Getting so fed up of neighbours. Anyone else?

[Maude789]

NC'd, in case my neighbours happen to spot me on here (unlikely, but you never know!)

I am getting increasingly sick of my neighbours. Probably because I'm (like most of us) home pretty much all the time at the moment.

They have a couple of children who are normally pretty well behaved as far as I'm aware. But they are so so noisy and have a dog too that barks consistently.

They have had visitors over pretty much all the way through each lockdown - before I am accused of being a curtain-twitcher our estate is very built up and it is easy to notice new cars and people about.

But today I am working from home and they are having a children's party on their back garden. Can hear lots of screaming children, there are banners and balloons out. To be fair I cannot hear adults, just a lot of children screaming and shrieking. I do not want to report them as I'm not that kind of neighbour. But I'm just so sick of people like this, bending and breaking rules etc.

I understand their kids are bored but come on - a party!? I'm dumbfounded.

Sorry I don't have an AIBU. Just needed to vent and hope I'm not the only person in the world suffering with intolerable neighbours.

Mine are driving me mad with an accumulation of minor misdemeanors. Firstly, despite being older, they pay virtually no heed to the virus or restrictions. They only moved in after the first lockdown eased and are having work done but none of the workmen wear a mask and they are obviously using it as a cover to have family there too. They're inconsiderate at best when it comes to parking and rude when challenged about completely blocking the drive for long periods of time (not just deliveries or drop offs and no asking before hand).

It's a nice area, mostly retired couples and quieter professional families. This family stand out like a sore thumb, think loud, shouty, sweary conversations that can be heard half way up the street, baggy tracksuits as standard attire and behaviour that can only be described as plain weird - have you ever seen anyone use a lawnmower on a block paved drive?

They also have a dog which is forever running out into the road, this causes almost daily incidents where the dad goes running down the road, dressing gown flapping, shouting and swearing at the dog. Generally tolerant neighbours are hitting the point where they've had stand up shouting matches with the new neighbours about the dog flying out in front of their cars or running into their houses (often closely followed by dad in his flapping dressing gown!).

To top this off, they never ever shut their curtains and leave lights on all night. On more than one occasion we've opened our curtains to be confronted with full frontal nudity. Plus they have multiple security lights which means the minute we open the front door we are blinded. The light interferes with our sleep as it is set so high and comes on for 10 minutes at a time.

We're dreading the summer as they are definitely the sort to buy a hot tub and spend all day drinking and listening to crap music, whilst getting generally shoutier and swearier.

These messages are hilarious although horrendous to be living through it. We have chainsaw Charlie living next to us (our nickname for him). He has a wood of approx 30 acres and is always cutting down trees, the bringing them to the patch of land right next to our window and chainsawing them into logs. About 2 metres away from our kitchen wall. For 2 hours every day. Our windows rattle, and we have to shout to each other over the noise. There is nowhere in our house where we can't hear it. My husband complained and he told us to mind our own business and let him get on with his. He has lived there all his life and if we don't like it then we should move. He has also grown a hedge next to our windows to blockout all light so we have had to put roof lights in. He also plays radio 3 very loud while he is out there.

I'm dreading the end of winter tbh. My next door neighbours have ignored all of the lockdown/visitor restrictions. They spent from April until it got too cold in October last year having multiple barbecues each week, burning things, having all their screaming grandkids round and doing DIY (this was ongoing before pandemic). I feel like I can't use my own garden; if I put the washing out on the line, they will watch me do it and then light up the grill. Their GKs comment on everything I do and I keep finding litter they've chucked over, which my poor dog eats if I don't get at it quickly enough. I hope it rains for months. We're in a detached house and quite frankly it was less oppressive in my little terrace from before I got married and moved.

Bobbin I feel the same as you. We are also detached but that of course doesn’t stop the constant noise in the garden. I also dread the warmer weather for the same reason. I’d love to buy a rural property but they are just too much for us.

Our neighbours are also regular fire lighters. No, you light weekly fires in the afternoon, its not like the two young kids next door might want to play in their garden during a national lockdown when everything is closed. Selfish pricks.

How does one do a quick name
Change here? I have a brilliant one I’d like to share but might be outing if I did!

