To have taken neighbour's sign down?

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

I live with DH and two DC in a second floor flat. The block is made up of 4 flats...2 on the bottom and 2 on top. We all share a corridor and back and front doors.

One of our bottom neighbours is weird and aggressive and is always trying to boss everyone else about. trying to put his stamp on communal areas (he has put a table and plants outside his door and when we go outside, he locks the door so we can't get in and have to bang on it to draw attention.

I think that because the back door to the garden is right by his precious plants and the door to his flat that it stresses him out when we use that door...but it's the only one! It's communal and we use our garden.

Early on, he also tried shouting at me and DH. We told him what to do with that the first time he attempted it....roaring at us for basically using our own private garden in the summer...not being loud...just having a game of skittles. Lots of other things too....made the other girl who lives on our floor cry by threatening to have her evicted because her baby is too loud when she crawls on the floor!

Anyway...dh and I don't smoke...one of our visitors did the other evening...so he went out to the front of the building, well away from the entrance, he stood by the gate sort of on the pavement, had a cigarette, put it out and then put it in the bin outside.

Next evening I see that nutty neighbour has put a NO SMOKING sign at the bottom of the stairs, so it's the first thing we see when we come out of our flat.

Big, red official looking sign. I called the landlord to check he hadn't arranged it...no...not him.

DH took it down and threw it in the bin.

Now throwing it away MAY have been unreasonable I know...it wasn't DHs to throw away.

BUT we've been sorely tried by this man....how dare he! Our visitor was nowhere near the main building and disposed of the one cigarette he had. This neighbour is always trying to intimidate and to rule the place.

We don't want the communal entrance to look like some institution! This is our home and there is no need for a no smoking sign. It was nowhere near nutty neighbour's flat so obviously a comment to us.

Hmm. He sounds very strange. I'm more interested in him looking you in the garden though. Do you mean that you physically cannot get back into your building unless someone is passing and lets you in?

You've posted about him before haven't you, when he was being horrible to your neighbour with the young baby?

He sounds a total dick and I would find it very hard not to do tiny things that I knew would drive him insane. I am horrible though.

I'd be logging it all so i could go to the council about his antisocial behaviour.

Do you all rent from the same landlord . I'd complain to the landlord about the table being a hazard if you needed to evacuate the building and also complain about the door locking .

Cru the back gardens are land locked so the only way in is also the way out and back into the building. So yes, if he locks it, then we're stuck.

Ali yes it's him again. He'll go quiet for a bit then do something like this. I get the feeling he won't shout at us again as we told him firmly what would happen if he did (police)

My neighbour has complained officially about him bullying her and he's left her alone since then. He once came storming up the stairs shouting and then saw me standing there with her between our two flats and it took the wind out of his sails as I won't take his crap (I'm 42 and bolshy and she's only 25 and shy and quiet)

He almost ran back down!

Honey I have logged it all with the Housing Association. They know and were very sympathetic.

Flora I don't mind his silly table at all and it doesn't obstruct but it's just an example of his marking his territory.

We felt like making a sign in response to his smoking one...something like "NO BULLIES" or "NO ARSEHOLES PLEASE"

Good for you!

HIs wife is nothing like him at all and goes out of her way to chat and be nice...I feel sorry for her. We can hear the arsehole shouting at her through their door sometimes...they're in their late 60s and she has to live with him!

Tbh the next time he locks you out might be the time to ring the Emergeny Services to report a locked building with people unable to egress

*Emergency

Dough I know what you mean but as our kitchen window is just above the door, all we have to do is yell "The door's locked!" and DH or one of the DC come down to let me in.

I was thinking of asking the housing association to change the lock though...at the moment it's got one of those ones with a button you snick up or down to allow it to stay open or to lock it.

Is there another option do you think? One which offers security at night but which can always be accessed from outside by those who live here?

Just a regular yale lock would work. Just remember to take your key with you.

Do you think if I explain to the HA that they would take it seriously enough to change the lock? I'd be happy to keep a key on me...and so would DH.

I remember your posts. This man sounds like a total knob.

You need a lock that you can open from the outside and cant be blocked. Like my front door lock, if you leave the key in one side you cant put the key in from the other side or the top lock you get when you press a bottom to stop it being opened with a key.

Complain, complain, complain to the HA.

Call the police when you hear him shouting at his wife - say you're overhearing a domestic and are afriad for her.

Get the lock changed on the back door.

Any nonsense, shouting - police straight away. Then tell HA you had to call them.

Don't give an inch.

If you complain each and every time, surely the housing association would get so pissed off they would give him notice? Surely?

Is he still locking you out? Why are you putting up with it?

Bang LOUDLY on his window each and every time he locks you out for as long as it takes for him to unlock. Rinse and repeat until he gets bored.

Arseholes can only get away with their behaviour if people like you choose to let them.

Do you think the Housing Association will change the lock? They're a bit lax about repairs....if I tell them my DC can't use the garden without fear of getting locked out they should yes?

Saucy problem with that is that the other downstairs neighbour is also prone to flicking the button down so I could be banging on the wrong window.

She's 82 and a bit forgetful...I think they've just got into the habit of keeping it locked...I don't think it's meant in a bad way. The previous upstairs tenants never used their gardens so the bottom two had complete control over the door.

I agree with castlemilk - police and then HA every little excuse you can. He's a bully. Bullies rarely stop because of reasonable discussion, even if they realise their behaviour isn't acceptable, they don't want to stop, so you need to force them to stop.

Tell the HA about the loving of the back door, and ask for a lock that can be opened with a key from the back garden. Deliberately locking you out is harrassnt though . Do you close the door behind you? I can see why he might get annoyed if you leave it wide open.

Also if he locks you out I would bang on his window and ask him to come and let you back in.

Charmo No we always close it to...so it's shut but can be opened iykwim.

I can't bang on his window as it could just as easily have been the other downstairs neighbour...I know she's done it once or twice without knowing we're out there...it's a habit they'/ve formed as the other people who were here before us never used the garden.

So do you have a private garden accessed through a shared door?

I would talk to the HA about that. He is preventing you from accessing something you pay rent for.

Yes Pip