Am I an uncharitable bitch ?

[snugglecat]

I live in a small block of flats. The guy opposite us is a bit of a character 30-40 pretends to be homeless in the local town but obviously has a two bed flat to himself. The police are often knocking on the door and the corridor often has the smell of cannabis but he doesn't cause me trouble. We politely exchange a hello on the stairs but that's about it.

I've noticed recently he's had the flat door propped open on occasion but there is no lights on - I suspect he's run out of electric (but has money for weed)

Today I came home and he's ran an extention cord from one of the sockets in the hall through the letterbox into the flat.

Our communal areas are well looked after and regularly cleaned, but we do pay the service charges for this . Which includes the lightening and maintenance in the cost.

Effectively he's stealing electricity and we are all paying for it (16 I'm the block) .

I have been a single mother living on the breadline making ends meet so I've known hardship. I'm since married with two children . We do OK but we watch the pennies.

I feel annoyed by him doing this but in the same way I'm annoyed with myself for wanting to report him - do I really want someone sitting in the dark with no electric , even if it is self inflicted ?!

So wwyd? Aibu to report him to the housing association ? Or should I be more charitable and turn a blind eye ?

Interested in your views !

Hello all

Swiss cheese I am not - although after the amount of cheese I consumed at Christmas I'm surprised I have turned into cheese

It's hard to write a thread and give all the right info without drip feeding or making it too long with useless waffle.

I feel very sorry for him - that's why I'm not on the phone to the housing association straight away making a complaint and I posted on here trying to gauge what others would do . I've made the mistake of helping somone and being burnt in the process previously - once bitten twice shy and all that.

Borra - I'm 30 , why ?

In response to the bedroom tax I belive a room needs to be 70sq foot - ours is just shy of this but we use bunk beds. Not ideal cramming but needs must.

Do I look down on him? I wouldn't say so , but I feel sorry for him. I just can't see her people don't prioritise the bare minimum . I'm not from a wealthy back ground and have had to work for anything I have.

If there's a constant stink of cannabis and electricity issues he's probably growing it. Be prepared for a BIG bill OP. He probably isn't sitting in the dark because he's so poor, he probably just wants you to pay for his little drug production initiative.

Rather than reporting him, why don't you just knock on the door? Ask him if he's ok and nicely point out that what he's doing with the electric cable affects all the tenants as you all pay a service charge.
If he gets shitty and defensive then report him. Seems obvious to me.

If he's growing cannabis, you'd think he'd be a bit more careful not to draw attention to himself

Why not aging? Not much is done about it these days. There are so many cannabis factories the police don't do much about them and only prioritise those with human trafficking involved. It sounds distinctly possible this man is a habitual criminal who knows that. Some people are just criminals.

I'm pretty sure someone cultivating a cannabis farm wouldn't be just leaving the door open

I expect you're probably right Bill. Just thought it was a bit blatant but I admit I know nothing about the habits of cannabis farmers.

If you're poor, having a spare bedroom isn't likely to make you better off. You're unlikely to be allowed or able to rent it out, it could mean that your housing benefit doesn't cover your rent, and it'll make the square footage of your property greater and therefore more expensive to heat. Just saying.

I would be worried about the fire risk too, as well as being sympathetic to his living conditions. As with a lot of aibu threads, I think the first step should be to communicate directly with the person concerned, as long as doing so doesn't pose you any risk.

OP, put it this way - why would it be in someone's long term interest for you and others to collude in their fraud? It is his problem, not yours. Have no qualms in bringing this to the attention of the landlord/HA.

I know nothing, absolutely about cannabis and growing, but I thought a good source of light and heat would be needed. He doesn't have the latter according to the OP
From the OP peeking inside his flat: " it's running one extension off the first to his bedroom powering a light and a few other bits*

I think it's highly unlikely

Thank you all for your replies

Although I think he's very cheeky I've decided to leave it - I can bare the thought of someone going without electric. I just feel sorry for the pensioners in the block subsiding his bad budgeting. I'm sure he will have funds soon to put on the key. And me pointing out his lack of funds will probably only embarrassing both of us.

Just to clear up I'm assuming his layout is the same as mine with the bedroom near the front door , as my door is directly opposite it's hard not to see in and I could see light within the direction of the bedroom

No sticking my head round or gawping through the front door

Thanks again for your opinions

I feel sorry for the others in the block too, because not only are they subsidising him, they are at risk of damaging and/or fatal fire because of it.

and pot smokers are not known for thorough risk assessments and safety oriented ways. what a load of shit, and what evidence have you for this?