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AIBU?

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Original poster

Neighbour's rubbish bags in the communal hallway

17 replies

schrutefarmbeets · 04/12/2016 18:55

I know in the grand scheme of life this really doesn't matter so I feel like I'm BU with the amount of irrational anger I feel towards my neighbours.

I am on the top floor of a 4 storey tenement and am right at the end. It's just me and my neighbour's flat on the top floor so I walk past their door to get to the stairs.

At least twice a week, they leave their bin bags / recycling / compost bags in the middle of the hallway ALL DAY until one of them can be bothered to take it down to the bins. Sometimes overnight. Often times the bags leak and it's so gross. I have to climb around their rubbish to get to the staircase.

I've started passive aggressively kicking their bags right up to their front door and out of my way, but my DP thinks I should just take their rubbish down to the bins for them to solve the problem.

Do other flat dwellers have this bin issue? It's so lazy and gross!!

OP posts:
Birdsgottafly · 04/12/2016 18:59

Normally it's in the tenancy agreement that communal areas will be kept clear/clean, so is it bad enough to complain formally about?

Have you complained to them, directly?

kissmethere · 04/12/2016 19:18

Yanbu that is vile. I think they're breaking an agreement there.
Definitely don't take it down for them. They're leaving it there way too long.

previously1474907171 · 04/12/2016 20:06

Fire regulations surely? Not allowed to leave anything in the hallways.

SilenceOfThePrams · 04/12/2016 20:08

We had neighbours who did that for a while. It was vile - ended up with maggots in the summer. Grim.

Ask them not to, and tell the freeholders/management company/whoever, assuming there's a whoever to tell if it doesn't change.

AntiHop · 04/12/2016 20:10

I'm in a similar situation. I hate having to go all the way down to the bins but it would never occur to me to leave the bins in the corridor as it would be really selfish.

So yanbu.

We're not allowed to leave things in the corridor according to our lease anyway. I'd start by having a word to see if that makes a difference.

Patsy99 · 04/12/2016 20:13

Erm . . have you tried mentioning it?

I used to do this until a neighbour left a friendly note asking me not to. It hadn't occurred to me it would be that irritating.

KinkyAfro · 04/12/2016 20:38

You couldn't see that it would be irritating Patsy?

Doobigetta · 04/12/2016 20:47

Is it an "indoor" or an "outdoor" hallway? If "indoor" as in, completely sealed from the outside and carpeted, that's absolutely disgusting, and I'd be banging on the door to ask them to move it, and complaining to the building manager if that didn't work. If it's partly open, with tiled or concrete floors, it's not quite so bad but it's still gross. I'd probably still say something, tbh. When you live in a flat you have an extra responsibility to keep the building as a whole decent for everyone else- it's not ok to not be arsed.

YelloDraw · 04/12/2016 20:50

I used to do this until a neighbour left a friendly note asking me not to. It hadn't occurred to me it would be that irritating

Really??

Patsy99 · 04/12/2016 21:12

Really - just thought I'd take it down on my way out.

Original poster
schrutefarmbeets · 04/12/2016 21:20

It's a completely indoor corridor with wooden floors - thankfully no maggots but it does smell. I don't mind if it's for 10 minutes or whatever while they sort themselves out, but to keep them in the communal hall for sometimes 24 hours or more it just weird and gross.

I'm renting but they own - I've never seen them to say anything, but I'll pop a note through their door. I'll mention it to my landlord too so she can flag it up with the factors.

Bleurgh.

OP posts:
DustOffYourHighestHopes · 04/12/2016 21:22

We once had this. I wrote on a post it note 'I am a disgusting bin bag' and put it on the bag. They didn't do it again. It was a long corridor of flats so they didn't know who did it, i wouldn't have had the balls to tell them directly or let them know it was me!

AngryGinger · 04/12/2016 21:25

If you don't want to knock on their door it might be worth a phone call to the people who own the building

Patsy99 · 04/12/2016 21:26

The note to me was along the lines of:

"Would you mind not leaving your bin bag in the hall please, it's smelly and gets in the way".

Soubriquet · 04/12/2016 21:29

Your dp thinks you should just carry them away? Hmm

Well isn't he kind. He can do it every single time can't he

Contact the people who own the building and see what they can do

Unwrapped · 05/12/2016 08:35

We had this when we lived in a flat. I took the bags down for them a few times (they had a newborn) then I got fed up and put a sign on the bag saying 'please take rubbish our immediately, we don't want rats' with a little drawing of a rat to make it friendlier. Didn't have any problems after that!

ratspeaker · 05/12/2016 09:41

Complain to the factors.
Id also try your councils environmental health, a few years bag my friend had problems with neighbours leaving smelly bags in the stair, environmental health visited, raked through the bags found who they belonged to and spoke to the offenders, think they were threaten with a fine

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