Two New Year’s Parties, one communal terrace - who should move?

[CGaus]

DH and I are hosting a New Year’s ‘Party’ tonight with 9 adults (all children are being looked after in a separate area by family/babysitters). We live in an apartment building with a communal rooftop terrace with views of the city to watch the firework displays. There is one table with benches either side that seats maybe 8-10, and a few lounge chairs. We’re in Australia, it’s a warm night so we are expecting to remain on the terrace for the next 4-5 hours.

I asked about using the area at a body corporate meeting in October, and then again via a notice in a communal area last week and again this weekend that:

1. We would be using the space on New Years
2. That we would keep the noise to a considerate level
3. That everyone would leave by 1am,
4. That other residents were welcome to join us
5. Finally, I also left my mobile and apartment number in case anyone had a problem with this

There’s no formal ‘booking’ process for communal areas, I just thought it would be polite to inform neighbours.

About 4 hours ago I ‘decorated’ the area with a few banners and balloons, laid a table cloth and set out some food. DH set up the BBQ we’d borrowed from PIL.

Friends started arriving, all was fine. We all left the area for approximately 10 minutes to settle the children in with the babysitters, and to bring the main meal upstairs. By the time we returned there was another 15 people on the terrace, they’d moved the table to one side, folded up half the table cloth and pushed our table settings down to one end, and had rearranged the benches. There was no seating left at all.

DH asked the person who we believed to be a tenant if she could please let us use the benches for the next half hour or so, and to my utter disbelief she said no, that she had a right to be there, something about how much rent she paid.

So we are currently back downstairs scrambling for chairs to haul up, we’ve got a friend on the BBQ and I’m imagining it’s going to be a very awkward New Years! There’s really not enough space for 25+ people up there, they’ve put their own music on over ours and the majority of their group just seems so passive aggressive about it (admittedly a few people looked a bit embarrassed on the tenant’s behalf!)

So what do we do? We’ve got another 4 hours till New Year’s and the atmosphere is just awful up there

I know it's now New Years Day so this is all over, but I think you were unreasonable to expect to have the whole terrace to yourself on NYE with a prime view of the fireworks. I think you should have set up in one part of the terrace, and allow others to have access to the other part.

I agree,all because you informed them you were using the terrace doesn't make it yours,they were a bit rude but some might say so were you to presume it was all yours for the evening.

I also agree, it wasn't great that you just informed everybody you would be taking it over for the night.

Whether you'd told everybody or not, if it's a communal terrace everybody has the right to use it. The best idea would have been to section an area off but leave space for others to also use as they please.

"There is no formal booking process" that's because there's a clue in it's name - communal roof terrace, as in shared! You have to share it.. You sounded v selfish - expecting her to move her stuff (she'd not moved all your stuff or taken up the whole table (like you had), she was happy to share the SHARED roof space and table, as you should have been. Of course others might have wanted to go up there and see the fireworks.

I wonder what happened!