getting attacked by the dog or yelled at by the owner, who is a big, burly young guy who lifts weights at the gym. I know this might sound mean, but I really believe that the house owner allowed that dog to live there in the first place, because he knew it would make my life the sheer misery it has become. I’m so sleep deprived and distracted by worry that I had a bad fall outside the post office and fractured my hip, ankle, wrist and wrenched my shoulder. I have been on crutches and in considerable pain now for weeks. Today I have decided to sell, after receiving an abusive text from the dog owner for failing to inform him that his dog had escaped. It was caught by the pound outside the school, and the owner had to pay a large fine. Basically I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I have sought legal advice about taking this to court, but it will cost me a fortune and might not turn out in my favour, and will only make things worse as far as the bullying goes. I am so sad because this little house was perfectly fixed up for my winter years and I’ll take a large loss in selling it. But what choice do I have? The mere prospect of house hunting and moving all over again at my age is utterly exhausting. Wherever I go next, I won’t be able to afford to fix it up like I’ve done here. Sometimes I get really depressed because I never expected things would turn out this way after so many decades of hard work and saving. One positive thing to come out of all this, is that I have learned that neighbours are everything when it comes to happiness in your new home. Next time I’m going to stake out the people in either side before I buy and it definitely won’t be a semi detached. I thank you for giving me this chance to tell my story, and I can only hope it will help someone else out there who is living in a small corner of hell like I am, especially if they’re a senior citizen on their own. I really believe after what I have experienced, that this type of situation with neighbours who bully, threaten and verbally abuse the elderly, is an unwritten form of elder abuse prevalent in today’s society, that needs further investigation. Thank you again and God bless you.
this makes me really mad i wish i could help you out so much. i love dealing with bullies especially when they pick on the elderly ive done it before and corrected them. I hope to God you get this situated and you can live in peace
Yes I need help with neighbors bullying me, please.
I am so sorry you have to go through this. Have you tried a restraining order? At least that will keep them away from you. Have you tried reaching out to a local church? Perhaps some kind soul would help you out. I would educate myself on all the city ordnances and call the city. Can you put cameras in? Try calling your alderman for help.
Not all video camera recordings of crimes are taken by the civil court as true evidence in the case of a restraining order’s request. It all depends on each individual Judge’s opinion in the case. They seam to be bias when it comes to certain individuals as well. A Judge sympathized with a convicted criminal simply because he gave as an excuse his mom’s heart condition. The Judge inappropriately said “oh that’s exactly what is happening with me”. Needless to say he denied the restraining order for the victim’s protection.
After spending top dollars in attorney’s fees,
The victim had to rely solely in a short period stay away order from the criminal court’s Judge.
When I read your story I cried. I know the feeling of being excited about your surroundings only to have those positive future outlooks pulled out from under your feet through no fault of your own. The thing I don’t understand is why weren’t the police stepping up & protecting you more? I’m utterly shocked that they didn’t do their job to protect the most vulnerable: the elderly, kids, & animals. What in God’s name were they thinking. I just moved from an apartment that I really liked. It was in a nice residential neighborhood & only a couple blocks from my elderly mother. Everything was great in the beginning until my neighbor above me moved in. Right away I knew something was off. The apartment building was old & had no sound barrier. My ceiling touched his floor. I found out he had placed mini-pinhole cameras through the floor into my ceiling so he could spy on me. It was awful to have my privacy taken away every day. I tried to talk to my landlord who would not intervene for me. I called the Code Enforcement Officer to see if he could setup a strategic unscheduled inspection of his apartment. I called the police in my district over-and-over but they’d try to gaslight me by saying things like, “Now why would he do that?” “Have you’ve actually seen a camera?” “You know that’s very technical & expensive. I don’t believe he has the wherewithal or money to do that.”
It’s not expensive. You can buy these little intrusive devices in packs for under $100; they’re USB rechargeable & you can control them with a laptop, iPad or smartphone.
The police were wrong. My neighbor knew I knew he was voyeuring me so eventually he just came out & started making himself obvious. He’d call me names through the floor; wake me up out of deep sleep by pounding on my ceiling; roll some kind of heavy marble or sphere on his floor in the middle of the night to creep me out. He did lots of weird things; he peed on the outside of my bedroom window . . . I got so discouraged & the police & everyone that was supposed to protect me failed me & made me feel as though my rights didn’t matter.
I sunk into a grave depression.
Soon he began coming to my door late at night. I mustered up the last strength I had & wrote him a letter telling him I wanted no further contact with him, including a response to my letter. I wished to have absolutely no relationship of any kind with him. I told him not to come to my doors or windows & not to talk to me. I took the letter & slipped it under his door. I knew when he found it because he was shrieking loudly.
