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AIBU?

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Neighbour broke into my house

83 replies

tenredthings · 11/08/2018 08:58

My neighbour and her son sold us their house. They never lived in it and it was practically a ruin. She built a new build on land next door and they sold us the old ruin. We invested loads of time , money and energy and completely rebuilt it and now rent it out.
Since then we have suffered low level harassment from her son. He reported us to the council for our washing line and painting the house a slightly different colour beige than before ! He then broke our rain water storage and cut a hose pipe.

I caught him approaching our house another time with a metal bar and I confronted him , he behaved very aggressively poking the bar in my face. I tried to keep calm and just asked him what his problem was at which point he ran off with his fingers in his ears , dancing up and down like a young kid and behaving very strangely. He's 45 and holds down a job !
I reported it to the police but nothing was done.

I went into the house today to water the plants and noticed that a window was open. This window has no handle as it's a door length window with a drop outside and not safe so I never put a handle on it. Someone has climbed up from the outside, brought a handle with them ( the bar of which they have left in the door ) and entered the house. They couldn't shut the window from the outside so left it open. Nothing looks disturbed but I won't know if anything is missing till the tenants return. I am contacting the police but I have no proof it is him , though I am convinced it is. I contacted my tenants who say they have never opened that window and I have a photo taken a few weeks ago where I can clearly see that at that time the window had no handle bar.

WIBU to post him the handle anonymously so that he knows I know , and then if it wasn't him he will just think its weird and not connect it to me ? Given that his behaviour has been a bit unhinged in the past is it best to not get involved with him on any level ? How can I make him back off when I have no definite proof.

OP posts:
downinthejunglee · 11/08/2018 13:16

You could get one of those lights fitted (sorry don't know the name Blush) that when it senses motion, automatically turn on, if he tries to break in and then suddenly has a light shining on him, this may make him run off, plus alerts anyone in the house that someone is near as the light is on

Hortonlovesahoo · 11/08/2018 13:17

We have a nest camera and doorbell and this records an movement for the day so you can see, play it back and talk back through it.

Hortonlovesahoo · 11/08/2018 13:17

nest.com/uk/cameras/nest-cam-outdoor/overview/

Hortonlovesahoo · 11/08/2018 13:18

Ooh, no idea why that was posted as 2 posts!

Chalady · 11/08/2018 13:23

CCTV definately but discreetly.

Saffy60 · 11/08/2018 13:32

They are good enough to identify as long as close enough yes. Similar to cctv really. Quite hard to detect and...easy to move around from one place to another!

Saffy60 · 11/08/2018 13:35

P.S. some can be programmed to take video instead of pics and some will take 2 pics 2 seconds apart. That is quite a good feature. They aren't expensive, mine are about £75. Best to buy at least 2 and put at slightly different angles. No need to put cctv signs up as you are trying to get images of...wildlife!!!

tenredthings · 11/08/2018 13:54

Do wildlife cameras only record at night ?

OP posts:
Saffy60 · 11/08/2018 14:11

Day and night shots, day shots are clearer and are in colour, night shots are in black and white.

sickmumma · 11/08/2018 14:43

We have installed Arlo cameras after our car was broken into on the driveway! We have three cameras that cover each side of the driveway and one on the garage which covers the back of the house and access down the drive! I think it came to just under £300 for the three cameras and base unit, when the camera senses movement it triggers the camera to record and it sends an alert to your mobile app. It's given us such peace of mind and even simple things such as seeing deliveries can all be seen through the app. The only worry I would have is who has access to the footage as a tenant myself I am not sure I would want my landlord being able to see us coming in/out the house etc, not that we are doing anything wrong but it's quite an invasion on privacy seeing the comings and goings of the house!

tenredthings · 11/08/2018 14:47

Thanks Saffy60, I like the idea of a secret hidden wildlife camera and I might discover whats been digging up my bulbs ! Do you think I could chain one to a tree just in case someone notices it and tries to steal it ?

