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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment

283 replies

Shoeracklady · 21/09/2017 09:00

I'll include lots of details so as not to drop feed.
New build property in a tourist resort. DP and I are the only year round residents, all the other owners use their apartments as second homes (so have fewer possessions here.)
We have been here for 6 months and have met most of the lovely neighbours so we are very happy here. DPs parents have decided to buy the flat opposite us too which will be full on when they are here but nice.
A new neighbour arrived yesterday and as they were standing in their doorway as I walked past I introduced myself and said nice to meet you etc. New neighbour's first words to me (after his name) were "So you're the one with the shoes, they're not going to be there permanently are they?"

I was quite taken aback by his rudeness and abruptness and mumbled that we might put a cupboard there at some point.

So AIBU to keep my shoes on a nice bamboo rack outside my apartment? They don't affect the new neighbour in anyway other than the fact he can see them when he walks into his flat. They don't smell. Can the sight of shoes really be so offensive?

Other apartments in the building also have shoe racks outside as well as things like umbrella holders.

Photo included as well as a diagram to show that shoe rack is neither a fire hazard (it is in an alcove) nor in anyway in the neighbours way.

I could possibly find space to store the shoes inside but it would be a much bigger inconvenience to me than that caused to the neighbour for having to see our shoes.

Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment
Aibu to leave shoes on a rack outside my apartment
OP posts:
ThisIsntMyUsualName · 21/09/2017 09:33

I feel your pil own the flat directly opposite is ther an option of putting in a door in the corridor just before your front doors? Like a communal front door to both your and pil's flat? Then it wouldn't look so scruffy.

But yabu, it looks really scruffy and it I lived in a block of flat where a neighbour was doing this I'd be complaining.

Glumglowworm · 21/09/2017 09:34

YABU and so are the others who use the communal hallway for storage. Just because lots of you do it doesn't make it right.

Your stuff should be in your flat, it's as simple as that

Valentine2 · 21/09/2017 09:35

If it is not a fire hazard andcyour shoes aren't smelly (I will hate to smell that in a communal area), you can probably get one of those shoe cabinets from ikea and decorate the corridor a bit? Change the lighting somewhat and add a small mirror plus some plant on the top of the shoe cabinet and you can probably get away with it. Right now, YABU.

Bluntness100 · 21/09/2017 09:35

There is a huge difference between leaving a wet pair of shoes outside to dry and actually having a shoe rack and actually storing all your shoes out there as a permanent thing. I don't for one moment believe you don't know that.

What are you going to clarify with the association, is it ok to leave the occasional pair of shoes or boots out to dry or is it ok to have a shoe rack and store all your shoes outside as the norm?

JWrecks · 21/09/2017 09:36

Wow, that's a surprising way to introduce oneself! "Are you the one with the shoes?" Bit forward...

Either way, I do agree with the consensus that it doesn't belong there, and that it's a communal space that you don't really have the right to use as storage or put furniture in it.

If you intend for everyone to use the rack, then it would probably be better placed just inside the main door, but again as it's communal property you would want an opinion/agreement from everyone, and then you'd want to make it unquestionably clear that it's intended for everyone's use.

But really, it's probably a better idea to just get a big waterproof floor mat or even bath mad to place shoes on in the season, if everyone leaves their shoes out like that, and drag the rack inside your flat.

ShapelyBingoWing · 21/09/2017 09:36

It almost certainly will not be allowed OP. Because despite them not being in the way as such, they're still a fire hazard. They're more flammable than the wall. So, for example, if a fire broke out in your PIL's flat, once it burns through their front door the shoes accelerate the speed at which it reaches your door. If others begin to store their shoes and other items up the length of the hallway, the problem worsens. And, it's worth noting, any fire that then broke out at the other end of the hallway would reach you far quicker.

Witsender · 21/09/2017 09:36

It's a bit personal I think. He sounds rude though.

chocatoo · 21/09/2017 09:37

YABU I'm afraid - they look a mess. Communal areas should be kept clear. Move them into your flat.

Original poster
Shoeracklady · 21/09/2017 09:39

Yes. Eventually we will be putting a front door there but obviously these things will take time and will require consulting all other owners.

I will say I'm genuinely surprised that so many people are offended by the sight of shoes. It simply wouldn't bother me in the slightest. But I have taken it all on board.

