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.

Okay a good number of mumsnetters seem to know quite a lot about cannabis and growing them. I'll say we've just uncovered another MN demographic.

I had a friend from Africa who was like this. His heating was on full blast 24/7. Visiting his flat for more than 10 minutes was unbearable.

He wasn't growing cannabis.

I knew of someone who built a room inside a room in his flat to grow cannabis. It was to try and keep the heat in, it was just insulation panels and the lights and heaters were inside it.

How he didn't burn the place down I don't know.

His sister was my friend - when she sussed he dismantled it. She is absolutely terrifying and could sort out halfwits who fancy building a weed empire.

I lived in London in a small flat on a street of terraced houses. Someone just a few doors down was running a cannabis farm in a very similar property (detected by helicopter) . It can be done in a flat!

@SmellyTheSmeolaSmoteSmestika

Okay a good number of mumsnetters seem to know quite a lot about cannabis and growing them. I'll say we've just uncovered another MN demographic.

Learn a lot when yours neighbours house is a drug den.

They where pretty stupid though windows wide open while they where cutting into all the plasterboard for rerunning all the electrics. Electric meter always beeping that it had no credit yet there was always electric. Ran it actually living in the house with her children!!

If the Eastern European country begins with A and ends with A I'd definitely consider contacting the police/energy company. I can totally understand why you'd be nervous though. Good luck!

I'm sitting shivering at work, feeling so jealous

If their country is cold in the winter, they’d be used to having the central heating on all the time. Often either on or off, nothing in between.

Defo something dodgy going on OP. And I say this because I've got dodgy ex-in-laws

I would hate that heat. If you have never previously felt such heat and there are vibrations there haven't previously been, I would 101 as it's not normal. Like others say, if nothing else there are health and safety risks to you and your family. If it's an old building they need to breath and too much heat is not good for the fabric of the building. If they are legit, great but I don't think you can really leave it.

Generally there are too many people around in flats who notice comings and goings....

There is often high turnover of occupants in flats, meaning people do not notice changes etc.

@Snoozer11

I had a friend from Africa who was like this. His heating was on full blast 24/7. Visiting his flat for more than 10 minutes was unbearable.

He wasn't growing cannabis.

Was he keeping a pet skinny teenager who didn't speak English and was from a country where trafficking is widespread?

The heating could be an older person (were another family who have to go and stand outside Grandma’s house to avoid becoming desiccated from the temperature - CH on at 28 AND the gas fire lit 😵‍💫), but the rattling noises and the sad teenager kind of negate that. It’s a weed farm… report it, for the sake of the kid at least. And if it isn’t actually a weed farm, no harm done. But I’d be worried about the house going up in smoke (and the kid too of course).

cannabis farm, experienced this once at a family member's place and the party wall was mad, mad hot to touch! they were great neighbours though, sadly, last few lots in there were noisy and horrid, these lot just a bit dangerous with electrics but very, very quiet!
not recommending cultivating cannabis, and the gangs often use human trafficking but that was his experience at the time. Never had to put the heating on and you could barely tell they were there.

Oh fuck this escalated!

I really dont think I would want to call on a drug ring, but being top floor of a boiling flat would do my head in.

And the fire hazard! Fuck that. I wouldnt be able to sleep/ relax in the house and every time I left I would be worried I would return to a pile of timber.

I would probably wait a few weeks, not say anything and then ask the police to bust the door on the pretence of a gas leak or something.

@stalkersaga Perhaps, I didn't check all of his cupboards...

OP - the process can do a lot of damage to your property

And if I really couldnt call the police for fear of some Armenian drug lords - I would be buying the young gardener a P50 fire extinguisher for the flat and another one for the shared hallway. A smoke mask for me and DP and some fire blankets for a potential escape.

I'd be annoyed too but I think the problem is they probably don't realise it's having an effect on a neighbouring flat. I don't think it would occur to me. Noise, yes, heat, no.

@LemonSwan

And if I really couldnt call the police for fear of some Armenian drug lords - I would be buying the young gardener a P50 fire extinguisher for the flat and another one for the shared hallway. A smoke mask for me and DP and some fire blankets for a potential escape.

Buy a fire extinguisher for a child that's been trafficked/subject to modern slavery, but not ring the police?

@Battendownthesnacks

Amusingly a mumsnet video called "grow your own herbs" has just popped up on my screen as I scrolled through this thread

I've got one for mini burgers. For the munchies...?

I think you are probably the only person in Britain complaining about a warm house paid for by someone else right now.

@Horst oh my god they DID put in a tonne of plaster boards!!? Is this a thing?! I did think it was strange !

What on earth are you complaining about? I'd love all that free heating.

I sleep with my window open throughout the year anyway.

For the sake of a potential child being trafficked into modern slavery I'd have to call the police. How can you not?