Neighbours junk in the hallway

[zingally]

I’m pretty certain I’m being unreasonable – please confirm it for me!
I live on the first floor of a block of 9 flats (3 flats on each floor). I’ve lived here 10 years now, only once had some short-lived bother with a neighbour. The residents generally all keep themselves to themselves.

Downstairs, in the flat nearest the front door to the block, lives a young couple and their baby. They are not below me, so I never hear anything of them, they don’t disturb me or anything. We’ll always say hello on the extremely rare occasion that we happen to pass each other, but I don’t know their names or anything.

Anyway, about 2 months-ish ago. Early July I’d say, maybe even a bit before, they had their bathroom and kitchen re-done. Fair enough.

But ever since then, there have been two large countertops, and 2 planks of wood (each about 7 foot long), leaning up against the wall in the hallway. This is a common area, and it’s part of the rules of the building that communal areas are kept clear. Prior to this stuff appearing, they always kept their baby buggy in the hallway for people to squeeze round. They’ve also left old bulky furniture outside, recycling, full bin bags, multiple pairs of work boots, etc etc. And the stuff always stays for WEEKS. And now MONTHS.

The countertops and planks aren’t technically in anyone’s way… but it irritates me! Literally no one else, in the 10 years I’ve been here, has EVER used the communal hallway as their own personal long-term storage.

I’m being unreasonable being irritated by this stuff, aren’t I?

It’s a fire risk. Report it to your management company.

YANBU. It’s not their personal storage space!

You're not being unreasonable. Report it.

It’s a fire hazard. They must remove it.

YANBU. Definitely a fire risk and not allowed in communal areas.

Communal areas have to be kept clear - report to building management.

You need to report this and keep reporting it until it's gone. It's a fire hazard and shouldn't be there.

That is a massive fire hazard. That's why hallways need to be kept clear.

They'll be alright on the ground floor but they're putting your life at risk

Agree with everyone else. Fire hazard, and almost certainly in breach of their tenancy agreement and the buildings insurance.

Do your local fire brigade do home safety checks? An officer might come and have a word if requested by the management.

I agree with everyone else, you need to report it.

As previous posters have said it's a fire risk, people overestimate their abilities when fire occurs. Even if passable now, could pose a huge issue in a corridor filled with smoke & in a state of panic (especially for elderly people or those with mobility issues). It seems petty on a day to day basis but the rules are there for a very important reason.

Report to the managing agent, if they don't respond or the problem persists you can and should report it to your local fire brigade & your local authority.

Storage provision in flats is usually woeful so they're probably not doing it because they're "bad/inconsiderate" people but it still can't be allowed.

A friend of mine lived in a local authority block where the council advised residents that communal areas had to be kept clear repeatedly. Eventually they removed all the pushchairs, bikes, scooters etc and left notes advising residents where they could collect their belongings from. Hugely costly for the council & inconvenient for the residents but the message got through.

Report it. Rules about keeping hallways clear aren't there to make life awkward, they are to make sure that if there is a fire there isn't unnecessary combustible material and the escape routes are clear.

YABU not to report them, in fact.

I will report it. There are some contact details up in the hallway. Thanks everyone.
I was happy to give them some grace to start with, I imagine it was difficult having a bathroom and kitchen replaced, work a full time job (I think) and manage a baby... But it's been 2 months.

Your building Management is remiss not to speak to them before about this if this has been an issue for a while. They have a legal duty to keep the hall clear.

It's a fire risk, and most management companies are being really hot on this after Grenfell, so I'd expect this to get sorted out pretty damn quickly.

YANBU. Definitely report as a fire hazard!

No, it's a fire risk. The neighbour opposite me in my old flat used to do that, and the landlord accused me, because I had a baby. I assumed that the neighbour's gf was bringing their child round.

You're not even allowed to have a door mat or a flower pot in communal areas now, so this goes way beyond what would be acceptable!
Definitely report to the management company/freeholder.

My knobhead neighbour does shit like this, the absolute best was when he started parking his mate's crappy motorbike under the stairs, it absolutely stank of petrol and him and his mate would then smoke weed in the stairwell all night. Muppet! I reported to police, fire brigade and housing association and they came down hard on him immediately. He keeps his crap to himself now.

Report, report, report, they are putting everyone in the block at risk and it needs sorting

I will report it
Going to sound radical here....have you spoken to them about it? Asked when they're planning to move it?
Where I live special wast is only collected every three months. Maybe they've tried to arrange collection but they have to wait.

@KidsAreMean

I will report it Going to sound radical here....have you spoken to them about it? Asked when they're planning to move it? Where I live special wast is only collected every three months. Maybe they've tried to arrange collection but they have to wait.

Not radical to ask!

2 things:
1: I'm crap at confrontation. Plus because it's not personally impacting on me, I'd feel silly raising it. But these pieces are not the first time they've used the hallway to store their excess "stuff". No one else in 10 years has ever done it.

2: They have a large estate-style car, and a work van. Both would be ample size to transport the counter top pieces at least.

It's a fire hazard. Focus on that when you tackle it.

I'm crap at confrontation
Don't worry about it, it's not actually your job to confront anyone. The building manager should/will deal with it.

No - I agree with the previous posted - may not be a problem now with space around the worktops etc - imagine if it was dark and the hall thick with space - you're running and you run into the worktop - knock it down, you fall over - person behind you either falls over you and falls down themselves or tramples you..

I know it sounds drastic but these things have happened.

Report to management company - you pay a service charge - it is their job to sort this - that's what you pay for.

Report - job done.

Also, it will invalidate the block insurance, so the management company will want to know about it asap. Your service charges pay for the insurance, so you want to be sure it is valid.