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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Would it UR to put a sign on my neighbours garage which is directly below my bedroom….he lives in a totally different apartment block

54 replies

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 06:31

Bit of a dull post….

But for the past two weeks every weekday without fail between 5:30-6:00am the garage directly beneath my bedroom gets opened and is shut again within a few minutes. Clearly no car is being driven out of the garage. I know its a neighbour who does this and i am 90% sure he gets a stand up e-scooter(fkin hate the things) out to head off to work. This neighbour doesn’t live in my block but in the 1st one on our street with his family. He obviously pays the monthly fee for a garage and was allocated the one below my flat. Would it be UR of me to put up a note requesting he take the item (escooter) he gets out of the garage every morning to his basement(or gf’s garage located beneath their flat) We are all allocated a decent basement space in each building that can be locked. Or that he move it to the bike rack space also located in their building. I get up with DS at around 6:30/6:45 each morning for school/work but lately he and the dog have been waking up far earlier because of this early noise.
So….
YABU - He pays the fee and was allocated this garage so is entitled to keep/get out whatever he needs whenever he needs it.
YANBU - I can put up a sign (politely) asking him to store the item in his building given the multiple storage options available.

OP posts:

ApolloandDaphne · 22/08/2022 07:41

It's just day to day living noise surely? You would be very unreasonable asking someone to not use their garage in a very normal way. It's not their fault you chose to live above a garage.

Simonjt · 22/08/2022 07:48

Weirdwonders · 22/08/2022 07:15

There’s nothing unreasonable about using a garage, but do you really think using a garage at 5.30am when someone else sleeps above it and you live in a completely different block is ok? Couldn’t you argue that you shouldn’t rent a garage below a bedroom you don’t own if you know you’re going to be using it at 5.30am daily? Why does all consideration go out of the window just because you pay money for something?

In most blocks garages don’t belong to the flat above, also in many they aren’t rented but owned. It would also mean garages were hugely spaced out as you would only be able to have one garage per floor space of each first floor flat.

Its also no different to someone opening a garage door or starting their car if they live in a semi detached house with a garage/driveway as most houses have a bedroom at the front. If you starting a car to go to work woke your neighbours where would you park so it didn’t wake someone else?

DmitriMendeleev · 22/08/2022 07:48

Is it not illegal to ride an e scooter you own on public roads or did the government change it?

mac1974 · 22/08/2022 07:53

YABU

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 07:56

Thanks! I get all your points which is why i thought i would see what everyone thinks. If he didn’t have a garage already under his own flat i wouldn’t think twice to ask and their car is never parked in there. I just find it odd he would store something he needs every morning a short walk away from his own place. If he lived in my block totally understandable. I definitely don’t want to cause any tension here either. I do choose to live here and have been here for 4yrs, they moved in to the first block only this year. I cannot afford to leave and i love my flat too. Shifts here do start really early so i know he isn’t choosing a 5am start. I may try to have a word with them rather than leaving the note though as this seemed the better approach! Thanks for all the comments. We’ve now got scaffolding going up so it’ll be noisy/early starts either way. Maybe GIANT earplugs would be a wise investment! 😂

OP posts:

NoSquirrels · 22/08/2022 07:56

You wouldn’t be unreasonable to have a chat with him in person about the issue, and make those suggestions.

You would be very unreasonable to put up a sign.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 22/08/2022 08:00

The London Fire Brigade tell people not to store e bikes and e scooters within apartments because of the risk of fire. That probably isn't of great comfort to you, but he certainly should not be storing them within a living area. Garages should be fire resistant.

SirChenjins · 22/08/2022 08:02

Does he ride it on public roads? If so I'd stick the note up and if he said no then I'd call the police because they are illegal (hate the stupid things) to ride on public roads and land, and I my tolerance level is currently at zero. If he's storing it in his garage I presume it's not a rental one that you can ride in some parts of London (if that's where you are).

CakeCrumbs44 · 22/08/2022 08:03

Clearly no car is being driven out of the garage. I know its a neighbour who does this and i am 90% sure he gets a stand up e-scooter
Why would it be better if he was driving out a car, that would be even louder!

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 08:13

@CakeCrumbs44 I meant with no car being stored in their own garage they surely have room for an escooter. So he could store it in their as this one is located in their block of flats. Or in their allocated basement space . But I suppose this is me making an assumption that they have the space to do this.

I didnt know about the Fire Brigade guidelines but here (not UK) there are bikes galore in the basements. Designated stands and bike racks. But ultimately he does have every right to use the garage he pays for. The garages are rented along with the flats and he obviously was allocated this one so it wasnt his choice either.

OP posts:

Minesril · 22/08/2022 08:14

Clearly no car is being driven out of the garage.

Would it make a difference if it was a car?

Oysterbabe · 22/08/2022 08:17

He must have his own reasons for leaving it there. If it was more convenient to use the other storage then he would do so.

Getoff · 22/08/2022 08:21

What time does his gf go to work? Maybe they can swap garages.