OP posts:
tenredthings · 11/08/2018 14:50

You are right sick mama , it's a terrible invasion of privacy. I will definitely talk to the tenants about it and It would be round the side passage where our land borders with neighbours which is not the main entry and is an area rarely used.

OP posts:
Saffy60 · 11/08/2018 15:44

They need to be fairly firm or they will move to the wrong angle. Yes you could chain to a tree, or you could angle another one to "cover" the one you need to see your window. Try to put them where they won't show too much, if there are leaves, branches directly in front you will get 3000 shots of them when the wind blows... It takes a few tries to get perfect. Good luck, let us know the results.

Neighbour broke into my house
Saffy60 · 11/08/2018 15:49

Night pics, this is interesting as there was a web over the lens!

Neighbour broke into my house
Bellyscreen · 11/08/2018 16:00

Have you considered the possibility that the tenants are lying? That they’ve done it but not wanted to own up in case you were annoyed - you do seem to be quite ‘hands on’ about the property. It’s just that sometimes the simplest answer is more likely. Is there any reason they’d want a handle on?

NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking · 11/08/2018 16:08

Definitely get a bit more security. Your tenants deserve a secure home.

I’m a little confused why you are letting yourself into your tenants home while they are away and refer to the wildlife as digging up ‘your’ bulbs though..

screenscream · 11/08/2018 16:29

The 'low level aggression' from the people who sold you the place might come from the fact that they realise they could have done the place up themselves and got tenants like you have or better money for it. Some people can get very pissed off at others' success. They are not going to wise up and play nice any time soon I'm afraid.

CCTV recordings with evidence and a warning from the police is your better bet.

Tippytappytoes · 11/08/2018 16:44

NotAs

Maybe the tenants asked her to water their plants because they are away?

DesignStatement · 11/08/2018 22:02

What you describe as 'low level harassment' is not 'low level'. It's criminal damage, and if you had proof of it you should have reported it.
Do you really mean there is a 'psychopathic tenant'?
If so, you need to get the police to act.

ToadOfSadness · 11/08/2018 22:17

Ring is not as reliable as you might like, there is a time delay which can be long enough for a person to vanish from view. Support for this is not great.

It is reliant on good internet speed but for some reason although we have the best broadband available Ring was not great. Do read reviews thoroughly if you consider it, I read them after we had returned it for a refund. Perhaps we had a dodgy one (twice).

I now have a wildlife camera which is in the process of being set up and it is a lot cheaper.

CSIblonde · 11/08/2018 22:26

Amazon: £5 Fake CC TV camera: round white edge, domed, black 'camera' middle. Battery powered red dot 'camera light'. Then £1.50 'cctv in operation' window stickers. Camera looks identical to next doors £200 one.

Log with photo, date & time any incidents. Blinds/net on windows for privacy so he can't tell if anyone in.

CSIblonde · 11/08/2018 22:38

I'd also get window locks and a chain for the door for tenants safety.

Tistheseason17 · 11/08/2018 22:58

We use Netatmo Presence. App on the mobile means I can watch anytime anywhere. Awesome. Caught a few kiddies skulking around and they were put off by the blinding light recording them.

And get an alarm .

Saracen · 12/08/2018 00:34

If you think CCTV is a good solution, but you hesitate to invade your tenants' privacy, how about if you pay for it but the tenants control it? If they order the system and are the only ones who have access to the footage, they would feel secure in the knowledge that you couldn't use it to spy on them.

Just ask them to inform you of any incidents involving the deranged neighbour. I'm sure the tenants would share any relevant footage with you and/or the police. I should think they are at least as freaked out by his behaviour as you are and will be eager to put a stop to it. It's their home with which he's obsessed, after all!

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 12/08/2018 10:55

It would be better if it were the tenants who installed the cameras, as this would mean the domestic exemption to the Data Protection Act applies. They would be the ones who review the footage, which also means you're not interfering with "quiet enjoyment". They could allow you to keep an eye while they're away as a favour. Otherwise, it's the whole dismal privacy circus: data control policy, GDPR, buggering up the terms of the lease.

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