Annoying neighbour

[EmRose123]

We've lived in our house about 6 years, our neighbours moved in about a year after.
Everyth was fine, apart from the last year or so.
First they were complaining that something to do with the water in our house was making a loud noise in there. They said it was in the middle of the night when I was probably up with the baby. We literally had 4 plumbers who shrugged there shoulders about it and had our taps changed and they say they can still hear.
They have now started complaining about our dogs barking which I know can be annoying but I get my dogs in as soon as I hear them! Although we have dogs behind us that go on for hours and stay out..I personally don't mind I knew when I bought the house it was a very dog heavy neighbourhood.

I just feel like we're targeted for no reason. I'm very much a recluse and hardly seen them but they text my husband who is always at work and complain to him. They've got very rude at times.
It's keep me up at night though as it making me hate where I live and although it's made me put my house up for sale it's not selling and this is making me more frustrated.

I just don't know what else I can do. Think I'm just using this a good rant

Block their number on yours and your H phone. Tell them to fuck off with their petty problems. Its better the devil you know sometimes and hopefully some young party people will move in next 🤭

Block their numbers.

You should be out with your dogs, they shouldn’t be outside barking

Please just ignore roseymoira @EmRose123, and for that matter ignore your horrible neighbours too! You have not done anything wrong, so please try not to let them get to you 💐

You can’t change them so all you can do is let their complaints wash over you. Imagine they are complaining that the rain is too wet and all you do is shrug and ignore. Don’t put any emotional value on the complaint, it just doesn’t matter. Rain is wet. Neighbours complain. World keeps turning.

get on with your life and ignore them.

No need for them to have an avenue to harass you. Block them both. They aren't your friends..

Block their numbers and tell them they will need to speak to you in person with any issues. People that petty often like to hide behind a keyboard.

This is ridiculous advice 🤣
Dogs can be outside for hours and not bark.
What's she meant to do, shadow their every move in case they bark?

My dogs definitely don't bark constantly, it is normally when they hear a noise or if another dog barks for a long time they join in but no where near as much as the dog behind us.
I have two small children so it is unrealistic to shadow them all of the time.
I think @parietal right they seem to complain for the sake of it.
They're not that quiet themselves to be fair, they have rabbits in one room that make a lot of banging noises and even at midnight you can hear them rattling around.

I'm wondering if they think the dog at the back of you are yours, it might sound to them like they're in your garden. Have you explined to them it's another neighbours dogs that are out and barking all time?

I'd counter complain about their noise every single time. It might stop them from contacting you going forward.

Why have they got your husband's number - block it - if they knock again rip their fucking head off.

That sounds absolutely exhausting, no wonder it's keeping you up at night. A few thoughts:
On the noise complaint - you've genuinely done your due diligence here. Four plumbers and a tap change is more than reasonable effort. If they raise it again, I'd honestly just say "we've had it investigated thoroughly by four separate plumbers, there's nothing more we can do" and leave it there. You can't fix what professionals can't find.

On the dog barking - you're already being considerate (bringing them in quickly), and you've pointed out fairly that other dogs in the area bark for hours with no issue raised. That inconsistency is worth noting to yourself even if you don't say it to them - it suggests this might not really be about the dogs.

The bigger pattern - complaints escalating, rudeness, targeting your husband via text rather than talking to you directly... that's not really "annoying neighbour", that's starting to tip into harassment territory, especially if it's affecting your sleep and mental health. A few practical steps:

• Get everything in writing. Ask your husband to save all texts. If they text again, a simple "please put any concerns in writing/email so we have a record" is a good boundary and also tends to cool down rude behaviour.
• Stop engaging in real-time. You don't have to respond immediately to texts, especially rude ones. A cooling-off period helps.
• Keep a log - dates, times, what was said. If this continues or escalates, you may want it for a mediation service or even the council's community safety team, and it's useful if you ever need to disclose to future buyers too (more on that below).
• Consider a mediation service if you want to try to reset things - free/low cost ones exist via local councils in a lot of areas.
• Selling - if you disclose ongoing neighbour disputes in the seller's questionnaire, that can affect buyer interest, so worth being aware some agents/solicitors will ask directly. Doesn't mean don't sell, just something to be upfront about.

You're not being unreasonable, and it's not "just a rant" - you're dealing with something genuinely stressful. Sending solidarity. x