I hate bonfire pests.

Yeah I was never that bothered by my neighbours until lockdown one. We currently only have two neighbours, both on the same side as that side is two flats. Upstairs neighbours suddenly just started shrieking and laughing and shouting between the hours of roughly 9pm and 1am most nights of the week, with loud music once a week or so, and a party every couple of weeks. Downstairs neighbours at least weren't a problem at night which is my main issue with neighbour noise due to disrupting my sleep, but it was still annoying to have music so loud the house used to shake between 3 and 5pm most weekdays when I was trying to work. Found it all quite bizarre.

Downstairs neighbours moved out a while ago so at least we now only have one set of neighbours, but upstairs' behaviour has been even worse in this lockdown, they've started having at least weekly parties, sometimes a few in a week. When I say parties there's not tons of people there by the sounds/looks of cars in the street probably less than 20 each time so not huge gatherings, but the noise is awful and their living room backs onto our bedroom. I can't wait for hospitality to reopen as prior to lockdowns they tended to just be out every evening, coming home after the pubs closed with lots of car horn beeping, door slamming and shouting and loud telly between 11 and 1 but that was still better than the current situation.

#Rant over like you I'd never report a neighbour either so just having to put up and moan to DH about it.

@Lovinglifeand

These messages are hilarious although horrendous to be living through it. We have chainsaw Charlie living next to us (our nickname for him). He has a wood of approx 30 acres and is always cutting down trees, the bringing them to the patch of land right next to our window and chainsawing them into logs. About 2 metres away from our kitchen wall. For 2 hours every day. Our windows rattle, and we have to shout to each other over the noise. There is nowhere in our house where we can't hear it. My husband complained and he told us to mind our own business and let him get on with his. He has lived there all his life and if we don't like it then we should move. He has also grown a hedge next to our windows to blockout all light so we have had to put roof lights in. He also plays radio 3 very loud while he is out there.

I would suggest checking if he has a felling licence. If not he may be liable. Just saying...

@WoolieLiberal

How does one do a quick name Change here? I have a brilliant one I’d like to share but might be outing if I did!

Just go to "Settings", and change it there. I'm intrigued about your story!

It is so comforting to hear other people hate their neighbours too 😂

My neighbours were absolute twats during lockdown! We couldn't sit outside as their kid would stand on a box to look into our garden, we had 5 am karaoke and didn't get a good night's sleep on months while me and DP worked as normal.

Now she has a DP who works nights (like my DP always has!) and I've bought exceptionally good speakers which carry the noise so well. I really enjoy being the arsehole now. We also put up taller fences and cheap cctv. When they move we will have to remember how to be normal and considerate..

NC in case outing. We have a batshit crazy family living at the back of us who had trees overhanging our garden.

The craziest story was that after years and years of letting the trees overhang and damage our garden fence, they decided to get them cut.

We let their workman into our garden to cut them where they were overhanging on our side.

The neighbour then presented us with 50% of the bill.

We refused to pay on the basis they were their trees and therefore their responsibility.

They put a further bill through my door every month for a year “with interest”. Eventually they got the message.

They’re a sort of British Hillbilly type family with 5 feral kids but are gentle parent types so the kids go wild and are rude as anything but whenever you hear the parents talking to them it’s all softy softy.

I tried making friends when they moved in first but could see that they had issues. The house was full of books and cluttered to the point of hoarding, but dishes were unwashed and the kids (who were 6 or 7at the time) were wandering around eating crisps wearing nothing but Pull-ups) and spoke to the mother like dirt but were surprisingly well spoken.

Other neighbours who have had problem with the kids behaviour have met with responses like “we don’t want to harm their self esteem” (when complaint of kids swearing at neighbour) and “we don’t want to harm their creativity” (when complaint of vandalism).

It’s a reasonable area too. I bet every area has a family like this.

Me and my neighbour shared the cost of having over hanging branches cut

Mine are awful. They have children that literally scream all day. Not just joyful playful screaming I'm talking blood curdling screams. They bang on the adjoining wall also and make life a living hell especially in lockdown. For context I am a mother of 3 and work in education. I am not against noisy children

@Macncheeseballs

Maybe I’m the batshit crazy one.

