To drop my kids off at partying neighbours at 6am tomorrow

[Cheepcheepcheep]

I won’t do this (I think!) because it wouldn’t be good for the kids but ideas welcome.

My 3yo and 5yo couldn’t sleep 2 weeks ago thanks to a wild party held by our student neighbours (sound system, professional security, hundreds spilling into the street).

DH is away with work this weekend and they are having ‘pres’. In my day this meant shots in the house and games. Now apparently it’s 50+ people shouting and screaming in the garden.

I knocked on their door earlier and explained that, we know we live near a uni campus, some parties are expected. But having another huge party 2 weeks later and keeping my tired preschoolers up (with no notice, I’d have taken them to my mum and dads had I known!) is unacceptable. I said I was going to be up with them at 5.30am (as usual) tomorrow and threatened to drop them over while they’re nursing their hangovers.

Obviously I won’t drop 3 & 5 year olds in a house of hungover students at 6am but AIBU for being tempted?!

Report them to the university. They have no issue messing with the sleep of all the neighbours and actions have consequences.

Keep a diary highlighting the hours, outside shouting, outside music etc. Also any rudeness such as their responses like "we are allowed to".

I’d play coco melon or hey duggee stick song as loud as possible, one song on repeat against the shared wall and then go off and take the kids to the park for a couple of hours as pay back!!

Past experience says police won’t come out for noise but any hint of violence, drugs or criminal damage puts you further up the priority list.

Might be worth contacting the station to see if you’ve got a community support officer, I ended up with the mobile number of ours and she was so helpful.

Honestly at that age and acting like that the more you retaliate the worse they'll likely be.
I would try appealing to their conscience instead of trying to annoy them.
When DH is back try to muster up some tears and go round saying the DC were crying for hours last night as they were exhausted and you were up with them at 6am and they've spent all day upset and tired. Ask if there's any way they could use a friends house who doesn't have young children next to it instead.

I used to live in a ground floor maisonette with another above. New tenant moved in, youngish, bringing his girlfriend with him. Regularly ridiculously loud music until 3 in the morning, even in the week (they didn't seem to have jobs, God knows how they paid the rent). Often it wouldn't start up until gone midnight, presumably because they'd just got back in. One night I tried to sleep in the car because the music was so loud in my flat but could still here it, so drove car round the block.

I discovered bloke across road knew the landlord so I got his address and phone number. I wrote a letter detailing all the noise and said that next time it happened I would ring said landlord up no matter what the time. Hand delivered it. Sure enough, two days later, music started at 3 am. So I rang landlord and woke him up. And again three days later.

Next day, landlord knocked on my door telling me he was going to evict them. Which he did. Peace was restored and several other neighbours brought me champagne.

Do you think that there might be drugs being taken and sold at the parties? Police might find it harder to ignore, particularly if you go over to complain and are offered some.

A more immediate response - and I did this once, in a haze of sleep deprivation, is to go over - the door will be open, and pull the plug on the sound system while shouting at them that next time you're bringing a hammer and you'll smash it to pieces, and that they are selfish bastards. They're not going to call the police.

It wasn't planned when I did this, but was surpisingly effective.

I had a teenage neighbour who did this when his parents went away. I took great delight in playing heavy metal full blast at 9 am whilst he and his mates were sleeping it off.

Exactly.
It certainly wasn't a one off when my cousin took action.
It had become a regular occurrence in a large house not far from the university, her husband worked there.
So far from a one off.
It had been a family home and when it was inherited by a son living abroad he decided to rent it out to students.

I work in this sector OP and most Unis these days have an 'Off Campus Accommodation Officer'. Can't say for sure about Surrey though. Their job will be to ensure that students have integrated into the community effectively and are living in a respectful manner. If you report the repeated disturbance to them they should be able to send someone out to have a word/call them in to speak to them at Uni.

The other route you could try is the local council. If the property is an HMO (it will be automatically if there are 5 or more tenants and in some LA areas as few as 4) there will be a licensing department who will be responsible for ensuring HMOs are being managed effectively which will include anti-social behaviour management.

Large speaker against the adjoining wall.
Find a never-ending heavy metal playlist on Spotify. Stick it on and turn it up to 11. Go away for the weekend 👍

Didn’t you video the party where there were hundreds of people? Someone must have, I would have sent it to everyone I could think of. Keep recording the parties so you have evidence.

This is not a helpful comment but you reminded me of an event back in 2002, when my partner (a woman, like me) and I invited another female couple round for dinner one Saturday night. After the meal, we were just sitting chatting in the lounge when the door was knocked.

Two police officers said they'd had a complaint we were having a very noisy party. As we stood there, we could all hear the music coming from the street behind us, but the rozzers didn't seem to twig this, so we invited them into the lounge where the other two women in their 40s were sitting holding cups of coffee.

My partner then led the plods out to the back garden, so they could hear for themselves where the disturbance was coming from. All they said - after a few moments of silent reflection - was "Right. Thank you madam, enjoy the rest of your evening." And then left!

Will the kids listen to an audio book or bedtime music? We live next to an event space and it's not exactly a thumping base sound system but there's often extra noise and the audiobook covers it enough to get them to sleep. Once asleep not much will wake them! But all kids are different obviously.

Ps mine wake between 6.30 and 7.30. but they're not often asleep until 8.30. no symptoms of over tiredness. Could you shift to a regularly later bedtime for more of a morning lie in?

ETA mine are same age as yours.

I think recording and sending to at least the local paper is a good idea. Possibly posting in social media too and linking to the uni.

Alternatively, the garden hose turned over the fence? They might enjoy that though.

And the OP’s other neighbours?

Noise complaint to council. And police when it’s past a certain hour. Keep on it, every time it happens. It’s despicable - totally selfish and totally anti social to neighbours. They could go out like normal people.

That’s good too - name and shame them for their anti social behaviour. And obvs complain to the landlord.

Anti social twats -heavy metal girl here and have been last 40 + years but not loud enough to annoy neighbours- I'd def speak to the uni, if they are twats now they probably aren't that bothered about their degrees tbh.

I had someone trying to break in to my house threatening to beat me up (in less polite words) and they wouldn't come out.

Many many years I had a similar party next door, I was in a terrace so the bedroom was the width of the house so no way to get away.

Fortunately I had a fantastic hi fi system in my bedroom, that somehow got switched on as I went out to walk the dog, oh and the speakers had turned to face the wall.

I came back to them banging on the wall.

Surely you just call the police everytime this happens?

Crazy frog on repeat from a mega speaker, (worth the investment) day after the party from as soon as it all goes quiet and then go out for the day with an overnight stay and give them 24hrs of pain !!!!!

do you really think in this day and age using the police for noise is acceptable ! This is an issue for council environmental health department

I'd be up at 5 am, wedging a heavy bass speaker against the party wall, max volume and go out for the morning. If I don't get any sleep, they wouldn't either.

If you have any adjoining walls, I would be throwing a tennis ball at them on repeat for the whole morning.

and in answer to the ‘we’re allowed to have ‘pre’s’ comment, I’d be saying yes but you’re being an antisocial nightmare and not considering anyone else in your selfish mindset.

id also be reporting them to the uni every single time. They won’t get kicked out for one party but they should get a reminder of the code of conduct and it’s on them to not let it get to the point of being kicked out.