Updating post from Reddit.
Next door Neighbour have complained about my tenet. They complained in the past and I spoke to tenet to be more considerate but it seems like they are still not behaving properly. My neighbour text me complaining. What should be my position here as landlord? How would you deal with this situation?
The tone of that message makes me think they are ‘that’ annoying neighbour.
Complaining about noise now ahead of them having a baby when they aren’t even pregnant… really?
This. They’re being petty. I’m sure there have been instances where the neighbor was loud. But that’s close living life. You’re gonna hear your neighbors. And considering others aren’t complaining I got a feeling it’s not near as bad as they claim.
Until you get neighbours like that living above you…
The baby will be just as considerate to your tenants when it does pop out. Best the neighbours don't make too much of a stink just now, eh?
The baby can be excused for being inconsiderate and ignorant of social mores on account of it being a literal baby. What's the tenants excuse?
Oh they’ll be the neighbors whose baby screams all night and just expect everyone to deal. It’s always the people who are the worst who complain about the most petty things. Omg one time on a Friday they were outside past 11 the absolute horror.
What’s the option other than dealing with a baby crying? Parents desperately try to stop babies crying but sometimes it doesn’t work.
Exactly my point!! Noise happens. So for them to act so troubled over noise is ridiculous especially when planning a baby that will inevitably make a lot of noise.
Indeed they jumped out at me. At that point I think the neighbours will be thoroughly preoccupied, if they are so easily disturbed.
Honestly - not your problem. BY all means send another letter/email saying you have had a complaint but realistically there is not much you can do the police their behaviour.
Tell them to contact the council about the noise and the parking. They have a lot more power.
You’re not there to police day-to-day neighbour disputes, but you do have to step in if the tenant is breaching their tenancy through noise or nuisance. The best approach is to acknowledge the neighbour’s concerns without taking sides, consider reminding the tenant in writing about their obligations, and keep a record of all complaints and your responses. If it carries on, the neighbour can escalate through the council so there’s an official record, which then gives you grounds to take formal action if needed. Basically your role is to acknowledge, remind, and record, only escalating if it’s a clear breach.
Grammar police here: tenets are rules you live by. Tenants are people who (hopefully) pay you rent.
Personally I wouldn’t get involved.
Adults need to talk to each other rather than going snitching about minor issues.
Snitching How old are you to be talking like that?
Old enough to not be acting like a nanny to adults that can sort their own shit out.
You are the landlord not there parents, sad as it is they need to contact the council etc not you.
I would have evict the tenants as soon as you can though they sound like twats
How do they sound like twats? Genuine q here. Other than the parking on the kerb (sometimes unfortunately unavoidable if they've more than one car and there's only driveway space for one) what else have they actually done that's so bad?
Have you ever been out on a Friday night past 12am in your life? Were you being a twat or just being a normal person? Have you ever closed the door when you've left the house? Is it possible your next door neighbour may have heard you? Were you being a twat then, or just a normal person?
You need to think about your answers to the above and reflect on why your instinct was to condemn the tenants as twats for doing exactly what you've done before in your life without feeling guilty (assuming you've ever been invited to someone's house for a get together that's gone on past midnight - on a Friday night, no less).
Just here to point out that pavement parking is certainly not unavoidable, no one is holding a gun to their head. They just need to park elsewhere and walk.
Yeah they could do that. If we're being realistic here, is the complainant writing letters to all the people who own their houses on the road who park on the kerb do you think, or just the renters who she sees as people she can "get at", because she can try to have them evicted.
Not once has a neighbour complained to me or my landlord about me slamming doors, and not one of mine or my friends party has had that problem, we have always been respectful after 1030 ish.
Regularly keeping neighbours up being loud outside is twattish behaviour. I don’t have to reflect on this thank you.
No, me neither. But neither of us have lived next to this person - who emails the landlord about the door being slammed without ever mentioning having brought this up with the tenants themselves. So maybe they're slamming the doors on purpose, or maybe the complainant is a bit of a nightmare themselves.
Neighbours plural might be a bit misleading, as no other neighbours have got in touch. Just think it's a bit of a revealing response to hear that people were noisy outside at 12am on one Friday in July and automatically say to get rid of them because they're twats.
They have complained to the landlord once, knocked on the tenants door once and complained once more to the landlord, it’s obviously a regular occurrence
It sounds as if the tenants have nightmare neighbours.
This is apartment life!! I’m sorry but you’re gonna hear noise. There’s gonna be people outside sometimes. You have multiple people who work multiple different shifts and have completely different lifestyles all living near one another. Surely if they’re so loud and disruptive others would be reaching out to complain as well??
If the noise was that bad, they can call the police to disperse or make a complaint to environmental health and then you have proof to take action. Here say from a few grumpy neighbours isnt exactly fair. How dare they get poss a bit drunk at a wake for example... its not exactly every weekend all night long. But a specific date and its happened before? Parking again they need to refer to police. My neighbours park on the street instead of using their drive meaning I have to 4 point turn to get off my own drive. Annoying but big deal. People be people. I have occasionally mentioned something when they have parked so far out im risking hitting their car just to get out but (i have a old car they have a brand new tesla) i wouldn't expect to whinge to their landlord. At the end of the day your main concern is that the house is being treated well. Not that they are silent and park wonderfully.
