New Neighbours

[Tally]

After months and months of living next door to an empty house, it has finally been let.

 

I guess they will be moving in on 1st September, which is tomorrow.

 

As I work nights, quiet is important to me. I already have to put up with heat because opening the window would be too much noise from passing cars. I sleep in the attic where it is nice and quiet. My other neighbours have their children's bedroom in the attic, but they play downstairs or in the garden during the day, so I get left in peace and quiet. But if my new neighbours have teenage children, they might want to spend all day listening to loud music in their bedroom.

 

I think the new neighbours have been visiting the house, because for the past 3 days at 5pm, I hear a noise of lots of people stomping up the stairs and squealing in the attic room. The last tenants had six children and used to scream at each other all day and all night. They kept banging on the door until I went out there in my PJs, hair all wild, and told them to F off. I was so relieved when they finally left, but it sounds like another large, noisy family are moving in now.

 

I don't really need to sleep tomorrow because I don't work tomorrow night, so I don't mind if there is a lot of noise with moving furniture, but I do hope they will stop all the squealing. I'm really scared that one of them will be a drummer or something.

[pearl]

Feel for you Tally, I've had sooooo many lousy neighbours in my long & eventful life.

Know its hard, but try not to worry too much in advance as half the stuff you think may happen probably wont.

Just wait & see what (if anything) does happen then you can work out a strategy.

Oh, and, people are always noisier when they first move in, they get over excited

[warrenpenalver]

I suppose it also depends on the house. If the type of house is such that it attracts large families then there isnt much you can do. Is the landlord the type who takes on people most landlords wouldnt touch???

[Tally]

The previous tenants were just really horrible, I was really scared of them. I was so happy when I realised they had gone. Hopefully the new ones will be nicer. My neighbours the other side are nice.

[warrenpenalver]

Im lucky im end of terrace so only one neighbour whos always out!! I do worry about one neighbour who backs onto my house as it seems to be rented out to loud aggressive chavs and as my house has the garage on the back ive added 2 extra locks and 3 alarms ito the garage incase the chavs target me or my car.

 

Hopefully things will be ok Tally!

[Tally]

They have been properly moving in today, using a TAXI!!!

 

Their dog has already paid me a visit. I found him in the back garden and he was trying to get into the house. I scared him away, but then realised I should take him back to his owners, and called him back to me. He was everso sweet, and clearly elderly. When I went into nextdoor's garden two women were in the back "porch" type thing and I asked if he lived there. They said yes and thanked me for bringing him back, but didn't really seem concerned or apologetic, and didn't say hello or anything. I think they are going to need to block off the gap at the bottom of the gate properly, as he is such a small and elderly dog, and my cat will not take kindly to coming across him in the garden. At least he was quiet though! And if they don't want to be friends that's fine, as long as they don't turn nasty.

 

So things seem OK so far. Hopefully they will resolve the dog problem, and if not, Mitzi probably will. It wouldn't be too bad, he's everso placid and quite sweet actually, although he has taken a dump in my garden.

[warrenpenalver]

although he has taken a dump in my garden.

not quite so sweet then........................

[doingmyheadin]

lol

[Tally]

I saw the dog in my garden again this morning. I didn't mind on the day they moved in, but I hope this is not happening regularly. I really do not want to be treading in dog poo in my own back garden. I don't know what I can do about it, because anything I say will come across wrong and then I will end up with neighbours who hate me (again).

 

They are making a lot of noise in the attic, where I sleep (or would like to sleep). They run across the room and up and down the stairs, shouting at each other. I was never allowed to run in the house and got sent into the garden for running. Is it normal to run in the house? Moving downstairs is not an option, because they make noise there as well. There are four children. I could hear four voices, and I heard them getting called for tea this evening and the mother called four names. But they have just moved house and gone back to school, so hopefully they will calm down soon, because I can't cope much longer on so little sleep.

[Mumble]

They are making a lot of noise in the attic, where I sleep (or would like to sleep). ... I can't cope much longer on so little sleep.

Have you tried earplugs? You can get lots of different types now, some that go in the ear and some that cover the ear entrance, all made of different materials. I've got some that come in boxes of four that you might find helpful (I know that I'm not allowed to mention names although if you do a search of this forum there is a post started by someone else with the link to the website selling these).

