What Can I do About My Problem Neighbour?

Q.

I live in a rented townhouse. My neighbour has a habit of slamming her door several times a day and it has actually knocked a shelf from my wall. I've asked her not to and her reason for doing it is that she has a problem with the door locking because of weatherstripping.

On two occasions she has screamed obscenities at a neighbour and someone doing roofing at 8am, which was followed by her door being slammed 5x in anger.

My nerves are frayed as you never know when to expect it. I've also had the landlords send her a complaint letter but still it continues.

A.

So far, you have taken exactly the right steps to try to resolve this issue. You’ve asked your neighbour not to slam the door and, when the behaviour has persisted, you’ve also asked your landlord to intervene without any success.

Your local authority has the powers to take action against any problems related to noisy neighbours. However, this will usually be related to issues which persist continually over a sustained period of time such as problems with loud music, dogs that bark constantly and people using loud power tools at unreasonable hours in the likes of workshops, garages and garden sheds. This is because these activities can be monitored and recorded. The problem here would seem to be ‘catching her in the act’ so to speak because as you said, “you never know when to expect it” so the chances are that an environmental health officer from your local authority’s noise nuisance team would be unlikely to come out to investigate the matter as it would be virtually impossible to predict when these outbursts might occur. It would certainly be worth giving them a call, however to explain the situation.

Meanwhile, it is probably worth trying to have another polite chat with her. Given that she’s also been involved in screaming obscenities at a neighbour, it would appear that she might not be all that approachable but this is no excuse. Try to catch her on a ‘good day’ and politely explain to her about the way her behaviour has affected your nerves and about the shelf falling down. Quite often when a person is angry or upset, they have no concept of the effects of any outbursts on others so speaking to her may just prick her conscience.

Alternatively, it wouldn’t harm you to have another word with the landlords. A complaint letter can easily be disregarded unless it’s backed up with threats of eviction so perhaps suggesting to the landlords that they go and speak with your neighbour will have the desired effect. As far as the slamming door goes, perhaps you could suggest to your neighbour that they ask the landlord to come out and arrange for it to be repaired or replaced.

If the problem still persists, the more evidence you can gather the better. You mentioned the fact that another neighbour was on the receiving end of verbal abuse. This could constitute harassment and, once again, this would not be tolerated by your local authority. Therefore, the more people who will back your claims up that your next door neighbour is causing a nuisance, the more likely it will be that your local environmental health officer will come out to investigate matters.

 Share on Facebook  Tweet This!  Stumble!  Digg It!