I refute the claim he wasn't rude though. What sort of thing is that to say to a friendly new neighbour. Surely you would wait a day or two and then say "It really bothers me seeing your shoes there, please could you move them inside."

OP posts:
AnnieAnoniMouse · 21/09/2017 09:39

It's in a ski resort, it would have been good to mention that in your OP. It makes a big difference.

As per your agreement, it is your 'destination' so you can leave things outside your door.

It's the end of the hallway so not in anyone else's way.
In the 'city' I'd have said 'buy a cupboard it's less cluttered looking', but it's a ski resort. You won't get moved for ski boots/outdoor footwear before long. And that'll be the least of it! Sledges, shovels...

Been there, done that, wish I was still there!

paxillin · 21/09/2017 09:40

Someones shoe rack is usually the start. Others will have shoe racks or just piles of shoes. Then others will start keeping their recycling there, then come the bikes and prams. And then comes the blanket ban and you can't even keep a wet umbrella out there for an hour.

Hallways should be free of personal possessions, they are communal spaces, you can't privatise them. Anything left out will help a fire to travel and block escape routes, too.

BoffinMum · 21/09/2017 09:40

My DD was renting a walk-up apartment in New York a couple of years ago and people had all sorts of personal items, rubbish, defunct prams etc in the hall. They were basically using the hall as a kind of loft. This blocked access (it was an old building with narrow halls and staircases) and would never have been permitted in the UK for bloody obvious fire safety reasons. You need to keep hallways clear, and it's not fair to your neighbours otherwise.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 21/09/2017 09:40

We tolerated this in a block of very posh/largish flats.... In the end it WAS a slippery slope and we then had old pushchairs /bikes/ oh yes and a dustbin... Left in hallway... And of course everyone quoted flat 1 who always had a shoe rack outside! Looked like a tip!

Terrylene · 21/09/2017 09:40

Anything burnable in high heat situations will give off smoke. Filling your escape route with burnable clutter is unwise.

The plaster surfaces will slow down fire enough to give you extra minutes and seconds to get out. But not if it is full of smoke and shoes.

kuniloofdooksa · 21/09/2017 09:41

Yabu - communal space should be empty of personal possessions. Having your shoe rack there gives an impression that you are laying claim to the corridor as an extension of your apartment. It looks ugly too, and could be a fire hazard.

clairethewitch70 · 21/09/2017 09:41

It looks awful OP.

Do your inlays visit often? Could you ask their permission to store the shoes that you are not using in their apartment and just move them when they say they are coming to visit?

ShapelyBingoWing · 21/09/2017 09:42

Yes. Eventually we will be putting a front door there

Wait. Do you own This space or not?? Confused Because I very much doubt you'll be allowed to chuck a door and a bit of wall into a communal hallway in order to take over it for personal use.

RunningOutOfCharge · 21/09/2017 09:43

A front door where??

Bluntness100 · 21/09/2017 09:43

I will say I'm genuinely surprised that so many people are offended by the sight of shoes

No ones offended, it's simply unsightly and most of us agree it's absolute not ok to do this. Why can't you keep your shoes in your flat, in the hallway? Because it's cluttered and unsightly?

Timefortea99 · 21/09/2017 09:44

You feel that it is in most people's interest to use the corridor. The corridor is used as a pathway to get to flats, that is its use. Not for storage.

It is a fire hazard, it looks unsightly, it has upset a new neighbour already, it is in an area that is not part of your property. No brainer.

Move the shoe rack inside your property permanently.

Purpleball · 21/09/2017 09:45

If you had a cupboard built in the space for you and PiL to use, it would be far less unsightly and maybe a good compromise

MrsSchadenfreude · 21/09/2017 09:45

YABU.

Timefortea99 · 21/09/2017 09:46

Will you be able to decide to make a second hallway in a corridor? Not sure you could do that in the UK but you might abroad? What if you and your PIL move out. You have two random flats with a double entrance.

expatinscotland · 21/09/2017 09:47

Where are you thinking of putting a front door? Where the shoe rack is now? If you wanted to use space like this, why don't you and the PILs buy a house together? Then you can have a front door to share, put your shoes outside your front door on the porch.

Missushb · 21/09/2017 09:48

What do you need confirmed?! It's ignorant and selfish taking up a communal corridor with shoes! Translation or this faked confusion "ambiguity" is a load of rubbish! Good on your neighbour bringing it up.

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