Now what?!!

Gingernutty

Okay, I don't want to sound unreasonable but.......

I live in a terrace. I've already had issues with the new neighbours.

I've also had issues with some work done on the house.

I'll be the first to admit my house is in a state. With Windolene on the windows, it's clearly a ratty looking 'work in progress' and the cheap plastic finish on the new windowsills (covering perfectly good stone sills, btw) did not do much to improve the appearance.

The seals are already coming apart!

Next door have moved in. They are social housing tenants with a provider who owns a lot of the houses in this street. They know people in the other tenanted houses and their children play together.

We live in a cul de sac, it's the summer holidays and children are children. I get it.

However, next door's idea of childcare is to throw them out of the house to play with their mates, give them food to eat out in the street and then they don't call them in 'til very late.

Children as young as six or seven are still playing out when I'm going to work on a night shift at 20:30.

There are toys, water blasters, scooters, skates and bikes and screaming through the afternoon and evening.

I've found an egg broken on my doorstep, food and spilt drinks attracting ants, wasps and flies and food wrappers blowing around.

The mother can only be described as "loud and proud". As I walked to work one evening, she was screaming abuse at the neighbour the other side of her as he tried to get her kids to take responsibility for something he said they'd done.

"Yeah but you don't know that, do you? You don't know that they did it? You didn't see it tho, did you?"

Last night, I left the house in the middle of a water fight and came home today to find someone had left childish scribbles on my poxy plastic windowsill. They had borne down so hard that the scribble is effectively gouged into the soft plastic. :mad:

If I ask her to take them to a park, I'll get an earful. If I openly accuse her or her friends' kids of doing it I'll get an earful and ""Yeah but you don't know that, do you? You don't know that they did it? You didn't see it tho, did you?" and if I ask her politely to keep to keep a closer eye on them, I'll get an earful.

They have access to at least two cars so are able to take the kids out and away. They are unemployed so have no real excuse if they say they don't have the time.

They're up at all hours playing loud music and smoking cannabis (with or without the kids in the house :eek:) and have become a blimmin' nuisance already.

I've had trouble with the previous tenant and have the email and number of the housing association rep. She'll be my next port of call.

WWYD? :mad:

pollypenny

I'd call the HA rep pronto. Speak to the other neighbour who had tried to complain to the mum as well.

Sounds awful.

marisco_2

Urghhhh you have my sympathies, your neighbour sounds like a right fishwife. Who in their right mind screams abuse at neighbours and lets their children run riot causing damage and upset! Do you own or rent your property? If rented I would be looking to move away at the end of the tenancy agreement. Though there is always the worry of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Neighbours like this seem to be getting more and more of a common problem.

You are never going to be able to approach this woman or reason with her. As her children grow older they will no doubt become more and more unruly and anti-social, learning from what they live. I feel sorry for them being set such awful examples, they will end up at such a disadvantage with no-one wanting to know or associate with them in time. I think you would be wise to contact the housing rep and see what they can do to assist in resolving this horrible issue.

Troutwrestler

You don't live next door to me do you?

Tbf to the woman, kids want to play outside, I know mine do but my moaning old witch of a neighbour thinks its only her allowed to be on the street or making a noise. Have a word, I know if my kids had damaged something and it was definitely my kids I would have a word.

As for who screams abuse at their neighbours....anyone who has had enough of moaning and whining. I'm guilty of this ..I went mad at the old bat last week. However, reporting them will only make matters worse. If I was reported I wouldn't take it happily. ( luckily, or maybe unluckily for my neighbour) I own my house

FBaby

But we all know on this forum they such families don't exist. The problem is with you. If you are not happy with normal every day life and rather live like a monk, then why don't you just move away?

Seriously I really feel for you but really don't know what to suggest as however gently and amicably you approach the issue, you will be the one causing trouble and likely to pay for it

Norma_Desmond

Troutwrestler wrote: »

You don't live next door to me do you?

Tbf to the woman, kids want to play outside, I know mine do but my moaning old witch of a neighbour thinks its only her allowed to be on the street or making a noise. Have a word, I know if my kids had damaged something and it was definitely my kids I would have a word.

As for who screams abuse at their neighbours....anyone who has had enough of moaning and whining. I'm guilty of this ..I went mad at the old bat last week. However, reporting them will only make matters worse. If I was reported I wouldn't take it happily. ( luckily, or maybe unluckily for my neighbour) I own my house

Aren't you just absolutely charming?

The OP is having her life impacted on from Jeremy Kyle show wannabees and all you can do is try to defend obvious anti-social behaviour from your own family.

ETA - I meant to say, OP, that I would phone the police straight away if they're smoking drugs around the children.

*Robin*

After taking a quick peek at your earlier threads, OP, I think I'd call the HA - to find out their policy on acquiring new properties.

Is there any chance they would buy your house?

Norma_Desmond

FBaby wrote: »

But we all know on this forum they such families don't exist. The problem is with you. If you are not happy with normal every day life and rather live like a monk, then why don't you just move away?

Seriously I really feel for you but really don't know what to suggest as however gently and amicably you approach the issue, you will be the one causing trouble and likely to pay for it

You call that 'normal everyday life'?

Gosh :eek:

2gorgeousgirls

WOW.

I think that, apart from the writing on the windowsill, kids playing with toys and even eating outside sounds perfectly normal for this time of year.

I live in a residential area which most of the year is quiet but come summer holidays the streets are littered with toys, kids are playing out all hours and they even eat sandwiches crisps etc outside. It's par for the course.

Why should anyone have to take their kids to the park or on outings to please their neighbours?

I take my kids away a lot on day trips in the summer because I want to take them away not because my neighbour demands it.

The summer will be over soon and then we will be into darker nights and bad weather. Let the kids enjoy themselves while they can.

Of course the windowsill situation is another matter and you should speak to the neighbours or the HA. You never know if you speak to them calmly and politely you may be surprised.

How do you know they are smoking cannabis, is that just an idea you have based on your perception of them or do you have proof. If you have proof then by all means report them to the relevant authorities. But if your main complaint is kids playing then I really think you need to calm down as there's not much you can do about that and you will only ending up stressing yourself.

marisco_2

Troutwrestler wrote: »

As for who screams abuse at their neighbours....anyone who has had enough of moaning and whining. I'm guilty of this ..I went mad at the old bat last week.

Maybe she wouldn't be such an old bat if you had a different approach to her. I cant imagine screaming abuse at anyone. Any neighbour of mine could come up and speak to me if they had any issue or problem, and I would happily discuss it with them calmly adult to adult. If they became abusive then I would advise them I would talk to them only when they had calmed down and could be civil and would just walk away and go inside my home.

Troutwrestler

marisco wrote: »

Maybe she wouldn't be such an old bat if you had a different approach to her. I cant imagine screaming abuse at anyone. Any neighbour of mine could come up and speak to me if they had any issue or problem, and I would happily discuss it with them calmly adult to adult. If they became abusive then I would advise them I would talk to them only when they had calmed down and could be civil and would just walk away and go inside my home.

She doesn't want to discuss anything, she wants to whine to other people when she hasn't bothered to tell me of any issues she has.

Sorry but I'm not able to solve issues I know nothing about. So she was told in no uncertain terms if she has a problem she knows where my front door is, instead of moaning and whining to other people.

I feel no sympathy for her, I try to ensure my kids are not a nuisance, if she wants to carry on complaining I will not do so in future