How do you deal with neighbours from hell?

Question

My partner & I have lived in our current place for 2 years. In that time, our left side neighbours have trespassed onto our property many times, damaged our front lawn, they use our driveway daily and create potholes in it (our driveway is NOT shared, they have their own perfectly good driveway that they never use), they keep us awake until 2-3am most nights with loud music and wake me up at 6am most mornings - usually because they’re having domestic fights and having a screaming match, they’ve used our backyard as a dump site - throwing various rubbish into it, sometimes harmful items like nails or metal wire which has caused injuries when mowing the lawn.

But most recently, they’ve installed a cabin/portable home right against the property boundary fence. It’s barely 2 metres away from my bedroom window, which is very illegal here, and I’ve gotten the city council involved and they will deal with it starting next week.

Tonight, I get home and find my neighbours shooting fireworks into my backyard. A few hit my shed, some rebound off the side of my house, some hit my concrete water tank, before exploding on the ground. Extremely loud. I went absolutely ballistic at them, screaming at them to stop being fucking idiots, and they only laughed at me.

I’m about to have my first baby. I feel like I’m going insane with these neighbours. I would much rather live anywhere else but where I am, we are paying $100-$150 less per week than any other place of similar size. So financially it’s good but our left side neighbours are horrible. Our right side neighbours are great.

I’ve been through noise control and police and they won’t do anything about it. My landlord doesn’t care. The city council will deal with the cabin that’s against the fence, but they can’t do anything else. What can I do other than move?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I lived on campus in college, and one day during a floor wide door decorating competition, my roommate and I were just decorating our door, chatting with one another with the door open, and out of bloody nowhere, one of the girls directly across from us, threw open her door and starts yelling, "why the f--k are you out there talking sh--t about us?!? I heard you through the walls!" My roommate and I were SO confused. We thought she was joking, but she proceeded to literally get in my face and start yelling at me. My roommate, who was kind of nuts, lept up from the bed and took over the yelling and it became a full on screaming match. The RA came out and down the hall, a bunch of the other girls opened up their doors like what the hell is happening, and she broke us up.

What proceeded was another couple of months of insanity with these girls. Every time they'd see us, they wanted to start a fight. I wanted nothing to do with it. I even tried apologizing for what...I literally don't even know...but they just became obsessed with trying to mess with us. I wish I could have avoided them entirely, but one of them had an on campus job working the front desk to the building so I had to see her and she always had something snarky to say. The only "solution" the residence hall would give was if YOU have the problem, YOU have to leave.

Best thing I can tell you about your situation, is number 1, you and your incoming baby are the most important thing, so if you truly feel your safety is at risk, you may need to move. If you choose not to, install video cameras on your property to have evidence if needed against your neighbors. Don't ever confront them alone unless you have at least one witness who should also be recording. No matter how annoying or useless it seems, always file police reports and document everything that goes down in case you need it later, and don't engage in any activity that could backfire on you and get you arrested or cited. Do some research on what can be done legally and maybe even consult with a pro bono lawyer for advice on how to handle them.

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

People like that often behave badly to drive out their neighbours or to provoke them enough they do something stupid so they can sue or justify violence. People like that always know the law better than the police.

Make sure every inch of your property is covered by cameras and don't get drawn in to confrontation unless you've got witnesses on your side.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Arrr, matey, it be a dire situation ye be in with them scurvy-ridden neighbours! It be clear they have no respect fer ye nor yer property. Since ye've already sought help from the city council and authorities to address the most egregious offenses like the illegal cabin, ye may want to consider documentin' all the misdeeds they've been perpetratin'. Keep a log o' the disturbances, damages, and trespasses, along with any evidence such as photos or videos.

Ye might also want to seek counsel from a legal advisor or tenant's rights organization to see if there be any recourse ye can take under the law. In some cases, there may be provisions fer dealin' with nuisance neighbors or breach o' tenancy agreements.

If all else fails, weigh yer options carefully and consider if movin' be the best course o' action fer ye and yer soon-to-be family. Sometimes, leavin' behind troublesome waters be the only way to find peace and tranquility. Arrr, may the winds o' fortune guide ye to smoother seas, matey!

GoodGuyBreakingBad · Accepted Answer

Take videos if you can with your phone and call the police and show them also you could keep proof of what they do by video recording them with your phone and take it to the City Council.

sage2021 · Answer

If they are renting can you contact the owner and let them know what they are doing? Ask the owner if they are friends with them. Ask if he did a background and credit check on them before he let them move in. Who knows, they might be relatives of the owner.
Tell the owner what they are doing to his neighbors and see if he can talk to them about it.