He wrote all over my letter calling me every vulgar name & drew a penis & testicles, folded it in half & signed it, With Love & put it back on my doorstep.
I filed for a PPO the next day, thankfully it was granted. He of course broke it & the cops did nothing so I had to move. The guy was getting dangerous & I believe he’s been sending me porn text messages. I have to gave another police agency see if they can trace them to him. When it’s your physical & mental wellbeing at stake the best thing to do is move. It takes time to heal. I pray for you. You should be respected as one of our elders. I can’t stand people in the world acting like that. They’re sick.
I wish there was a magic wand that would swoop you up and put you somewhere to live out your days in happiness and comfort. Don’t forget how much this world needs precious gems like yourself. I can feel your anxiety and depression, as my dream home I’m in currently well I’m moving back to the state I lived in my whole life. No telling what neighbors I will get there either, however my current experience I’m in has been a true mind meld. Every day for two years my neighbor has done something negative and someone always has to be home wether it’s my boyfriend or myself. The times we didn’t they broke into my home to try and obtain a small amount of useless video I was able to capture. It’s like drinking poison every day with no water in between. You are the wiser of your surroundings. I too was going to consider going to court however like you mentioned it cost tons of money and for what at the end of the day if your lucky and injunction? Well why boother and the people doing the action they know there is nothing that is going to happen because that is why they are doing what they are doing to begin with. 1 more month then the house is going to go on the market. Here’s the kicker my neigbor was also my real estate agent ! So you can imagin I’m apprehensive when it does go on the market. Your in my prayers and you take care.
I am so very sorry for your negative experience.
I am 63 and recently bought a house that I thought I would live happily ever after in, however this is not the case. After having moved into my home, my neighbors to my immediate left, and a neighbor across the street began threatening my life. I began hearing “your going to die” as I exited my car in the driveway. I absolutely could not believe what I was hearing. Some neighbor across the street yelled, “I should have shot you” after finishing cutting my grass. I had gone in the house when I heard this but it was no less threatening. I carefully peeked through the window blind to see who the neighbor could possibly be talking to and saw no one. The neighbors also began to have visitors who also hurled death threats as they looked in the direction of my house.
The threats would worsen at night when the sun went down. As I sat in my dining room, some man stated “I’m going to shoot him in the head and burn the body”.
Upon hearing this, I was totally distraught and unable to remain in the house. I gathered a few things and jumped in my car and got a hotel room for about five days, after which a friend allowed me to come to their home where I am attempting to get an apartment. I see no way out of the psychologically damaging situation other than to file bankruptcy. I am absolutely devastated that this my only way out of this. I contacted the police but the officer stated that without an independent witness, they could do nothing. I’m 63, and these are younger people, and I believe them. My devistation is not describable. This was my first home purchase, and after filing bankruptcy, probably my last.
My stalker is my neighbor and he terrorizes me daily, has been for 10 years. All law & courts allow him to do this, even said can threaten my life as loud as he wants to and nothing happens. I have a protection order and law still does nothing. Had chief police tell me he will NOT enforce my order…he disagrees with Indians state laws definition of stalking ANF harassment so he won’t enforce my order….stalker heard this and now has green light to cause me daily harm!!! I can’t move, I’m disablef. Can’t find 1 damn person in this state to help me. Not 1… Probably end up raped or dead.
Sounds awful. I thought my neighbors were bad. They are gossipy, judgemental, very critical, causing arguments between our family members, late night phone calls, constant moaning, banging on the door early mornings. But compared to what are going through, I guess I am lucky.
I’ve experienced bad apartment neighbors living above me, having situations overlooked or not properly addressed by those who are “in charge”. To read other’s more horrific stories saddens and sickens me. No one should have to suffer at the hands of difficult, threatening types who can end up living anywhere, with nothing usually done to remedy the situation.
Things need to be changed in order to properly maintain control over those projecting their negative behavior, unnecessary disruption and harm upon others. It has to do with those being emotionally unwell, just another complicated issue within society, due to. There should be no reason for one proving to be difficult and mistreating others to go without consequences and remaining in shared housing. As far as occurrences in neighborhoods with homes, I am unsure how this would be handled, but no matter what, when one is unfairly and repeatedly annoyed, harassed or victimized by another it needs to be properly addressed.
It seems that if there were better rules and laws that would actually be enforced to prohibit these kinds of incidents, it would prevent this type from believing they can get away with anything they want, which would benefit appropriate individuals, besides housing management, Law Enforcement.
