Nightmare Neighbours - What are our rights?

republicofheaven

Hi.

Thanks in advance for any advice provided - it's much appreciated.

I live in a listed building, which has been converted into four flats - basement, ground floor, first floor and second floor. We live on the first floor. Due to the age of the building and when it was converted, sound insulation between the floors is pretty poor. However, most residents are couples in their thirties and we are all generally very respectful of each other and noise levels. There is also a car park to the rear of the building with one allocated parking space per flat. If your household has more than one car, or has visitors, you are expected to get the appropriate permits and park on the street.

Recently, the couple on the second floor moved out and a girl in her early 20s moved in. Right from day one she has been a total pain - loud music that we may as well be in the same room as, leaving the communal front door to the building ajar/wide open, leaving the hallway lights on permanently instead of using the timer switches and pinching other flats' parking spaces for both her car and her boyfriend's whenever he visits. Due to their age, they refuse to answer their door when anyone knocks to discuss an issue with them, however, you can tell they know they're doing wrong, as as soon as someone knocks on their door the music either goes off or is turned right down.

We complained to our landlord and he spoke to the respective landlord of the second floor flat and most of the issues were resolved - the music has been a lot quieter (although it's still louder than it should be, it's no longer vibrating our living room), the front door is now closed properly, the timered switches are being used and, for a while, she stopped stealing other people's parking spaces.

However, we now have the issue that her boyfriend is visiting again and actively stealing people's spaces - our neighbours have left notes and the only reason our space has remained untouched is because we move the bins into the parking space whenever we use the car. Visitor permits are completely free from the council, so I don't understand why her boyfriend doesn't just use those instead of actively taking spaces from people who can't and shouldn't have to use permits to park outside of their own flat.

I have considered complaining to our landlord again, however, I don't want to get on his nerves by making it a regular occurrence. We're all a bit at our wit's end over what to do, as this young woman clearly has no regard for her neighbours and is getting on everyone's nerves. What am I within my rights to do here?

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

PasturesNew

Are the parking areas numbered clearly marked and laid out?
You could start by working out how to absolutely define "your bit/my bit" as three of you (owners) outnumber the one tenant.

So many things are left "open" expecting everybody to know where to park and to do the right thing and for people to double check where their visitor's parked and get them to move it immediately if they're nicking others' spots.

pmlindyloo

The good news is that the 'culprit's' landlord has been active and done something about the problem.

So, do the 'friendly route' first. Notes have been left about the parking - on the boyfriend's car? Perhaps the tenant's doesn't know (I'm being kind here!) So take several photographs of the offending car, post them through the tenant's letterbox and enclose a letter.

Letter could say, 'thank you for recognising the problem of loud music, front door blah blah but I'm sorry to say we have another problem that has not been addressed. State problem. Perhaps you are unaware...blah blah blah. Please get a free visitor's permit from the council for your boyfriend to solve this problem. If this problem is not solved we will have no option but to inform your landlord again'. Signed by affected people.

If it continues then you will have to go through your landlord again. Fortunately they seem to be obliging.

NeilCr

Is the parking space specially allocated to you/your landlord in the AST/lease

If so you could see if your landlord would agree to a parking post

For example

https://www.theworkplacedepot.co.uk/zinc-plated-keylock-hinged-parking-post?p=32741&vat=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAyeTxBRBvEiwAuM8dnUolENLqtzmkwE2hSa2hNjASPwdZgz9lkFDIwIyVakq-pTL17Oe-ARoC788QAvD_BwE

Comms69

Just from a legal perspective neither your landlord, not the other landlord can actually do anything.


So much better to use the carrot, than the stick.

TBagpuss

republicofheaven wrote: »

Hi.

Thanks in advance for any advice provided - it's much appreciated.

I live in a listed building, which has been converted into four flats - basement, ground floor, first floor and second floor. We live on the first floor. Due to the age of the building and when it was converted, sound insulation between the floors is pretty poor. However, most residents are couples in their thirties and we are all generally very respectful of each other and noise levels. There is also a car park to the rear of the building with one allocated parking space per flat. If your household has more than one car, or has visitors, you are expected to get the appropriate permits and park on the street.