Other than that, do you know anyone who would break their knees? I'm serious. Maybe you could find some tough guy and pay them to go have a talk with them.

I had an apartment manager harass me for years s. He would come in my apartment and steal my food, he stole my hose, he got me down on the couch one day and started kissing me. He was married with children and my next door neighbor.

When I told my ex-husband what this guy was doing to me, he asked if I wanted his knees broken, but I couldn't do it.

You gotta get someone to rough these guys up and threaten them, even if it cost you some money.

It would be cheaper than moving.

Mr_twoface · Answer

I knew a couple who went through the similar incident in Australia and the police couldn't do much. They even had a news reporter around and made a news report about it but it didn't stop the neighbour.

I knew some guys who were shady as f and they stopped by twice and exchanged some words with the neighbour. They got obviously paid to help out and lets just say the issue calmed down a lot! No one was harmed and the neighbour continued to mind their own business.

Other than that, I don't know what you can do. Maybe give their own medicine back at them... but that probably will only escalate.

Sorry for you guys!

Levin · Answer

Sounds like you're paying 100$ less a week for a reason. I mean, I don't know what your financial situation is, but stress and dealing with absolute cuntwads is extremely bad for your health. If you can afford it, cut your losses and move out. The system is designed to keep good hard working people down. They won't do anything about it and will offer more rights and protection for abusive people who don't work. Especially if you live in cucked NZ.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

If the police doesn't help (noise complaints, harassment, trespassing...), I would go the civil litigation route. There is enough happening that you don't have to ignore.

I definitely sympathize, I had my share of idiotic neighbors over the years: Huge, loud dog in an apartment complex with no pets allowed; motorbike with an exhaust to shatter the windows; weirdo playing damn party music at three o' clock in the morning...

AimeeKyle · Answer

I had this same scenario for years. The key is ignore them. They are either oblivious self centered people or are energized by a response from you all. I ended up putting up a fence (on that side of my property only) and placed thorny bushes in the areas I didn’t want a fence. It eliminated the trespassing / mowing at different heights in random paths/edges of my property line.

This ultimately worked very well. They eventually sold / moved away.

Billlewis · Answer

I've had a few neighbors who were rather loud, whether they were arguing or having sex, etc, and it's obviously a very aggravating situation.

Sharkstealth · Answer

Wow I know with a child coming this isn't very possible but that's why people own property. I rented a house once with extremely disrespectful neighbors. It sounds a lot like your situation. A bunch of drunk and drug addicted little bitch boys who think they are all that. Fill their trash cans up with yours. Throw their crap back at them. Because your both rentals I don't think trespassing qualifies.

FreyaRed · Answer

Nails and screws they throw on your property belong on you drive way. Next time when they drive through and have to buy a new set of tires after they will think twice if they should use you drive way next time. Dog poop on your lawn is biodegradable mine field and will teach them very soon to avoid your property. Dogs that bark entire day like Maltese dogs are perfect neighbor disturbers, you should buy you one even though you will hate those little and loud beasts after a while.

andreasderjuengere · Answer

Make friends with a biker gang and invite them over each weekend for a front yard barbecue.
Ignore these neighbours otherwise - if necessary (quote Goebbels:)"more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today"

Wsx2wsx2ws · Answer

cameras. Get some night ones as well. 24/7. Get enough footage and find a lawyer. In the mean time kill them with kindness. Bake a cake and take it to them. Spend time talking to them. Do so mainly out side if you can.

Agape93 · Answer

Depends. Stay off my property and we will be fine. Otherwise I'll shoot, again.

OtterMan68 · Answer

have you called the cops and reported the trespassing? Put up cameras to get the evidence.

JayBones2469 · Answer

I kill them. Make it look like carbon monoxide or a tragic house fure

KokoroRamen · Answer

I got lucky and he died.

Fireguy17 · Answer

Fortunately I've never had any bad neighbors, yet.

exitseven · Answer

Nail a dead rat to their front door.

CubaPirate · Answer

Report them to the authorities

ChocolatePikachu95 · Answer

Not sure

How do you deal with neighbours from hell?

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Most Helpful Opinions

Take videos if you can with your phone and call the police and show them also you could keep proof of what they do by video recording them with your phone and take it to the City Council.

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How do you get on with your neighbours?

How do you deal with neighbours from hell?

Most Helpful Opinions

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Take videos if you can with your phone and call the police and show them also you could keep proof of what they do by video recording them with your phone and take it to the City Council.

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How do you get on with your neighbours?

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