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Irritating neighbours

Sporadic Sparkly

Do you have neighbours who annoy the heck out of you?

Back in the summer, I received an unexpected visit from my council housing officer and one of her colleagues. The reason being that a complaint had been made to the council about the state of my garden. Furthermore, the complainant had also contacted the MP for my area, which had resulted in the MP putting pressure on the council to get their tenant (me) to sort out their neglected and overgrown eyesore of a garden.

My son had been with me when this visit took place. Although the housing officer could not tell us who the complainant was, my son and I were both 99.9% sure that the complainant was a particular neighbour of ours who has a reputation for being a bit of a bully.

Fortunately for me, my local council know that I can struggle physically. It was made clear that if I was perfectly able-bodied, the pressure being applied by the MP would have resulted in the council pursuing the legal route and taking me to court. That said, if I was perfectly able-bodied, it's unlikely that I would have allowed my garden to end up becoming an eyesore.

It wasn't the complaint as such that irked me, but the fact that the complainant had not considered the option of sharing their concerns about my garden with me first. I'm not an unreasonable person, or at least I don't think I am. 

I have what I consider to be a good rapport with the rest of my neighbours, but it seems like this one particular neighbour seems to take great delight in trying to antagonise and intimidate anyone and everyone to get what he wants. As my son said, if the state of my garden was causing the neighbour distress, there was nothing stopping them from going down the neighbourly route and offering to help me get it sorted.

Parents

  • I’ve got nosy neighbours who are curtain twitchers and seem to know how many times a day I leave the house, what I had for breakfast and my blood type. They often group up with each other for a good chinwag and stand on the pavement like they own the public path, I’m surprised they haven’t dissected it up yet and claimed ownership of it. Perhaps it’s my lack of care for mundane issues like overgrown gardens but some people simply have nothing else going on in their lives so like to stir up trouble for others. And as you stated at the end of your post there they could just have a friendly non confrontational chat with you about the garden without involving local authorities which is going to be seen as a step too far. 

  • in reply to Autismman

    Our house is seperated from the street by a small front garden and our living room is at the front of the house with a large window with the sofa underneath, I frequently "meercat" if I see or hear something, I don't think anyone can see me though. 

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I do that too! I can see what annoying neighbour is up to, by watching the Ring doorbell videos. It is actually comforting, so I see nothing wrong in this. It is like watching a TV drama..

  • in reply to Iain

    That's a good warning to publish. My Ring doorbell only shows our shared pathway so is legal - I can just see her when she or her visitors come and go or if she strims and leaves mowings over the path which slopes [dangerous if wet or icy]. The back garden camera is on the path and I showed the police the angle. But thank you for pointing this out as it is very important Thumbsup .

  • in reply to Marianne72
    Marianne72 said:
    I can see what annoying neighbour is up to, by watching the Ring doorbell videos.

    A word of caution on this - if you are recording your neighbours in their own property then there is a chance they can sue you for it:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property

    If you are thinking of installing a CCTV system on your property, and it records images beyond your private domestic property, you must be aware of your responsibilities:

    - you must make sure that the information is not used for any other purpose than protecting your property

    - you are complying with the GDPR and the DPA if your CCTV system captures images outside the boundaries of your home

    I believe there have been cases where neighbours have successfully sued because someones doorbell camera could see into their home.

    It is worth checking you are following the law here.

Reply Children
  • in reply to Iain

    That's a good warning to publish. My Ring doorbell only shows our shared pathway so is legal - I can just see her when she or her visitors come and go or if she strims and leaves mowings over the path which slopes [dangerous if wet or icy]. The back garden camera is on the path and I showed the police the angle. But thank you for pointing this out as it is very important Thumbsup .