To be absolutely furious with my neighbour?

[Smurphy99]

I live in a rented semi detached house. The neighbour attached to me I generally get on quite well with. However there are a few issues that are really starting to grate on me.
Every evening her and her partner smoke weed on their patio, just meters from my back door. In this heat obviously we have the windows open, I have a young child (DD3), and the house is absolutely stinking of cannabis. I hate hate hate the smell and often by the time we have smelt it we don’t have enough time to get all the windows shut before it’s lingering in our house.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, she has now quite spontaneously brought a parrot.
I have nothing against parrots or indeed most birds in general, however she leaves it in its cage 24/7 and every evening for hours opens her back patio doors and pushes its cage out into the garden for it to get some “fresh air”. Queue a CONSTANT, extremely loud, extremely high pitched almost whistle noise from said bird. This goes on and on and on and on. I regularly text her complaining that we need sleep and the bird is driving me insane, to which she does in fairness close the doors. However it’s every night. I don’t know if any of you have a young parrot but the noise is just grating.
There have been various other issues, such as her children loudly playing in the garden at very unsociable hours of the evening, loud arguments between her and her partner and lots of banging noises from the house late at night and early mornings.
I do in general get along with them and don’t want to rock the boat, is there a polite way I can request her to smoke at the bottom of the garden? And for goodness sake get rid of the bird? We do share a landlord and at this point as I listen to the bird shriek AGAIN, I’m considering making a serious complaint. AIBU?

Oh snap! I have neighbours either side who all smoke weed. It absolutely stinks doesn't it! It lingers throughout the house for hours! Revolting I must say

It’s the absolute worst smell gets in all our clothes. I’ve on occasion done a load of laundry, hung it out to dry and too late smelt the weed and then all my toddlers clothes stink of it. Just appalling and disgusting.

So what have you actually said? Don’t need to be rude but don’t be a wet lettuce either! Explain exactly what you’ve said about the weed! Ask them to sit on a different area of the garden. The parrot you might need to accept.

I haven’t commented on the cannabis yet as I’m really not a confrontational type. I just shut the windows and get on with it. The parrot though. Really? It’s waking my daughter up. It’s LOUD. it’s RIGHT under my windows. It would be fine if I was complaining about a dog barking constantly, you wouldn’t tell me to accept that?

You're going to have to pull on your Big Girl Pants and TALK to her. Tell her how much your house stinks of her cannabis and how annoying her parrot is.

If you don't get anywhere play bagpipe music incessantly. Make her life miserable.

You need to tell them as that's a bit antisocial

By the way it's "cue" not "queue" in that context

Always best to try to resolve these things by speaking to the other party first, but if that fails, you need to speak to your LL, who you say is the LL for both properties?

There’s very likely a restriction on pets, and drug use certainly won’t be permitted. But even if your LL starts evicting her for those breaches, you still need to live next door while that process plays out, which could take months, so that could be very awkward.

Just speak to them. I love the small of cannabis so that wouldn't bother me and it's a bit unreasonable asking them to not smoke on their own property so not sure you can do much about that. They are unlikely to go to the bottom of the garden , they are enjoying a smoke on their own patio so I think you just have to suck that up.

The parrot again not sure what they can do. It must be driving them nuts too
Continue to message them every time

Next door does this with their caged birds. It makes me murderous. It's definitely not a nice sunrise birdsong for the poor trapped creatures. "Pop outside in your cage the size of my fridge, let's see what you could have had!"

You love the smell of cannabis? Extremely odd. I have a young child and I don’t particularly want her going to preschool in clothes that smell of drugs. The more concerning thing is she has two young children (2 and 4 I believe) herself, so not only are they stoned looking after their children but they’re actively exposing them to the smoke. Even if it was cigarettes, yes I would expect them to go to the end of the garden in summer so it doesn’t blow into their neighbours windows, it’s disgusting!

Have you managed to get anywhere with a conversation with them? I don’t know what to do. I have visions of hopping the fence and releasing it 😂

I feel people are very much “I can do what the hell I like in my own home and sod the world.” He also leaves his dog howling 24/7 and ignores and council intervention so…

Oh gosh. I feel for you. Yes it does appear that way. It’s such a shame for the animals

In that case you're almost unique. It stinks. If that's what the neighbour wants to do that's her choice but she needs to be aware that the stink's pervading your house. It's really selfish

She knows it stinks since she's doing it indoors. wouldn't hold my breath where she's concerned though.

Beyond me that people will say “oh she’s enjoying a smoke on her own patio so suck it up” like it isn’t actual drugs? If she was snorting lines off her garden table or shooting up on her rattan lawn chairs people wouldn’t say oh leave her be she’s just having a bit of smack in her own garden.

No helpful advice other than what some PP have said but....you could lean over the fence and try and teach the parrot some words "what's that smell?" Or "I live with idiots" etc etc 😀

If you share the same landlord is there anything in the contract about pets?

no :( we both have dogs - neither dog an issue. I also have a cat. I don’t know whether or not she sought permission for the bird. She also told me she has put a wall up in one of the bedrooms to separate it though and I can’t imagine LL would be too happy about that. Don’t know if it’s true.

I think she's an absolute bitch for keeping this poor bird in a cage. So fucking cruel. Should be outlawed. I would contact the RSPCA, or the RSPB. A parrot - indeed ALL birds - should allowed time out of the cage to fly around, even if only indoors. For 5-6 hours a day. Or more.

As for the weed smoking, we have a neighbour who smokes weed, and I detest the stench (as does DH,) but we actually get on with her, and like her, and she is considerate in many ways. She doesn't play loud music, and makes zero noise or sounds between 10.30pm, and around 8am, and she works Monday to Thursday, so we don't hear her between 8.45am and around 6pm those days.

So I don't want to rock the boat and upset the neighbourly friendship because of the smell of pot 2-3 times a day sometimes. Some days she doesn't smoke it at all, some days only once.

But if I disliked her I would report her to the police. Despite a popular myth, cannabis is NOT LEGAL, and she could be charged with possession of it, and get a criminal record. Then report her every time she smokes it/you smell it.

Do you have inspections? Some LL do them every 6 months. If he went round he would surely smell the weed and notice the wall

I have been here over a year and have never heard off the LL so no. Doubt it.

Can you move? The weed smoking won't stop and your resentment will grow. I hate the smell as well.
Even if you speak to the landlord, realistically what can he/she do as he/she is not there 24/7 to monitor her behaviour.

On a different note, why do people feel it necessary to correct or point out spelling mistakes! They could be as a result of autocorrect and to be so pedantic is really pathetic and not in the spirit of MN. Perhaps it makes them feel good about themselves.

Heavens.
If your home burns down the LL won’t get a penny from insurance if he hasn’t done regular inspections.

Re thr smell, could you suggest they get a dry herb vape which massively reduces the smell, and is also much more economical. They are fairly inexpensive to buy.

Not sure about the parrot but YANBU to be set on edge by the screeching as they are noisy buggers. It’s probably bored out of its mind.

I couldn't care less if they were snorting lines either in their own home