Neighbours cooking us alive ….

[DaisyStiener]

We live in a freezing but lovely townhouse/tenement /high ceiling, bay but single glazed flat.
It’s been freezing since Before Time
Heating is rubbish and often wear layers to keep warm/survive

About 3 months ago : we got new downstairs neighbours

They did a lot of building work and at first , we thought by the heat and the noise- that they were drying plaster or similar with industrial heaters of some sort ?
Turns out no: they are just from a much warmer country and have their heating on 24/7 !?

My eyeballs are drying out. It’s like a Sahara now
I’ve windows open constantly , but at least my washing dries quickly …

Is it even SAFE to have heating on 24/7? What kind of heating rattles a whole room? My cats are just lying in pools on the floor!

AIBU - you’ll age by dehydration, your cats will eventually jump out of the wide open windows , the noise will drive you mad , it’s bad for the environment
YABU- enjoy the heat ,for once - make a cocktail chillax, throw away your onesies as you won’t need them this winter.

The teen will most likely be gone already because she's seen him. The cannabis maybe gone too, depending on how skittish they are and whether OP looked too curious. The fire risk won't be gone, whatever wishful thinking is employed.

Do you need proof before you go to the police when it's potentially someone who is essentially enslaved?

What if it was your baby who grew up and ended up in modern slavery? Would you want them left to suffer because someone didn't have proof?

You said it’s just one sad skinny teen.

On his own in a boiling flat...

[quote DaisyStiener]@ADreadedSunnyDay because it would be dangerous if true.

And it’s all conjecture really…

My flats just hot. That’s all I know [/quote]
Well, you also know that there is equipment running which is making your furniture shake. And you’ve had a clearly spurious explanation for the heat and the noise.

At the very least I d be contacting Environmental Health at the local authority about the noise. They might contact police themselves, I’m not sure. But I am pretty sure about the reason for the heat in your flat.

I wouldn’t risk the life of my child from a fire which I could have prevented. Crimestoppers is free and anonymous.

Interesting user name OP. Big fan of the stoner comedy Spaced? Or mere coincidence? 😂

Ah we hit mumsnet : Level Crazy, I see….

Has anyone seen The ‘Burbs ?
Cos this is what this thread is getting like

OP if you really do not think you can go to the police then ask your local fire station for a 'fire safety check'.

SOmeone will come out, free of charge, to give you advice and you can mention to them about the heat from down stairs.

Then they can take any action / involve the police.

@sashh I DID call the fire station, if you read back. They were not interested

@DaisyStiener OK, you think you can get out in a fire, but what if it is (more than likely) a cannabis farm. You will start to expose your baby to the fumes and drugs. Police wear masks just to remove plants/search these places it’s so effective. Have a think about what a continuous exposure to cannabis will do to your babies developing brain if nothing else. Different to an adult smoking it by choice. My friends sister was nearly abandoned by her family after the way it altered her behaviour being exposed constantly. That’s a safeguarding issue if you know there’s a risk and you don’t do anything by about it. Fire, drugs meh what ever you’re not bothered, nothing more to say that you think this is funnt

You’re right. I don’t know that he is. But you don’t know that he isnt. Unfortunately, if this is a cannabis farm, it’s very likely that he is. Make a phone call. Get someone to check it out.

One skinny teen. Worst case scenario, you lose your free heating. But you might just change someone’s life.

But did you mention you thought it might be a cannabis farm when you spoke to the fire station @DaisyStiener

@toomuchlaundry no because that was just a mad joke , not actually something we thought was real !

They could be just two super quiet and cold guys, and I’m thinking I should buy the kid some thermals ?

So what equipment is making a noise in your flat?

And feeling so much heat from another flat is very unusual I would have thought.

@toomuchlaundry yes that has been the point of the entire thread

Free heating? Enjoy it op. Put the saved money twords a holiday

Best up your house in insurance you are going to need it.
I hope when the police finally raid they don't get the wrong flat.

[quote DaisyStiener]@toomuchlaundry no because that was just a mad joke , not actually something we thought was real !

They could be just two super quiet and cold guys, and I’m thinking I should buy the kid some thermals ?[/quote]
Right, so people who have firsthand experience of this sort of thing are trying to advise you, and now you've gone all cutesy about the prospect of living above a cannabis farm, with the fire and other health risks - with a small baby.

Telling you now.... it's a cannabis farm. All classic signs! Oh and more plasterboard being added to the walls? Yeah, keeping the smell and heat in.

BIL in the police - I asked him about this thread and he said it's a cannabis farm alright. Says phone the police and ask for a welfare check - say you never see the neighbours and the heating has been blasting for days at full heat and you're worried!

@DaisyStiener
Given that you can report anonymously, why wouldn't you?

If it's "just" someone who feels the cold no harm done, but if as others think, it could be a grow house with an enslaved teen, would you not want to help him?

There is another option: bitcoin mining. Again, the noise will be fans because the computers get so hot. It could be legal, or illegal (if they've bypassed the meter). I know someone who started it recently, they had six rigs and you had to raise your voice to talk in the same room.

@ReginaaPhalange thanks , I was hoping someone would ask an officer !

@BethAfra oh my god WHAT is that? Something else to worry about? I wonder what these people would achieve if they put effort into other non criminal things …

Ha ha yes, cannabis farm definitely. They'll be expecting a raid, it's just a matter of when. Hopefully before your place catches fire.

[quote sillysmiles]@DaisyStiener
Given that you can report anonymously, why wouldn't you?

If it's "just" someone who feels the cold no harm done, but if as others think, it could be a grow house with an enslaved teen, would you not want to help him?[/quote]
This. No harm, no foul.

@DaisyStiener not sure which part of eastern Europe. But I used to date an Albanian. All of the residents in his house were tradesman and there wasn't a cannabis plant in sight.
1 - In Albania it's both much hotter in summer and colder in winter and yet the weather is too cold in the UK.
2 - Their curtains were drawn permanently.
3 - Once the heating needed to be switched in it was kept at a balmy 24 degrees as they didn't like the cold.

4 - I used to take a t-shirt with me in the winter as I got fed up with sweating in a jumper.

It could be nothing. See if you could get yourself invited in for a cup of tea.