Behaviors & Impact

xiteex

Hi, we have an issue and are looking for some advice.

We had a dispute with our neighbours in the flat above about the noise.
All parties (us and them) know that the issue is because of the poor insulation in the building.

We are trying to resolve this issue, but we have a bigger problem now.

The flat above came down and banged on our door, so my wife opened the door and was shouted at by one of the tenants stating ‘what are you thinking’ (about the noise), he then asked her where she was from and stated that he needed to speak to me. My wife answered, ‘he is in Poland for work’ then he shouted at her ‘Liar’ and added ‘I know your husband goes to work by bike and his bike is just there’. Because of his attitude, my wife said to him ‘I’ll call the police or your management company’. Then he said to her ‘No, this is England, I’ll take care of this’.

My wife asked him ‘Please do not look down on me or make fun of me because of my background’.
Then he did a cultural gesture, (sorry I can’t explain the meaning of the gesture to you well in writing) as if he was making fun of her culture.

Next morning, he gave her a letter stating that he had contacted the landlord and he is coming around next Friday. My wife asked him what time the landlord would come around, but he didn’t answer. I contacted their management company to find out the time, then found out that he didn’t contacted the management company whatsoever!
The management company advised me to call the police.

My wife feels intimidated and hurt from the experience and also feels she has been made fun of and lied to and we now have concerns due to our 7-year-old daughter. When I was back in the UK, I talked to them and asked them if I had opened the door would they still have acted the same. They didn’t say anything.

Now we are thinking of reporting the incident to the police. But if we do that, it might have negative repercussions for us when we decide to sell our flat. It seems like we are in a helpless situation.

G_M

Can you clarify whether
* you are a leaseholder - you own your flat, or
* you are tenant (with an AST?) renting from a landlord who owns the flat
AND whether
* your neighbour is a leaseholder - he owns his flat, or
* your neighbour is a tenant (with an AST?) renting from a landlord who owns the flat

It affects whether you should be talking to

* your landlord
* his letting agent
* your manangement company
* neighbour's landlord
* his letting agent
* his manangement company

However, the attatitude, language and behaviour you describe is clearly racist, possibly sexist, and probably discriminatory.

As such, yes, you should report it fomally to the police. Having said that, I can understand why you might be reluctant.

Of course, this is a classic scenario where fear can lead to somone not standing for their rights. I make no judgement - only you can decide what to do in the best interests of yourself, your family, and society.

csgohan4

record voice or video next time and see if he will still make those comments

davidmcn

xiteex wrote: »

My wife answered, ‘he is in Poland for work’ then he shouted at her ‘Liar’ and added ‘I know your husband goes to work by bike and his bike is just there’.

He thought you would have cycled to Poland?

adonis

davidmcn wrote: »

He thought you would have cycled to Poland?

Quite athletic these poles.:)

xiteex

G_M wrote: »

Can you clarify whether
* you are a leaseholder - you own your flat, or
* you are tenant (with an AST?) renting from a landlord who owns the flat
AND whether
* your neighbour is a leaseholder - he owns his flat, or
* your neighbour is a tenant (with an AST?) renting from a landlord who owns the flat

It affects whether you should be talking to

* your landlord
* his letting agent
* your manangement company
* neighbour's landlord
* his letting agent
* his manangement company

However, the attatitude, language and behaviour you describe is clearly racist, possibly sexist, and probably discriminatory.

As such, yes, you should report it fomally to the police. Having said that, I can understand why you might be reluctant.

Of course, this is a classic scenario where fear can lead to somone not standing for their rights. I make no judgement - only you can decide what to do in the best interests of yourself, your family, and society.

Thanks for your reply.

We own our flat with a lease, the flat above is rented out. We wanted to sort this out amicably so we went to the management company but they said they couldn't do anything unless the tenants were hostel towards them or unless the landlord instructed them to do something, we don't have the landlords details.

So we are still unsure what to do

csgohan4

realistically the police may not do much but you can try, but without evidence, it's your word against theirs hence why recording is important

Ignore them as they don't seem to want to engage


I don't think the LL will care either as long as their paying rent to him/her, they won't care about you

cattie

xiteex wrote: »

we went to the management company but they said they couldn't do anything unless the tenants were hostel towards them or unless the landlord instructed them to do something, we don't have the landlords details.

So we are still unsure what to do

The agents sound pretty ineffectual I'd say. They are paid to manage the property & this includes contacting absent landlords when a tenant of theirs proves bothersome. And of course as they are not letting the landlord know their tenant is causing problems, how is he to be aware that the tenants have caused an issue with other leaseowners?

If it were really getting me down, I'd be inclined to insist that the landlord be notified that there have been some issues with the downstairs leaseholders as it could be that he wouldn't want to renew their tenancy when the time comes.

You mention contacting the police, but I don't think they'd be able to do much on the info you've given. Their resources are already stretched to the limit.

As you are aware, when you own a property you do have to be careful about making official compaints about neighbours, as any such issues are supposed to be declared when trying to sell & could result in you losing the sale.

Tell your wife not to open the door to this neighbour in future, let him speak to her through a closed door if necessary & if you don't have a spy hole, fit one so she can check who is outside before answering. And of course the suggestion to record any interaction with them in future is a good one.

xiteex

Sorry for the late reply, thank you for you comments. We have been thinking and we have talked to some more people, as much as we would like to take this issue further, it might work negatively towards us in the future when and if we want to sell. We should not feel that this kind of thing would have a negative impact for us, especially as it's something we have no control over, people with other backgrounds should be protected. If it seems like this is the way that it is then it's just sad, I'm speechless.

Thank you again

onwards&upwards

xiteex wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply, thank you for you comments. We have been thinking and we have talked to some more people, as much as we would like to take this issue further, it might work negatively towards us in the future when and if we want to sell. We should not feel that this kind of thing would have a negative impact for us, especially as it's something we have no control over, people with other backgrounds should be protected. If it seems like this is the way that it is then it's just sad, I'm speechless.

Thank you again

You will have to mention this when you sell regardless, so don’t put up with it just for that reason.

AdrianC

xiteex wrote: »

Then he did a cultural gesture, (sorry I can’t explain the meaning of the gesture to you well in writing) as if he was making fun of her culture.

I'm struggling to think of what this "gesture" could be, unless it's something that both would recognise and understand because they share a similar background. If that is so, then it's hard to claim racial discrimination.