[Tally]

They are still stamping now, clearly deliberately, and slowly - not because they were running like before. It's the middle of the night and they are deliberately stamping

[warrenpenalver]

try and be civil with them about this. If its the kids stamping they may well be doing it to annoy the parents rather than you.

 

If being civil doesnt work then take it through the council as in many areas they are hot on noise nuisance now. Especially if they are renting and you own it might look better with you as the long suffering nieghbour and a string of idiots next door. might even force the landlord to sell.

[pearl]

You haven't had any dispute with them yet Tally, so try & remember, hard as it is, that it isn't aimed at you personally. But you do need to find some way of letting them know you work nights & need your sleep. Like Warren says, the council or their landlord might be the best bet if they won't be considerate.

 

I really feel for you. My stomach still crunches up when I hear unexpected noise through our party wall.

[Tally]

I'm hopefully going to wait until I see them in the garden, ask them how they are settling in and things, try to mention that I work nights and sleep in the attic because it's been so lovely and quiet up there, and also slip in a question about when they plan to secure the garden to prevent their dogs (turns out there are two of them) messing in my garden. I think if I knock on the door to talk to them it will look like I am coming round to complain, so I will try to catch them in the garden.

 

If that doesn't go well, I am going to write a letter to the landlord suggesting he install carpets on the top stairs and attic room to absorb the noise of children running around, and to secure the garden as a matter of urgency. I don't actually know the landlord, but hopefully the letting agency would pass it on. I don't know whether the landlord knows they have dogs, but some landlords do not allow pets.

 

They've also put their bin right on the path that runs behind the houses. Because it's a terrace, there is a public footpath through the gardens. The path isn't marked out with lines or anything, but I am assuming it runs in a straight line between the gates. Now I have to walk through the middle of their garden. Problem is I do it late at night with my bike on my way to work, and I tripped over their bin last night because I didn't see it in the dark, and made a lot of noise. I'm worried they'll think I am a burglar and come out and hit me over the head or something. I did move the bin but they have moved it back. It's not a big deal, but it is rather thoughtless.

[TheNeil]

I'm worried they'll think I am a burglar and come out and hit me over the head or something

If you've been cycling home though, you'll have your cycle helmet on won't you?

 

TBH I'd give them a couple of days to just settle in, see if things settle down and then start 'having words', writing letters etc. It's only been one week

[Tally]

I cleared up the poo yesterday and there is more now

 

Hopefully I will see them in the garden at some point as I have 2 days off now.

[warrenpenalver]

can you block where they are getting into your garden from your side????

[Mumble]

I'm worried they'll think I am a burglar and come out and hit me over the head or something.

I've been thinking about this - the way you've posted you are clearly concerned, so maybe it would be best if you don't want to cause problems at the moment to give them time to settle in - the children and pets are bound to be a bit over-excited in a new environment and these could just be teething problems. If you're finding it difficult to ignore, could you take a break for a short time and then see if things settle down? I know you've posted elsewhere about your brother going to university this term, so could you go home to your parents for a while - they might appreciate having someone around at the time their last child leaves, so it could be helpful to both of you and your parents?

[Flora]

I've been thinking about this - the way you've posted you are clearly concerned, so maybe it would be best if you don't want to cause problems at the moment to give them time to settle in - the children and pets are bound to be a bit over-excited in a new environment and these could just be teething problems. If you're finding it difficult to ignore, could you take a break for a short time and then see if things settle down? I know you've posted elsewhere about your brother going to university this term, so could you go home to your parents for a while - they might appreciate having someone around at the time their last child leaves, so it could be helpful to both of you and your parents?

 

I wouldn't recommend the going away option, hoping it had all stopped happening in her absence!

 

Tally, you could go round and introduce yourself be friendly. Then if it is still happening in a couple of weeks time, then you can go and ask them if they could please prevent their dogs from cr@pping in your garden (well you could use a different word but YKWIM!). Do it with a smile and follow it up by asking them how they're all settling in after the move etc. That way, nobody can accuse you of not having been friendly. Tell them that you work nights and sleep through the day which is why they may not have seen much of you.