Many tell of their experiences, seeking assistance, but what is being done to help? Is it that those who have the ability to do anything have just given up trying, allowing difficult, inconsiderate and troublesome individuals to prevail?
I thought we had it bad ! But some of you people are having a terrible time with nasty neighbours . Mine moved in not so long ago and keep criticising my friend who lives with me . He does hoard stuff and now has been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease . He was homeless a few years ago and had nowhere to go and being a widow I was lonely . My home is detached but still the neighbours opposite and just down the road complain about us and where we park and my friends car being very old and the way he dresses . They threaten me and now we we are over 80 I am very upset . I have been here in this house for nearly 40 years , and we used to have lovely neighbours who have now died These newish neighbours said we were causing a rat problem when in fact everyone round here had them each Spring .
They said I should move in to an apartment and get rid of my friend and his car.
Its really outrageous .
I thought of getting legal advice but its very expensive.
I feel for every abused resident. I also have been bullied and harassed by neighbirs much younger than me. Police couldnt do anytgung. Ciukdnt get restraining order because they hadnt hit me.
It has ruined my health. I have fallen because they chased me. There is no hslp. Looking to move. Whuch will cause financial burden, and moving will take me from friends
I’m so sorry your neighbors are so nasty and subjecting you to such ongoing distress. This is such an awful story, my heart breaks for you. It’s disgraceful that they can get away with property damage and traumatizing harassment. He’s not much of a man targeting a vulnerable woman living alone. I wish you every peace and hope you get some assistance from the police and/or local authorities so you can go back to lively safely in your own home.
NEVER try to talk it out first. Nothing good ever comes out of it; stop advising people to do this. Just call the authorities and let them deal with it. I’ve called animal control on two different neighbors because their stupid mutts won’t stop barking. Works like a charm every time. They know what they’re doing and how inconsiderate the are being. Also with the state of the country right now, do not put your safety at risk.
I have pathetically insane bad neighbours. I totally sympathise with you. I’ve learned not to react or engage with such vile people. Silence is golden. Infact it speaks volumes. Try ignoring them, like I do. Eventually you become “emotionally numb” like I definitely have, following my experience of having pathetically insane bad neighbours
Wow, I ended up here and can so relate to these stories. My husband and I are in our 60s, and we bought a gorgeous home on 3 acres, about 3 years ago. The area was quiet and peaceful; I was so happy. Then the house across the street went up for sale, and a toxic single man with 4 heathen children moved in. They ride motorized vehicles in their yard of for hours. The sound comes in our house, we cannot enjoy our property, or have guests (we and all our friends are getting COVID vaccines), because of the intense sound, which is like a loud chainsaw combined with a pneumatic drill. We are thinking of moving. i am sick.
Try basketball every day anywhere from 10mins to 7 hrs a day. Spawns of satan
Sorry, I feel your pain. Having a very bad tempered mentally ill noisy neighbor…I have low income housing so it’s hard to move…..when your home space is not peaceful it really is too much…
Wish you the best
Yep, neighbors are beyond your control in so many ways. We looked and looked and finally found the right property to build our dream home years ago. We introduced ourselves to the neighbors on both sides who were so wonderful. They then introduced us to many of the other neighbors. Unfortunately, many were at the stage in their life where they were ready to move on, and when they did the worst neighbors moved in…these are single family owned homes, not rentals, so nothing much to be done for it.
Moving because you have a bad neighbours is never worth it however I lived in an small old unit where you could heard a pin drop.
My bad neighbours help motivate us to upgrade to a new house with more space and privacy
Since then we’ve never looked back
I am so tired of my new neighbors. All i ever do is just stay in my house. I am not loud or roudy. I’m a student whose just trying to graduate. Ive been living in my neighborhood for five years and these new neighbors are just not doing it for me. All they ever do is cause trouble. They have very annoying kids who just can’t stay off my property. They kick soccer balls at my house, car, and property. They also harass my pets♀️. I have talked to them about it several times but they just won’t listen. I wish i could move today!
I live in a strata and we have a neighbor that routinely makes unjustified or at the very least extremely petty complaints about us to strata all the time.