Also if the moaner thinks their baby is going to be quiet they are sorrrreeeelyyyyy mistaken. Same as the toddler the baby will turn into. And the child after that. Kids are generally flat footed and have little to no emotional control so yeah. They can consider the baby waking the neighbours at 5am screaming for milk payback for the occasional late night.
Seems like you've got complainers for neighbours.
Whenever someone complains of noise I take them seriously until they complain about the front door being shut.
99% of the time it's just a bunch of moaners that sit in silence and having nothing going on in their own home so they end up wound up over nothing.
People make noise, if they were screaming and arguing everyday it would be a different story but closing a door? Come on now.
As for parking over the kerb, it's another one of those complaining for the sake of it. Everyone on our street does it and I've never bat an eye lid because why does it really matter.
They are going to be in for a huge shock when they have a baby and they can't email the hospital complaining about the noise it makes.
I'd tell them to jog on our get a hobby.
Edit: I've just reread it and I've missed a bit. They are complaining that the neighbours had people down for a memorial for his late mother? Jesus christ.
Imagine your mam dies and the neighbours are complaining to your landlord because your having a send off for her.
Stone cold gits. Ignore them and send your tenants a card and some chocolates.
> just reread it and I've missed a bit. They are complaining that the neighbours had people down for a memorial for his late mother? Jesus christ.
To be fair they weren’t complaining that there was a wake. They were complaining that there was still noise after midnight. That’s a bit different. People should be quiet by that stage. If it is was a one off then you should make an exception, but if it’s a pattern of behaviour then I can understand getting frustrated.
If the property isn't subject to selective licensing - just forward on the message to the tenants and try minimise comms with this neighbour. There's not much they can do.
If it is subject to selective licensing - then read up on your responsibilities in the license as they can be pretty onerous/unfair and the neighbour could potentially cause you some trouble if they complained to the council.
This neighbour sounds like one of those annoying people who can never be satisfied and will only demand more if you give an inch.
It's not your responsibility to police your tenants. You can give them a gentle warning if you want and they might consider if they piss you off you won't want to renew their tenancy, but legally it's not your place. Advise their neighbours to contact the local authority if they have a problem.
tell them you're not the police, it ain't your problem and if they have a problem to call the police.
Slamming the door makes the entire neighbourhood shake???
Do you know if your neighbours have already called the cops? If not, they are misleading you.
Sounds like my neighbours 😤😤😤😤
Your duty as a Landlord is to ensure that your Tenants comply with the conditions of their tenancy. That would usually include being considerate towards neighbours.
The questions you could ask yourself are:
If I lived next door to the people renting my flat or house, would I be happy about their behaviour.
If I was their neighbour, would I expect their landlord to try to resolve these issues?
How did they get your contact details. This is between them and your tenants not you
Lol the absolute cheek of that level of complaining about slightly loud noises at slightly inconsiderate hours when they're literally planning on having a baby.
Glad I don't live next to them. XD
Do nothing, unless you want to tell them yourself to mind their own.
‘Thanks for letting me know, I’ll have a word with my tenants to hear their side of things. Best wishes etc etc’
Then have a chat with the tenants and hear what they have to say. If they’re generally decent, keep the property nicely and this is just a neighbour disagreement then just ask them not to park on the curb and be mindful of the door slamming, and sympathise that the neighbours seem a bit annoying. If they’re not decent tenants, consider whether you want to keep them on or not.
Would you want them living next door to you and behaving like that? If not, have some consideration for the neighbours and evict them.
Have you ever been outside a house on a Friday in the summer after midnight in your life? In your entire life, have you ever been invited to anyone's house for a few drinks or a get together that went on past midnight?
Did you make anyone's life a misery? How did you compensate the neighbours for this one night of post-midnight weekend noise? Assuming you have been to a gathering of friends that lasted past midnight, it's obviously not a given. The people in this apartment are living life - one of the criticisms is closing their front door FFS.
If the couple who wrote the email do end up having a baby, what would be appropriate recompense for their neighbours for the frequent disturbances? (which I guarantee won't be restricted to a Friday night). Or would you say living next to a baby is just a normal part of suburban life, like people occasionally on a summer Friday having a few drinks next to you, or people having to close their door in order to leave the house. You need to think about your answers to the above.
Id ask other neighbours if the tenants are disturbing them. Id also check what you put in your tenancy agreement about noise & disturbance to neighbours. Let them know that this is not first time you have received complaints about noise and such behaviour is unacceptable & if more are received you may have to end their tenancy which is not something you want to do so ask them to take steps to close all doors quietly & lessen noise after 11pm etc if you didn't put anything in your contract then consider including it with your next tenancy contract along with not drying clothes on radiators as this causes mold, also advise neighbours to contact council environmental dept if noise carries on after 11pm they will send someone out to measure noise levels.
