A Unique Neighbour Situation. Desperate for Advice!

TEAM.MARLEY

I was wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation or has any advice to what we are going through? I am going to go into detail as we are in a very unique situation.

A couple of months ago I moved into a ground floor flat. It quickly became apparent that the neighbour upstairs had a lot of visitors throughout the day and night. The reason for this we now know is because he is an elderly gentleman who needs a lot of care, both medical and day-to-day. There can be around 15 people coming in and out daily, which we have no problem with in the day, after all we chose to live in a flat. Throughout the night though we have to contend with loud phone calls, loud talking, aggressive arguments, the radio playing throughout the night and consistent loud banging. Additionally, there are regular visits from the ambulance service, his carers or friends. He has an entry and a door lock release system to his flat that consists of three loud buzzers, which sound every time someone enters. He also has a direct line for medical assistance, which he uses virtually every night. (Last night it was at 1.50am). The direct line however is setup through a loud speaker (the phone is not set up this way) that is perfectly audible in our flat; we therefore can hear precisely what is being said, and quite often the person on the other end is saying I am not sending out a doctor just to make you some food, so I am guessing he probably wastes a lot of their time. This may not be relevant, but defiantly adds to our situation.

From what we have heard, he isn’t the most pleasant of people as he is quite often yelling at his carers and so on, so we have decided not to meet him just yet due his volatility and potentially end up making the situation worse. So we wrote a letter to him introducing ourselves and stating one of problems, which were the loud floorboards. We got a very apologetic response and got the green light to get the floorboard fixed. But things just keep getting worse and now we’re at breaking point getting 2-3hours of sleep a night. We have written a second letter detailing more of the problems, not blaming him in the slightest but just highlighting to him what we are going through and that we are going to be looking into how we could go about sound proofing the flat more. (I don’t think this letter was well received as we heard him yelling about it at 4am the other night). We have now contacted the council about the situation as his property is still owned by them, but we haven’t heard anything yet. Has anyone had a situation similar or have any advice on how to deal with this?

Also does anyone know anything about whether the previous owners should have informed us to the extent of his medical condition, regardless of whether they had made a formal complaint or not? There was a question on the form that the previous owners had to fill in about whether they knew of anything that might lead to a dispute, to which they said no. Was that not wrong?

I feel for our neighbour and his condition and we really hate having to take things beyond us and our neighbour to get things rectified, but we have no lease of life now, it’s affecting all aspects for us. Any advice of thoughts would be greatly received, especially about the previous owners.

Dave101t

council have a responsibility to keep you in an enviroment which is not detrimental to your health, 2-3 hours sleep is detrimental.

he should be in a home, and hopefully he will get moved once the council sort it out.

Ignite

There is normally a clause in the lease agreement that talks about noise between 11pm and 7am. From what you say, he is in breach of this. It would be worth looking at this as a possible route to go down as well.

lil'H

Could you possible try to speak to one of his carers as they arrive/leave? They may be able to lean on the council as well for more suitable accomodation. I feel sorry for him he clearly isn't able to manage on his own, but I feel sorry for you too having to be kept awake in the night! No easy solution I'm afraid.

pobox112

I don't think that this matter is unique. Because of the known condition of the neighbour. I would not approach him.

You need to contact and state the problem to your Elected Councillor. They will advise and if necessary take matters on.

Start here because there are too many Council Department Gatekeepers...

TEAM.MARLEY

Thank you so much for the replys. I feel for him too and worry as I have been thinking that our neighbour can't get out of his flat (on the first floor) without a lot of help, he can barely stand, so isn't this highly dangerous for him to be left alone? Is there not a law to forbid this set up for his own safety?

Pssst

Hopefully if he is so ill ,your problems will be short term?

TEAM.MARLEY

Apparently he has been there for 30 years (well that's what the estate agent said when we enquired about the neighbours), and I imagine this has been going on for a couple of years at least, so it worries me that he probably isn't open to going into a care facility, in spite of the drain he has on resources. I don't think they can force someone into a care facility, can they?

mlz1413

The carers may well not be able to discuss details of your neighbours illness but I think this could be a good place to start as they maybe able to say if he has refused a care home or if he is on a waiting list.

I think talking to the council is another good idea as they maybe able to advise if the entry system, care systems are acceptable for a flat and as said before if he should be in a care home this may help his application.

It might be worth getting yourself earplugs - it won't stop all the noise but it may help.

jayII

People can be placed into care against their will, if they're considered incapable of making a competent decision, which considers all the facts and consequences.

But competency guidelines have been changed recently, and are now a bit of a minefield, to put it mildly, as well as difficult to enforce.

jayII

The long and the short of the new guidelines are that if an adult is mentally capable of understanding the possible dangers of their situation, then they can't be forced anywhere.

BUT, if he is in danger, and does NOT understand this, then he could, potentially, be forced into a care home for his own safety.

I'd pursue both sides--contact social services stating that you're concerned about his well-being and safety, it might make them consider that aspect afresh. If you have no luck there, then go down the 'quiet enjoyment' route.

Contacting your councillor, as suggested above, is also worthwhile, they might be able to suggest other solutions.