When we first moved here a few years ago, she complained about the noise of our washing machine and dryer that we had (which we bought with the place). We knew that they were loud so we never ran them at night. This didn’t stop her complaining though. In an effort to be considerate we replaced them with a newer washer and dryer pair that are far quieter, A couple of years ago, she complained to the strata that we had children in our apartment that were excited and laughing loudly on Christmas, she neglected to mention the time this occurred, which was during the day. Last thanksgiving we had people over and at about 9:30pm or so, she started pounding on her ceiling as an attempt to tell us to keep quiet. Quiet hours in our building start at 10:30pm. Again, her complaint neglected to mention the actual time this occurred. She complained about our patio umbrella being over the edge of our balcony by 6 inches, and blocking some of the sunlight (this one is technically legit, since we apparently aren’t supposed to have things on the balcony that extend over the edge, although there are other balconies in the complex that have similar sized umbrellas, I guess none of them are in units above somebody who has nothing better to do than complain). We have replaced the umbrella with a small gazebo that covers our balcony better but does not extend over the edge. She complained about part of our garden hose being on her patio, although in fact that is only because the faucet hookups that are shared and free for anyone in the complex to use are right beside her patio. I removed our hose from her patio, and then she complains without any evidence that I crushed her plants. Finally, she decided to take matters into her own hands and unhooked our garden hose from the faucet entirely… one that is supposed to be free for all residents to use. There was no other hose hooked up, ours was simply taken off.
And in all of this, the only time this woman ever mentioned anything to us first about it was with the washer/dryer when we first moved in. Every other time, her complaints have gone straight to the management, who in turn contacts us and then we have to respond usually saying that she is omitting details in her own account that would indicate, or else we do what we can to rectify the situation immediately.
So we go to the strata asking what we can do to live peacefully, and they suggest that we could get the strata involved in an arbitration to find a peaceful solution. This of course requires the consent of both parties, and each party would simply communicate what they would like, and an attempt to compromise would be made. For ourselves, all that we want is to not have complaints made about our conduct when we are not actually violating any strata guidelines…. which includes at the very least not complaining about the noise that our visiting grandchildren might make during the day, when in fact they are not truly that loud. I have heard far worse from children running and playing in the halls outside the apartments.
But the shock of my life came when I heard that our neighbor does not want any arbitration.
So we evidently are living above a neighbor who does not want to find a peaceful solution to this situation. I don’t want to deal with the stress of a war with a neighbor, and I don’t think there’s anything that the authorities or the government can do because nobody’s actually broken any laws.
So yes, I am seriously thinking that we might have to move, and dealing with all the stress *THAT* brings.
My neighbour moved in last year,no noise she has moved her younger friend in whom is loud and boisterous,talks constantly,tonight it’s been terrible,consistent yapping from the loud younger one,fed up with it all no peace,been going on about 5weeks now.
You are the bad neighbour if you call because you think they are growing pot.
My neighbors are just too many to think about and most of them are housewives looking for who to talk about negatively. I just stop talking to them because they always have to drag me to every single issues around as long as I was present at the scene. Right now some behave like I don’t live there anymore. What would be the best way to keep them away from making unending decisions by my window.
I have tried to resolve problems with my neighbour but its just getting worse. I can assure you nobody has had to deal with what I have. 3 years ago a guy was moved above by the council via the police because of trouble at his last address. My heart sank when he openly mentioned without even knowing me . He is a clear narcissist / borderline. I feel drained. I have to wear headphones constantly to block out the noise which is only part of the problem. He is an oxygen thief. I have never hated anyone in my life but this selfish childish unreasonable […] l do
I’m someone who’s triggered by certain noises, and it sure isn’t fun being surrounded by selfish inconsiderate […].
I love my house but I just want to live somewhere quiet. I wish i could pick up my house and move it somewhere else. Nobody would want to buy a house in this dump of a neighbourhood anyway. It used to be a great neighbourhood, almost like a utopia, but then everyone moved out, immigrants started moving in and turned this place into a dump! (note, all of these bad neighbours are immigrants, I’m not trying to sound racist, but it just happens to be that way).
I have neighbours across the road who sometimes have parties at night, going on well into the wee hours of the morning, someone in their group has a laugh that penetrates the entire neighbourhood, they also have a baby that cries a lot, and to top it off, one of them has a big petrol powered saw and he uses it at all odd times, he never considers or even apologises for the noise he’s making.
Next door to me (I live in a semi-detached house so I hear it quite easily (and frequently)) I have neighbours who are constantly slamming doors, arguing at each other, and they make this brief low-pitched noise a lot (I don’t know what it is, but it sounds like furniture being pushed around on a hard floor) it wouldn’t be so bad if that was just once in a while but it’s every freaking day! At least I don’t have to suffer loud bass-heavy music, that neighbour moved a out a few months ago, but he made my life hell while he was here, even after we asked him to turn it down (and yes, just like everyone else I mentioned here, he too is an immigrant).
