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AIBU?

Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment

283 replies

Shoeracklady · 21/09/2017 09:00

I'll include lots of details so as not to drop feed.
New build property in a tourist resort. DP and I are the only year round residents, all the other owners use their apartments as second homes (so have fewer possessions here.)
We have been here for 6 months and have met most of the lovely neighbours so we are very happy here. DPs parents have decided to buy the flat opposite us too which will be full on when they are here but nice.
A new neighbour arrived yesterday and as they were standing in their doorway as I walked past I introduced myself and said nice to meet you etc. New neighbour's first words to me (after his name) were "So you're the one with the shoes, they're not going to be there permanently are they?"

I was quite taken aback by his rudeness and abruptness and mumbled that we might put a cupboard there at some point.

So AIBU to keep my shoes on a nice bamboo rack outside my apartment? They don't affect the new neighbour in anyway other than the fact he can see them when he walks into his flat. They don't smell. Can the sight of shoes really be so offensive?

Other apartments in the building also have shoe racks outside as well as things like umbrella holders.

Photo included as well as a diagram to show that shoe rack is neither a fire hazard (it is in an alcove) nor in anyway in the neighbours way.

I could possibly find space to store the shoes inside but it would be a much bigger inconvenience to me than that caused to the neighbour for having to see our shoes.

Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment
Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment
OP posts:
CantChoose · 21/09/2017 09:03

Sorry but YABU.
They are an eyesore and presumably you don't own that space?
What if the opposite neighbour wants to put their shoes there too? Will you draw a line up the middle??

fuzzywuzzy · 21/09/2017 09:04

Ignore him.

You should have said 'yes' and carried on.

sooperdooper · 21/09/2017 09:04

Yabu as are any other residents who leave personal items in the communal space, it's not your corridor it's for everyone to use & you can't put a cupboard there either

Keep your personal things inside your apartment, and leave the communal areas clear of clutter

Shoeracklady · 21/09/2017 09:04

I should add that the wording on the documentation for the building regulations is open to interpretation and I'm not sure of the exact translation but it basically says you can't leave things in the corridors "outside of your normal destination"

OP posts:
CatalpaTree · 21/09/2017 09:04

YABU. If someone visits me I don't want them seeing/smelling someone else's shoes in a communal area that we jointly own. What if everyone wants to put shoes outside?

You're making a tidy clear communal area look rubbish.

fuzzywuzzy · 21/09/2017 09:05

Cantcchoose opposite neighbour is op's IL's

Timefortea99 · 21/09/2017 09:05

Complete eyesore. Why should a communal area be full of your stuff?

notanurse2017 · 21/09/2017 09:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ElspethFlashman · 21/09/2017 09:06

I would absolutely hate that, sorry. It's a communal area.

Bikes I would make allowances for, as most are too big for tiny apartments - but fitting shoes into your apartment is a reasonable expectation.

Wallywobbles · 21/09/2017 09:06

Build a cupboard there. They are unattractive to be honest.

Eifla · 21/09/2017 09:06

Yeah, YABU. That's really rude.

Imagine what a mess the place would look if everyone had racks of shoes outside their door? You own your apartment, not the hallway outside - keep your possessions inside.

apostropheuse · 21/09/2017 09:06

YABU. That looks awful. It's very unsightly- and it's not out of sight in an alcove, it's at the end of a corridor for all to see.

You should really keep your shoes inside your property, not in a communal area.

KarateKitten · 21/09/2017 09:07

If it's a common area then YABU. And it does look awful so I think you need to bring them into your apartment.

yodelehoho · 21/09/2017 09:07

Where are you going to draw the line? Next it will be bikes or gardening tools. It's communal - you need to respect that and keep it tidy.

crimsonlake · 21/09/2017 09:07

Then if the contract says 'you cannot leave things outside in the corridor' why are you doing it?

user1483387154 · 21/09/2017 09:07

YABU it is a communal space, put your shoes in your own home.

TacoFlavouredKisses · 21/09/2017 09:07

I'd have wanted to say exactly what the new neighbour said but wouldn't have had the ladyballs.

YABU. Be a considerate neighbour and keep your shoes in your solely owned property rather than in a communal space.

Terrylene · 21/09/2017 09:07

Anything in corridors of apartments are a fire hazard. Including the door mat.

MargaretTwatyer · 21/09/2017 09:07

YABU, that looks really scruffy.

Shoeracklady · 21/09/2017 09:08

Cantchoose

The neighbours opposite are my PIL who will use the rack too. If we didn't know the people living there then I wouldn't keep the shoes there as they would be in the way. My issue is that they aren't in the new neighbours way.

Personally I like seeing other people's things in the corridors, it makes them less soulness. But I can understand others don't like this.

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 21/09/2017 09:10

Yup, you're being unreasonable. That is not your personal space for additional storage. You may think it looks nice, but it really doesn't. And it's setting a precedent for people to annex all sorts of bits of the communal space for themselves.

Amatree · 21/09/2017 09:10

I agree it looks cluttered and it is clearly personal belongings that should be kept inside your own home. It would really annoy me if I lived beside you (I find other people's shoes a bit grim). Presumably if someone wants to take this to the building managers they will make you move them so I'd keep relations smooth with the neighbours and take them inside now, away from shared spaces. You were chancing it leaving them there in the first place and now you know it bothers people it would be rude and disrespectful to leave them.

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Candlemiss · 21/09/2017 09:11

YABU. It looks a mess. And if other people start to do it, it will look a right proper bloody mess. Apart from that, it's communal space and it doesn't belong to you.

juneau · 21/09/2017 09:11

I think the point is that the hall/stairs is a communal area. Since you're colonising part of it for your shoerack (which others apparently see as an eyesore), then how would you feel if they left a bike or a pram or possibly a pile of 'unsightly' (IYO), shoes? I think once residents start dumping stuff OUTSIDE their flats then it's the slippery slope to a messy hallway. So, IMO YABU. No one else wants to see your shoes. You own your flat, not the communal area outside it, so whether you live there full or part time you should keep your belongings inside it. And if it's not big enough to accommodate all your shoes perhaps you should move?

80sMum · 21/09/2017 09:12

In this instance, I agree with your neighbour, OP. So, sorry but yes YABU. It looks messy. If I were the neighbour I wouldn't want to see piles of someone else's shoes in the vicinity of my front door. I don't think there should be anything cluttering up the communal entrance corridors; they need to be kept clear.

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