Recently, the couple on the second floor moved out and a girl in her early 20s moved in. Right from day one she has been a total pain - loud music that we may as well be in the same room as, leaving the communal front door to the building ajar/wide open, leaving the hallway lights on permanently instead of using the timer switches and pinching other flats' parking spaces for both her car and her boyfriend's whenever he visits. Due to their age, they refuse to answer their door when anyone knocks to discuss an issue with them, however, you can tell they know they're doing wrong, as as soon as someone knocks on their door the music either goes off or is turned right down.

We complained to our landlord and he spoke to the respective landlord of the second floor flat and most of the issues were resolved - the music has been a lot quieter (although it's still louder than it should be, it's no longer vibrating our living room), the front door is now closed properly, the timered switches are being used and, for a while, she stopped stealing other people's parking spaces.

However, we now have the issue that her boyfriend is visiting again and actively stealing people's spaces - our neighbours have left notes and the only reason our space has remained untouched is because we move the bins into the parking space whenever we use the car. Visitor permits are completely free from the council, so I don't understand why her boyfriend doesn't just use those instead of actively taking spaces from people who can't and shouldn't have to use permits to park outside of their own flat.

I have considered complaining to our landlord again, however, I don't want to get on his nerves by making it a regular occurrence. We're all a bit at our wit's end over what to do, as this young woman clearly has no regard for her neighbours and is getting on everyone's nerves. What am I within my rights to do here?

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Could you ask the landlord to put folding lockable posts into the car park so that people can put the posts up to stop others using the spaces? And perhaps either ask the landlord to put up better / clearer signage or do so yourselves.

Consider writing a joint letter to her from the other tenants, explicitly stating that the car parking spaces are allocated and asking that she ensures that neither she, nor any of her visitors, use the spaces except in her own allocated spot - perhaps also mention that permits are free so if she regularly needs more than one space she should be able to easily get a pass for the street parking.

You can continue to complain to *her* landlord and make the point that her actions are creating a nuisance.

With regard to noise, you can contact the council environmental health department but it would be a long process.

Jumblebumble

Comms69 wrote: »

Just from a legal perspective neither your landlord, not the other landlord can actually do anything.


So much better to use the carrot, than the stick.

I would have thought that one of the parking control firms would exactly be able to give a penalty to someone who is illegally parked

Comms69

Jumblebumble wrote: »

I would have thought that one of the parking control firms would exactly be able to give a penalty to someone who is illegally parked

Except only councils hand out penalties. PPCs hand out charge notices, which require contractual acceptance and which clearly doesn't exist in this set up.

princeofpounds

Are you actually *sure* that the spaces are demised individually to each flat? Who owns the freehold?

Or is it only a rule with the force of politeness and custom?

Direct discussion is good, if you can make it happen.

Folding posts are the most foolproof option, can be an inconvenience but normally you can relax using them once the problem is corrected.

An alternative is to paint numbers or post signs on the allocated spaces. If he uses one, you could block him in so he has to to be asked to let out (technically illegal...)

republicofheaven

Thanks for everyone's responses so far.

The parking spaces are clearly marked with signs bolted into the brick wall, stating which flat each space belongs too, so she is deliberately taking other people's spaces and allowing her boyfriend to do the same (on the work nights that he stays over, she leaves before him and has to walk right past his car to get to hers, so she's not oblivious to the fact that he's taking up another person's space)

I was chatting with my landlord when he last did an annual inspection of our flat and he mentioned that the car park did actually used to have collapsible parking bollards, but they had to be taken away, as it's quite a tight space to manoeuvre around in, people were dinging their cars on the bollards when reversing out of and into spaces.

It's difficult to engage either of them in any direct discussion, as they're both quite immature and clearly view it from the perspective of boring old people wanting to moan and spoil their fun.

Countless notes have been left on both their cars, it's looking more likely another email to our landlord is likely to be the best course of action.

I am hoping her landlord either gets fed up and chooses to end her tenancy at the six month marker (hopefully sooner), or she'll leave of her own accord!

scottishblondie

republicofheaven wrote: »

I was chatting with my landlord when he last did an annual inspection of our flat and he mentioned that the car park did actually used to have collapsible parking bollards, but they had to be taken away, as it's quite a tight space to manoeuvre around in, people were dinging their cars on the bollards when reversing out of and into spaces.

If it's that tight surely it would be impossible to manoeuvre around the cars in the other spaces? Bollards certainly sound like the best solution, perhaps they just need to be positioned differently to the last ones.