There’s another weirdo who lives in a bungalow across the road, he’s got 2 cars parked outside on the lawn (neither of which have moved in years), both of them jacked up, and in pieces. A little while before that, he tore his fence down and started building a wall, but stopped at about 1 third of the way done! All the building supplies and equipment are still there, just not being used.
These […] really lower the property values round here. I feel like I’m living in a third world country. In fact the ratio of natives to immigrants round here is like 1:9, I feel like I’m a foreigner in my own country. Almost nobody round here speaks English! It’s madness!
I am age 62 and my husband is age 65. We bought a house 20 years ago and now I regret it more than ever. The “American Dream” as it is called is our “American nightmare”. The man across the street is the neighbor who constantly goes outside and plays loud rock music and I cannot open up my windows in warm weather and I cannot go outside to sit on our front porch. I have complained about this several times to our local township and codes enforcement officer. Nothing has been done so far. I was told there is “no loud noise ordinance in our township”. My husband has been disabled for the past 8 months and I am taking care of him at home, I get stressed when this man across the street comes out on his lawn and blasts his radio so that it sounds like a rock concert so much so that a person can hear the words. It sickens me. I want so much to move away from this awful neighborhood. I contacted a Realtor and he and an Investor want to buy our property from us and I am wanting to do that, but my husband and I have no place else to go. I want to live in a small secluded area where there are no animals, no nasty neighbors, no snow to shovel and no grass to mow. Hmm. Maybe I am thinking of “Heaven!” Leah09
My story which is a bit the other way round !
Brought my first house with my now wife then girlfriend. Neighbours seemed lovely in there 60’s. However they said something when we first moved in which should have been a huge warning. Quote “We are so pleased it a nice couple we was worried because of the house type we would get family with noisy young children” . There me and my wife thinking we are planning a wedding next year and want children.
We now have 3 children. Kids can be noisy and babies cry. but for roughly 9 years everything was ok was polite i shared the cost of replacing a fence although it was theirs fence. One of the things she would say from time to time was “we never hear you” which i know couldn’t be true as we could hear them and they wasn’t as noisy as us.
We didn’t have TV loud or music loud it was just kids being kids.
We have a neighbour across the road and they would have parties some time into the night. It wasn’t even once a month so it never bothered us however. He came knocking on my door trying to get me to go with him to complain. I didn’t want any part of that so lied and just said I slept through it and didn’t really notice.
about one month latter i got another knock on the door from him. Apparently I had got water on if front window when i was watering the garden. I apologised offered to clean the window he left in a bit of a huff. I quickly went to the shops got some chocolates knocked on the door and apologised again giving them the chocolates.
They had started to be funny stop saying hi and things.
COVID happened and in the UK we was banned from parks and everything. We only had a small garden and before COVID we would generally go to parks to play football/soccer. Well could do that so kids started playing in the garden a lot they had built up energy. a ball went over the fence and i faced a massive tirade of abuse for the kids being noisy in the garden. I tried to apologise and explain i can’t take them out and they need to burn off energy they are active kids i don’t want them sitting inside all day watching TV.
We then had a problem with a pipe which was making a noisy which took some time to figure out what was wrong and get it fixed had about 3 plumbers come and try and fix it and in the end had to get the whole system replaced at huge cost. but quite often I would come home and she would charge over and have a go at me about it with foul language.
I loved my home and got so many memories but i now hate it and dread coming home in case they are outside. has a family we don’t use our garden i get anxiety to the point where i hate going outside.
Finally made the decision with the wife to move and can’t wait. just making the decision has lifted a huge weight off me.
It’s not always straight forward I assume they could write a post saying how noisy we are etc. List the things I did but just not put the explanation which i assume they aren’t interested in and miss the bits about the foul language attacks as I clearly deserved it.
Sometimes people have to reflect on themselves. But once a relationship gets to the point ours is there is no rescuing it. Therefore better if someone just moves which in our case will be us.
I thought I was in a bad place until I read all these comments ! However it makes me realize the situation could be a lot worse. Also it seems best to say nothing , do nothing when these people have NOTHING to complain about! They bully us because they are unhappy people obviously , and we are old.We have done no harm to anyone, have no noisy dogs or kids , though the drive was untidy but now clean and tidy . They just hate us ! They are also jealous because we have this large bungalow with a double garage and wide driveway . We even thought they want this place and are trying to force us to move ! They all live with small driveways and some have no nearby garage but think they own this road! Beyond arrogant and very well off but younger than we are . I feel sick ! Why have my lovely neighbours gone ? Mostly passed on now . Is this how things are now we have gotten old and disabled. Its like the herd mentality from the Stone Age or something . The old and sick will be driven out ! So I must remember ” silence is golden”. Very good advice!