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 08:29

@Getoff she is currently WFH and is mainly at home with their toddler.

I definitely wouldnt have posted about him needing his car because he would have to store a car in a garage but an escooter is tiny in comparison so hardly takes up much room. They are old garages so make a creaky racket(not his fault obvisouly) and its just so irritating to hear it open only to be banged closed a minute later, waking the dog and DS between 5:30-6:00am. BUT I agree that just as i have my reasons for it being inconvenient he must have his for it being the better/more convenient option for him.

OP posts:

LordEmsworth · 22/08/2022 08:32

It's illegal to use a privately-owned e scooter on public roads.

YABU to dictate when he can use his garage.

YWNBU to ensure the local police are aware and are able to warn him that his e scooter could be confiscated if he continues to flout the law.

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/08/2022 08:40

LordEmsworth · 22/08/2022 08:32

It's illegal to use a privately-owned e scooter on public roads.

YABU to dictate when he can use his garage.

YWNBU to ensure the local police are aware and are able to warn him that his e scooter could be confiscated if he continues to flout the law.

OP is not in the UK. We don't know what the rules are where she is.

Leafy3 · 22/08/2022 08:40

I have sympathy because I don't handle disturbed sleep well so I can see how it's driving you nuts. Yabu though, and I think you know you are.

As others have said, you can ask, very nicely (and humbly!) but have low expectations.

The facts are that you don't know for sure it's an Escooter and how can you possibly know that he has a functioning locker to store it in? Let alone one that has room for it.

I think your chances of souring relations are higher than you think, I'm afraid.

You'd be better off saying to him that you have no problem with his garage use but the poor repair of the garage door is an issue and would he support you by both contacting the building management to have improved so that its quiet?

Focus on building management for noise disturbance, not your neighbour.

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 08:51

@Leafy3 good point, perhaps building management could help, update the garages...maybe? And the reason for thinking it is an escooter is because i hear the garage do the very same thing around 4:30/5pm when he returns on it. And on weekends he tends to use it but luckily later in the afternoon. I WFH with two days in the office currently so not a curtain twitcher or anything. I just really love sleep a lot...

I really dont want to upset anyone. My DS plays with their older DD sometimes so we are neighbourly and on good terms. The reason i mentioned the basement space is that everyone has one allocated to their flat and the bigger the flat, the bigger the space and we live in the same type of flats so have the biggest space available to us. So its bascially a basement room in their building that they can make secure and it would be ever so silent retrieving it from there... (well for me!)

OP posts:

Leafy3 · 22/08/2022 09:04

No, you don't sound like curtain twitcher :)

Do a bit of research about fair and reasonable expectations on building mgt and the level of maintenance they provide. If other people are also affected then it will add weight to your complaint, but the way I see it is that your complaint is with them and not your neighbour.

If you focus purely on this, and don't mention alternative solutions to your neighbour, he may decide to keep it elsewhere (if he can) just to be neighbourly. I would say this is your best chance.

It may be the door just needs oiling, or the track needs replacing, but do some research and go to your building mgt with solutions not just a complaint.

BurscoughBooths · 22/08/2022 09:12

If you are neighbourly and on good terms with this family as your DC play together, why on earth would you leave a note? Just talk to him!

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 09:39

@BurscoughBooths i suppose i am bit scared of his reaction. I hate confrontation! I felt a note may have been polite but seems it comes across as inpolite and demanding on my part. Where I previously lived we were constantly being shouted at for being noisy by the elderly neighbours we lived with and it was awful. I felt like we were renting our flat from them and not equal tenants like them. So I want to avoid this kind of scenario. I dont know him well but the gf is pretty friendly.

OP posts:

sunshineandstrawberryjam · 22/08/2022 09:54

I suppose the other risk is that if he can't use his garage and has to store his scooter in the basement he is likely to stop renting the garage entirely and you may end up with someone who is driving a souped up motorbike or car out of there loudly at 5.30 am.

Tamworthian · 22/08/2022 10:01

Maybe he’s storing it underneath your flat so he doesn’t wake his own family…

How about a really friendly note asking if it might be possible to use a bit of WD40 on the door or something as it’s waking you all but you understand why he needs to use it blah blah… he might get the hint if he’s a nice guy?

Bluebells12 · 22/08/2022 10:15

Yanbu to politely explain the problem and ask him to consider helping you out by storing the scooter elsewhere if possible.

(Sounds like a really weird set up that the garage below isn’t allocated to the flat above.)

Could maybe complain to the garage’s landlord re that amount of early noise every day is unlawful and public nusiance? But I doubt you’d get anywhere.

If you own your home, maybe swap out your window, I got noise reduction glass fitted to mine cos the birds wake me up at dawn and it made a big difference.

Original poster

Naimee87 · 22/08/2022 10:17

Yes could be he doesnt want to wake up the toddler... which is also understandable. I have calmed down a bit since this morning. I think as its so close to when our alarm goes but not quite close enough to actually need to be up, this is the most annoying thing. The last golden hour of sleep. But first world problems i know! 😑

OP posts:

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