Troublesome neighbour
Discussion
Apologies for the long post but I'd rather provide as much info as possible.
I’m looking for some advice from people who might know more about these sorts of things than I do.
My next door neighbours sold up and the house was bought by a couple who have modernised it and rented it out.
Since the renters moved in, my wife and I have seen on average one emergency service vehicle (mix of police and ambulance) every 2-3 days going to the house. One day there were 2 police vans, a police car and an ambulance all at the same time. It was at that point that we decided to speak to our new neighbours at which point we found out that it has been rented to a charity that provides supported housing for people with learning difficulties or people who are classed as vulnerable adults. We were surprised to hear this as nobody had mentioned anything to us before they moved in.
One lady who lives there appears to be the cause for the vast majority of the call-outs. On speaking to the support workers, I was told that she’s an attention seeker and perfectly harmless. However, after speaking with the Police who have dropped her off on several occasions, they’ve mentioned how troubling they’re finding the situation. It does seem as though she’s (apologies for saying it this way), right minded enough to know how far to push the boundaries without getting formally arrested and charged.
There have been screams, shouts, banging and tantrums at least once a week both indoors and outdoors. The other day she was walking along the footpath and yelling / singing at the top of her voice to the extent that I had to go around and complain to the support workers. (I was on a conference call and couldn’t hear anything.) They were entirely unsympathetic and shrugged their shoulders. On the walk back to my house the young lady spotted me and started yelling abuse at me. Later that evening she let a pram with a fake baby run down the drive and into a wall just beside a fairly busy road. She seems to be able to come and go as she pleases.
A neighbour from across the road has lodged a complaint about the general behaviour but has received no assurances or apologies whatsoever. When asked, the Police have said that there’s nothing they can do.
Right now, my wife and I don’t want to leave the house unattended as we simply don’t know what the young lady might or might not do whilst we’re not there. We know, from having walked past that they twitch the curtains at the first sign of any movement outside so they know when we’re about or not.
In the 40 days since they moved in, there have been 5 x ambulances, 13 x police vehicles and a vast number of NHS workers who’ve come and gone.
Is there any advice that anyone can offer because at the moment my wife and I are at our wits end.
I’m looking for some advice from people who might know more about these sorts of things than I do.
My next door neighbours sold up and the house was bought by a couple who have modernised it and rented it out.
Since the renters moved in, my wife and I have seen on average one emergency service vehicle (mix of police and ambulance) every 2-3 days going to the house. One day there were 2 police vans, a police car and an ambulance all at the same time. It was at that point that we decided to speak to our new neighbours at which point we found out that it has been rented to a charity that provides supported housing for people with learning difficulties or people who are classed as vulnerable adults. We were surprised to hear this as nobody had mentioned anything to us before they moved in.
One lady who lives there appears to be the cause for the vast majority of the call-outs. On speaking to the support workers, I was told that she’s an attention seeker and perfectly harmless. However, after speaking with the Police who have dropped her off on several occasions, they’ve mentioned how troubling they’re finding the situation. It does seem as though she’s (apologies for saying it this way), right minded enough to know how far to push the boundaries without getting formally arrested and charged.
There have been screams, shouts, banging and tantrums at least once a week both indoors and outdoors. The other day she was walking along the footpath and yelling / singing at the top of her voice to the extent that I had to go around and complain to the support workers. (I was on a conference call and couldn’t hear anything.) They were entirely unsympathetic and shrugged their shoulders. On the walk back to my house the young lady spotted me and started yelling abuse at me. Later that evening she let a pram with a fake baby run down the drive and into a wall just beside a fairly busy road. She seems to be able to come and go as she pleases.
A neighbour from across the road has lodged a complaint about the general behaviour but has received no assurances or apologies whatsoever. When asked, the Police have said that there’s nothing they can do.
Right now, my wife and I don’t want to leave the house unattended as we simply don’t know what the young lady might or might not do whilst we’re not there. We know, from having walked past that they twitch the curtains at the first sign of any movement outside so they know when we’re about or not.
In the 40 days since they moved in, there have been 5 x ambulances, 13 x police vehicles and a vast number of NHS workers who’ve come and gone.
Is there any advice that anyone can offer because at the moment my wife and I are at our wits end.
Contact the owners of the property, via searching HM Land Registry web site, and also local council authority environmental housing officer. The latter have a legal requirement to deal with anti-social behavior.
This LL once registered to a similar charity, never again an absolute nightmare requiring a complete refurbishment after the tenants departure.
This LL once registered to a similar charity, never again an absolute nightmare requiring a complete refurbishment after the tenants departure.
Ussrcossack said:
Local Council Housing Office is your route.
BUT
Planning might be an option too as they may need change of use as it sounds it's more like a hostel than private house ( Only my opinion)
BUT
Planning might be an option too as they may need change of use as it sounds it's more like a hostel than private house ( Only my opinion)
Grumps. said:
I’m sure there should be an application for change of use if it is being used as an HMO?
Interesting. I'll follow those ones upswampy442 said:
Is it NACRO? I ask as Ive been in the same situation for about 15 years now
I don't believe so but as I said, we had no knowledge of what was happening until we asked. 15 years!?!?!! My wife will go stir crazyMBVitoria said:
Check your home insurance and see if you have legal cover. If so it should give you access to a legal helpline in the first instance and it might support the cost of legal action.
Good call. I hadn't thuoght about going through my house insuranceIce_blue_tvr said:
Where abouts in the country is this. Landlord licensing has become increasingly popular.. Its worth checking if your local area requires one and what sort of license has been granted.
Buckinghamshire. I'm guessing this would fall under the local or county council.Wings said:
Contact the owners of the property, via searching HM Land Registry web site, and also local council authority environmental housing officer. The latter have a legal requirement to deal with anti-social behavior.
