Neighbour with mental health problems - should we have been told and what can we do?

Sarah_Beth

Hi,

We have only been in our house a year but have discovered our neighbour to the side of our property has mental health problems (talking to herself,going into peoples houses, throwing rubbish outside to annoy people, has an awfully dirty house)

Anyway the other neighbours have had this for 15 years and have gone through mental health team, police, social workers but to no avail.
Should we have been told when we brought our house and is there anything we can do also. The problem is that we dont want anything on our record so to speak so that when we sell up (which may be soon) no one will see this.

Thanks!

Geenie

Hi Sarah Beth, I do feel for you. It sounds like it has been a difficult year. But I am a bit confused, because you are asking if you should have been told about this problem neighbour, but at the same time don't want anything on record so that if you sell, the new buyers won't find out either!! Have I miss read this, if so I apologise?!

not_tonight_josephine_2

I do sympathise with you as I've lived above someone with severe mental health issues in the past and it was hellish. It is a little ironic though that you think you should have been warned about this but are now going out of your way to ensure that a prospective purchaser doesn't find out about the issue- I imagine that's exactly what your vendor did too!

Unless there was a formal dispute I don't imagine there is any action you can take against your vendor.

Do you know what kind of condition your neighbour has? Are they elderly? Do they receive any formal care or have family who visit regularly?

Sarah_Beth

Yep totally get the irony!

She is under the mental health team and is elderley but with no family. She will stand in the main road screaming and wailing but mental health dont want to know...

not_tonight_josephine_2

I can definitely sympathise with that- my neighbour was an elderly lady who would shout and cry all night every night because she didn't know where she was- I felt sorry for her but nearly had a breakdown myself after a few months of it! If she doesn't clean the house etc it sounds like she may well need some care. What do the local council say? Not sure if it would be any use but could you trying contacting help the aged to see if they can suggest what help/care might be available for an elderly person with mental health issues?

How does the lady react if you or the other nekghbours try to talk to her about any of this?

My neighbour was eventually moved to a home for people with dementia- don't think I've ever felt so relieved.

Sarah_Beth

She does it even more if you say anything! No one seems interested, social services say she has to harm herself or another before they will look at her and mental health just visit to get her back into taking her tablets. I know its not her fault as she is ill but feel really let down when she is intimidating with my daughter.

poppysarah

You have the right to live peacefully in your own home. You're being robbed of that right.

If you asked "what are the neighbours like" or your solicitor asked if there were any neighbour problems then you might have a case. but the immediate problem is living quietly without the old lady disturbing you or putting herself at risk.

Are you keeping a diary of her actions?
You should start doing this.

date, time, what, how it affects you, who was a witness.

it's got to be treated sensitively and carefully but you need to work out who has responsbility for her. Whether it's social services, her landlord etc

Perhaps have a word with social services again - ask to speak to a manager - take their name and write notes down about what they say.

If she's a danger to herself (being in the middle of the street etc) then she needs help.

ray123

Sorry to put a downer on things but one in four of us suffer from mental problems:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1578755.stm

lynzpower

Sarah_Beth wrote: »

Yep totally get the irony!

She is under the mental health team and is elderley but with no family. She will stand in the main road screaming and wailing but mental health dont want to know...

She sounds really very vulnerable to me.

If this was my mother, I would want her to be protected. Anything can happen to her in this state and nutcases seek out these sort of vulnerable people.

I personally would call Adult protection and state the concerns. Is she really able to make decisions for herself asbout her own safety and welfare?

RecoveringAlcoholic

The problem is that we dont want anything on our record so to speak so that when we sell up (which may be soon) no one will see this.

Good luck with your sale.


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1echidna

ray123 wrote: »

Sorry to put a downer on things but one in four of us suffer from mental problems:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1578755.stm

Yes, strange also that mental health is also a field where people seem to feel that they are justified in demanding that someone 'should do something' mostly code for locking someone up when they would not dream of demanding the same deprivation of rights for someone with equally severe but not mental health related antisocial behaviour.