As the trees were most definitely on their side of the boundary fence (the trees themselves weren’t on the boundary) I thought it was their responsibility?

If not, surely discussing it with me first would have been appropriate rather than just doing it and presenting me with a bill?

Mine are the same. The bought a sex pond. Built some horrendous shed/bar thing. Fight over the shared drive way. Have had people around all through lockdown.... the list is never ending! My house will be up for sale ASAP!

Our neighbour decided to put a fence down their driveway which would then block in our utility meters. When we questioned him about it, he said you can lift the panel out when the meter needs reading, this was a 6 foot panel. Complete idiot😡

Our neighbour frequently has her visitor blocking our drive with their van as it doesn't fit on her drive at all times of day., even throughout lockdown. Previously we were polite and knocked to ask if they could move, funniest was when ds4 knocked and told them to move as he'd be late for his class 🙈. It's annoying as dp works nights so can get home in the morning and have nowhere to park as they've blocked the drive and we have no onstreet parking.
Same neighbours built a summerhouse in their garden and the walls are literally against the fence. The roof hangs over and we were told that they woukd be attaching a gutter, nearly two years ago! No gutter has ever materialised and now the run off from the roof is rotting the fence and erroding my flowerbed but they don't want to know.

[quote Cardinella]@Macncheeseballs

Maybe I’m the batshit crazy one.

As the trees were most definitely on their side of the boundary fence (the trees themselves weren’t on the boundary) I thought it was their responsibility?

If not, surely discussing it with me first would have been appropriate rather than just doing it and presenting me with a bill?[/quote]
Yes definitely their responsibility if they are clearly not forming part of the boundary. You are allowed to cut any overhanging branches back to the boundary without permission but must offer the branches back to them to dispose of as they legally belong to them. You would only pay if you had someone come in to do this for you

But If they have the trees cut back then it’s their responsibility to remove all branches from your property and pay the associated costs.

The only time you would split costs (discussed beforehand) would be if the tree was smack bang on the shared boundary.

Yes it was their tree over hanging our garden, we paid 50 50

YABVVU for getting angry about children getting to socialize and breaking the (unreasonable) rules.

YANBU for being totally sick of neighbors' noise since we're ask stuck at home 24/7.

To be fair, I've never liked mine. They're pretty grotty. I am close to losing my rag about their weed smoking though, it wafts into our bathroom.

Our elderly next door neighbours were always fine, but they have bought a crazy big dog who they let bark and bark.
It sounds like it’s in the same room as us.
I’ve had numerous conversations with them about it to no avail. Environmental health around here is shit, so won’t do a thing.
So I have a mega bass sound system thing coming. Childish I know, but from the reviews it will have no problem drowning out the dog noise.

@Cosmos45

I have exactly the same issue - in fact I have spent the last two days on rightmove finding out rural properties in the middle of nowhere we can move to. The problem is I am already in a rural property in the middle of nowhere.. I live in a detached house with a 1/2 acre garden. My neighbour is a long way away - hardly a new estate with houses back to back with each other. He and his children are soooo loud though. We have spent £££'s creating our dream home we thought we were going to live in until then end of our time but they moved in 4 years ago and we have rarely been outside since. My husband was walking the dog the other day and could hear them from three fields away. It is constant kids screaming at the top of their lungs (we can hear them over our TV and we have triple glazing at the back - and they are a long way away to give you an idea of the level of noise). We had a huge row about it last year, I just lost it after him banging out tunes all of bank holiday monday and the kids and a variety of other kids screaming on the huge bouncy castle he rigged up.. He has quitened down but the kids haven't. i don't think it will ever stop, I think they are entitled and arrogant and think they think they are in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours. Whilst it is galling to sell our dream house I do think it is the only choice. I could get the council involved as I have audio recordings of it but I do think I can be arsed with loads of animosity..

Sorry but I really don’t believe kids that are far away can stop you hearing your TV?

@DanniM1986 - I can try and take a photo if you like? Sorry that you don't believe me but it is actually quite unbelievable that there are so far away and they do in fact scream so loudly we can hear them over the TV. Why would I go to the trouble to type that and look for a new house if it were not true?