This LL once registered to a similar charity, never again an absolute nightmare requiring a complete refurbishment after the tenants departure.
I know exactly who owns the property, where he lives, works and what his phone number is. When I spoke to him just a few days before it was obvious that he would be renting it out, he shut down any questions about who / what etc. He's bought and done up the place fo the simple purposes of making money. I can't argue with that at all but he won't do anything at all about the situationThis LL once registered to a similar charity, never again an absolute nightmare requiring a complete refurbishment after the tenants departure.
Captain_Morgan said:
Obviously also consider what steps you can take before some of the questions about disputes with neighbours need a positive answer should/when you need to sell.
Thankfully we're not looking to sell in the near future but the situation will need to improve at some point.andburg said:
watching as my parents neighbor just sold up to local charity and I'm half expecting something similar.
The only thing I can offer is that you find out as much as possible, as early as possible. If there are any issues, log them with as much detail as possible. Get the neighbours involved because if they're also affected then more voices have more weight.Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'll give them all a go
Your not going to want to hear this but move.
You could go through the council and their asb team, potentially with a community trigger. But if it’s a charity and the residents are vulnerable, you will likely be seen as the “bad guy” (I know your not, the police and council know your not) but you will be issuing formal proceedings against a charity at the end of a day.
All this will take months if not years and if you eventually give in and move you may need to declare it to any potential buyer.
Edit: you could try planning as suggested but enforcement is discretionary. If the area has a shortage of housing for vulnerable people the chances of them using those powers are low.
You could go through the council and their asb team, potentially with a community trigger. But if it’s a charity and the residents are vulnerable, you will likely be seen as the “bad guy” (I know your not, the police and council know your not) but you will be issuing formal proceedings against a charity at the end of a day.
All this will take months if not years and if you eventually give in and move you may need to declare it to any potential buyer.
Edit: you could try planning as suggested but enforcement is discretionary. If the area has a shortage of housing for vulnerable people the chances of them using those powers are low.
Edited by Tigerj on Wednesday 24th May 14:26
Edited by Tigerj on Wednesday 24th May 14:28
We have a house next door that is rented out to US servicemen and families. They have all been very good neighbors, with the exception of this last set. Young couple (now have a baby) but they seem to be American chavs, nice to speak to when you catch them outside, however:-
1) they have two dogs that have never been taken for a walk, not too bad if they were small, but they are an Alsatian and a Labrador. Their garden now stinks of dog crap because they never pick up. Great now barbeque season has come again.
2) they have frequent gatherings where all their fellow chavs come round. Being American they all drive round and dump their cars all over the shared drive blocking it completely. At one of their recent gatherings one moron couldn't get onto the drive, so just drove at the kerb and parked at an angle totally blocking the pavement with their back end sticking out into the road. Oh and to top it all off, scraped the rear bumper of my son's mate's car which was parked on the road. They denied it of course.
1) they have two dogs that have never been taken for a walk, not too bad if they were small, but they are an Alsatian and a Labrador. Their garden now stinks of dog crap because they never pick up. Great now barbeque season has come again.
2) they have frequent gatherings where all their fellow chavs come round. Being American they all drive round and dump their cars all over the shared drive blocking it completely. At one of their recent gatherings one moron couldn't get onto the drive, so just drove at the kerb and parked at an angle totally blocking the pavement with their back end sticking out into the road. Oh and to top it all off, scraped the rear bumper of my son's mate's car which was parked on the road. They denied it of course.
MKnight702 said:
We have a house next door that is rented out to US servicemen and families. They have all been very good neighbors, with the exception of this last set. Young couple (now have a baby) but they seem to be American chavs, nice to speak to when you catch them outside, however:-
1) they have two dogs that have never been taken for a walk, not too bad if they were small, but they are an Alsatian and a Labrador. Their garden now stinks of dog crap because they never pick up. Great now barbeque season has come again.
2) they have frequent gatherings where all their fellow chavs come round. Being American they all drive round and dump their cars all over the shared drive blocking it completely. At one of their recent gatherings one moron couldn't get onto the drive, so just drove at the kerb and parked at an angle totally blocking the pavement with their back end sticking out into the road. Oh and to top it all off, scraped the rear bumper of my son's mate's car which was parked on the road. They denied it of course.
Have you tried writing a letter addressed to the Commanding Officer of where this American serviceman works, complaining about your neighbours behaviour and mention his name and address?1) they have two dogs that have never been taken for a walk, not too bad if they were small, but they are an Alsatian and a Labrador. Their garden now stinks of dog crap because they never pick up. Great now barbeque season has come again.
2) they have frequent gatherings where all their fellow chavs come round. Being American they all drive round and dump their cars all over the shared drive blocking it completely. At one of their recent gatherings one moron couldn't get onto the drive, so just drove at the kerb and parked at an angle totally blocking the pavement with their back end sticking out into the road. Oh and to top it all off, scraped the rear bumper of my son's mate's car which was parked on the road. They denied it of course.
The military tend to get a grip of this, very quickly, very hard and better then most other employers. Especially if he’s bringing the service into disrepute / it makes the local newspapers. I’ve heard of one serviceman who vandalised property in the city centre while drunk and he was put on the next flight back home.
Also, can you put a fence down the driveway?
Edited by Mr Miata on Wednesday 24th May 16:33
craig511 said:
As above, contact the council planning dept and tell them you suspect there has been and is, a change of use.
They will come and investigate.
If they are breaching they will receive an enforcement notice to stop. If they don’t then it’s pain time for the owner.
They can appeal it.
If pp is required, there’s no guarantee the council will take enforcement action. They will come and investigate.
If they are breaching they will receive an enforcement notice to stop. If they don’t then it’s pain time for the owner.
They can appeal it.
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