With all due respect, opening up new lines of communication about this with more neighbours isn't something that I'd consider doing in this situation...
The modern day landlord, can I take the money and palm off my tenants behaviour to the council 🙄
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Sure, noise after 11 pm is very nice when people have to wake up at 6 the next day. Amazing.
Surely this is an opportunity? Threaten to S21 them if they are not quiet and pay X amount more (if you have done your due diligence and have their salaries you should be aiming for 45-50% of their joint gross and don't forget to include any benefits like child benefit and also definitely consider wage price rises since you last saw their salary (which is likely higher than inflation rate atm)).
If they turn you down, you now have a direct line to the people complaining which you can use. Say you would like kind respectful people in your flat who won't make noise to their neighbours and the family dynamic means they will be reliable and offer to S21 the tenants and they can rent it for even more than you'd offer to the current tenant.
Win, win.
You charge based on the property not how quiet they are and how much they earn. Jeez. Renters rights Bill asap.
This guy is fucking nuts lol
Things cost what people will pay for them. In this instance what they are willing to pay depends on both of those things.
Parasitic behaviour
Not at all. You could say living off someone else's property is more apt as part of that definition.
What an unhinged take
Yeah yeah here come the anti landlord brigade
Not sure how you can view tenants as parasitic when the one extracting value off their labour is the landlord?
They are an income source, i don't view them as anything. It's hard to see how they are living on the property, which they would not otherwise have, as anything other than leeching.
No legal duty, but a moral one. Do you think it's okay to just allow your tenants to make the neighbours' lives a misery while you just sit back and let the cash roll in?
If i was the neighbour, I'd be making it your problem.
Out of curiosity, how would you make it their problem?
Phone the landlord every time the tenants are causing me a problem. Tenants making a racket at 3am? I phone the landlord at 3am.
Lol ok. Cause no one has ever heard of the DND function on phones. Good luck with that one.
Have you ever been outside a house on a Friday in the summer after midnight in your life? In your entire life, have you ever been invited to anyone's house for a few drinks or a get together that went on past midnight?
Did you make anyone's life a misery? How did you compensate the neighbours for this one night of post-midnight weekend noise? Assuming you have been to a gathering of friends that lasted past midnight, it's obviously not a given. The people in this apartment are living life - one of the criticisms is closing their front door FFS.
If the couple who wrote the email do end up having a baby, what would be appropriate recompense for their neighbours for the frequent disturbances? (which I guarantee won't be restricted to a Friday night). Or would you say living next to a baby is just a normal part of suburban life, like people occasionally on a summer Friday having a few drinks next to you, or people having to close their door in order to leave the house. You need to think about your answers to the above.
> The people in this apartment are living life
You’re being disingenuous. People can live their life just fine without having to make noise after midnight. If you do that persistently then it makes it harder for neighbours to live their life by getting the sleep they need.
I think you're being disingenuous. The complainant says it's happened multiple times, but the one example they give - which you would assume is the worst case as it's the example they've chosen - is a Friday in the summer where they're out until fifteen minutes past midnight.
Now maybe you've never been to someone's house where things have gone on past midnight. But it does happen on Friday nights quite regularly, in both houses that are owned by their occupiers and rented to tenants.
If you've never been in someone's back garden after midnight, you'll have to take my word for it. If you have, I assume you don't believe that the person whose house you were in deserved to be threatened with eviction.
If it's a case of preventing neighbours from sleeping, what compensation are the complainants prepared to offer if the baby they're planning on having wakes people up by crying? You'd say that's ridiculous, that a crying baby is unfortunately just part of urban living sometimes and it's just one of those things. An occasional Friday where your neighbours may be talking outside is equally just a fact of urban living.
> I think you're being disingenuous. The complainant says it's happened multiple times,
So I was being factual, not disingenuous. Thanks for clearing that up so quickly.
There’s a difference between being outside after midnight and being noisy outside after midnight. On the occasions that I’ve been out at that hour ai’ e been conscious that people are trying to sleep and I’ve kept my voice down, because that’s the considerate thing to do. If you can’t imagine that then I pity your neighbours.
You’re being disingenuous claiming they were being threatened with eviction for being outside after midnight. There were multiple complaints about a range of issues and a request to deal with the issue in a professional manner.
No point in having a discussion with you when you’re being dishonest and misrepresenting the facts.
Bearing in mind that one of the complaints is about closing the door too loudly, do you honestly think it matters whether they were trying to keep their voice down or not?
They've contacted the landlord because their tenants are closing the door too loudly. Just keep in mind that that's the type of person who's next door. I can guarantee you that if you and your friends were outside after 11pm you wouldn't be quiet enough for this person.
You haven't addressed my other point which is that if you believe that by possibly impinging on their neighbours sleep on the odd occasion deserves an email to the landlord (which in any language, is an attempt to make an eviction more likely or desirable), what recompense should the neighbours provide to the tenants in the event their baby is born and cries for four hours every night?
As you say, by disturbing their sleep they'd be preventing their neighbours from living their life. So what should happen?