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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to have asked her to remove her washing from our washing line?

28 replies

WD41 · 18/08/2014 10:32

Disclaimer - this is a trivial matter, and it's been sorted, but just curious as to whether people think I was BU or not. I think I have been entirely reasonable but my neighbour's reaction has made me question that!

A fortnight ago we moved into a (rented) property. It's a house which has been converted into 2 - our neighbours occupy the ground floor and us the upper floors. The garden is split level and as such, the upper level is for our use and the lower level for our neighbours. Their part of the garden happens to be about twice the size of ours.

When we moved in there was only one washing line in the garden, the retractable type attached to the wall, and it is on our level. It was installed by the landlord. The neighbours have been in their flat for a year, and ours has been vacant whilst the LL did it up, so obviously they have been using the washing line - anybody would.

However once we moved in, they continued to use it. Day and night. They would put washing out at teatime, leave it up overnight and the whole of the following day whilst at work, then replace with new washing the following teatime. When the line is in situ it leaves very little space in our part of the garden, so there was no room for us to put an airer out there even. Very frustrating during the nice weather!

I contacted the letting agent to clarify that it was for our use, and the LL came out a few days later to install an identical washing line in our neighbours' part of the garden. Issue sorted, or so I thought.

Until I looked out of the window yesterday to see their washing on our line again! I could see that theirs wasn't full, so there was no reason to be using ours whatsoever. So I felt it needed to be nipped in the bud and went down to speak to them. (There is also no reason for their drying needs to be greater than ours - we have an identical set-up to them - 2 adults and 1 preschooler.)

I felt I was polite, but our neighbour was less than friendly. She looked very taken aback - apparently she wanted the sun, why, did I mind? So I said well yes, I did actually - this is why the LL installed a line for them. No ours wasn't in use but we may have wanted to use it - that's our part of the garden and we'd prefer it if they used theirs.

She stared at me, muttered okay, and then slammed the door agressively in my face.

So, MN jury, was I BU?

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 18/08/2014 10:33

YANBU

Finney2 · 18/08/2014 10:35

YANBU

treadheavily · 18/08/2014 10:35

She's bonkers

indigo18 · 18/08/2014 10:36

NO YANBU. I would be inclined to move her washing if she does it again, and put my 'washing' up, and so on til she gets the message.

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 18/08/2014 10:36

No you sound as if you handled it well, she sounded touchy and miffed.

BakerStreetSaxRift · 18/08/2014 10:36

YANBU

SaucyJack · 18/08/2014 10:37

Put your washing on her line every time she does it until she gets the message.

LineRunner · 18/08/2014 10:38

No, you weren't being unreasonable.

And she'll damage her door if she carries on like that.

PunkrockerGirl · 18/08/2014 10:39

YANBU

Missunreasonable · 18/08/2014 10:39

YANBU

LucilleBluth · 18/08/2014 10:41

I think you have a lot of patience, if it was me I would have taken the washing down the first time and taken it to her.

Vintagejazz · 18/08/2014 10:42

YANBU. If she wants the sun maybe she would swap gardens with you and allow you to have the bigger section while she has the sunnier section.

Surely she realised that once the other half of the house was let she would have to relinquish part of the garden and respect your privacy? She sounds a bit thick.

shushpenfold · 18/08/2014 10:43

You are SO NBU. Sensible to just approach her and say it straight out...no confusion, no argument.

TheReluctantCountess · 18/08/2014 10:45

Don't use her line - it's presumably not in the sun and she will see it as meaning it's ok for her to use yours.

If she does it again, approach her again. Following that, I would take washing down that was on my line.

I think you have done the right thing. You have a nice LL to put up washing lines for you.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 18/08/2014 10:47

If all else fails ask the LL to install a fence along the edge of your patch.

WD41 · 18/08/2014 10:48

Ah good, it's unanimous.

Hopefully she won't do it again now. I'm not going to use her line, but if things appear on ours again they will be swiftly removed.

It seems a shame to have had a run in with our new neighbours this early on though.

OP posts:
Peppa87 · 18/08/2014 11:48

She sounds mad! And very cheeky!

Just be civil with her, but don't go to any major effort when you run into her. Hopefully it will blow over and it won't result in any long term bad feeling.

You did the right thing, there's nothing worse with neighbours than letting things that bother you fester!

ICanSeeTheSun · 18/08/2014 11:58

Asks if she wants to swap flats, so you get the downstairs and less the hassle of stairs with shopping ect in exchange for the larger garden.

It's your garden not hers, Yanbu

ItsSoooFluffy · 18/08/2014 11:59

YANBU

Pinot4me · 18/08/2014 12:00

YADNBU!! That's completely unacceptable behaviour on your neighbours part. How cheeky!

quietbatperson · 18/08/2014 12:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Flipflops7 · 18/08/2014 12:48

YANBU! Go and sit in her garden. What a nerve.

5Foot5 · 18/08/2014 12:53

YANBU. Even if you didn't want to use the washing line yourself you don't want to be sitting looking at their washing if you want to use your garden

Andrewofgg · 18/08/2014 12:54

Nearly as good as a parking thread!

rollonthesummer · 18/08/2014 13:00

What a rude woman! I'd get the landlord to ring her and explain of she does it again.