 

You wouldn't be actually 'complaining' so they'd have nothing to hate you for (unless they're are totally unreasonable neighbours from hell and in which case they are going to hate you anyway!), but hopefully if they are reasonable, then they will take the hint.

 

I don't think going away, wearing ear plugs, or ignoring the situation for too long are viable options. Ear plugs are uncomforable, you shouldn't have to wear them. You should decide when you want to take a trip, not your neighbours!

 

Hope it all blows over.

 

Flora

[Babylicious]

Thats awful I hope they hurry up and settle in. Both lots of my neighbours are foul cretins

[Tally]

No, I don't think that running away from the situation is going to help at all. It would just leave them free to get away with it. Unreasonable neighbours is something that happens in life and I think it would be counterproductive to just walk away. Walking out on my job would create a huge number of stresses far more considerable than dog poo. I reckon that if I put my bike lights on while I walk through the gardens (instead of waiting until I get to the road) should make it obvious enough and easy to tell what I am doing. However, they have now blocked up the path even more.

 

If I had a large dog myself, their dogs could have ended up dead after only the first incident. These dogs are so small and elderly that even my cat could probably inflict some serious injuries if she was the type to defend her territory. If they run in the other direction they will have free access to the road. Excitement is not an excuse for letting your dog stray into someone else's garden, especially after more than one week and on a regular basis.

 

They do know that the dogs are able to slip under the gate because I returned the dog to them the first time it happened, on the day they were moving in. At the time I was not annoyed because I assumed they were just disorganised due to moving, and that they would take reasonable precautions to prevent it from happening again. At first the dogs were just coming in all the time, but then I started going out and shooing them away. Now the dogs are only out when all my lights are off, so I think they have heard me shooing them and are deliberately selecting times when they think I will not notice. Plus it's obvious just by looking at the gate that a small dog could slip underneath it. Surely they know what their pets are capable of and have noticed that they don't seem to be going to the toilet. So I am certain that they know this is happening and have no intention of doing anything about it.

 

Anyway, I have decided that trying to talk to them is a really bad idea. I have this uncanny ability to make people angry when I don't even mean to. Even though I intend to be friendly, the fact that I am feeling angry about this is likely to slip out. So I have bought a card with a nice picture on the front. I am going to write a quick note along the lines of, "I hope you're settling in OK. Just wanted to let you know that your dogs are slipping under the gate and messing in my garden."

 

If I get no response to that (or a bad response) I will contact the dog warden and letting agent. Since they already know it's happening and that I am annoyed about it, if I did just approach the dog warden and letting agent, it would be obvious it was me, so I may as well try the friendly route first.

 

The children do seem to be quietening down now. They actually seem to be out until around 6, then they play loudly until they get called for tea, and then they are a bit quieter after that. Last weekend wasn't too bad either, so that's good news. I think it's going to be OK in that respect. I was very tired last week and I think that made it worse, got me down and I assumed the worst.

[Tally]

I just saw my other neighbours in the garden this evening. Apparently the dogs are coming into their garden too. There is a small cat-sized hole in the fence which they are reluctant to block up, as their cats use it. However, they own a large dog. Although he is a soppy great thing, they are concerned how he would react to a strange dog in his garden, and have been only letting him outside when they can supervise.

 

So anyway, they have offered to fix the gate so that the dogs can't get into my garden. This is great because I really don't have a clue about that kind of thing. I am so pleased! It benefits them because the dogs can't get into their garden, and they get to preserve their cat-hole, and it also benefits me too.

 

I am going to get them a box of chocolates or something.

[Flora]

Tally I've thought of a great solution if a couple of polite hints/requests doesn't work.

 

Collect the poo in a bag and hand it to the neighbours telling them 'I think this is yours'

 

Flo'

[warrenpenalver]

Collect the poo in a bag and hand it to the neighbours telling them 'I think this is yours'

Or if you want to be really nasty post it through thier letter box

 

On a similar note one of our work colleagues got ripped off by someone on ebay so they erm colllected a poo, froze it, then posted it in a plactic jiffy bag special delivery. I imagine the thief opening it got a shock!!

[Tally]

On a similar note one of our work colleagues got ripped off by someone on ebay so they erm colllected a poo, froze it, then posted it in a plactic jiffy bag special delivery. I imagine the thief opening it got a shock!!

My grandma once did something similar with a fish