Have you ever told someone about something that happened to you and received a reaction you didn’t expect? Maybe you shared what you thought was a harmless memory from your childhood, only to have the person react with abject horror?
Reddit user nottheonly85 went through something similar recently when they visited the r/neighborsfromhell subreddit. The OP told the tale of how they got new neighbors in June, who seemed like perfectly lovely people at first. But by mid-July, the couple and their small dog were joined by extended family, which has caused a lot of disruptions in the shared space between the two units.
All of this came to a head recently, prompting the Redditor to come to the message board to share the story of how their neighbor’s family was overstaying their welcome, making things miserable for everyone around them.
But the OP didn’t get the reaction they expected, because instead of commiserating or allowing them to simply vent about the situation, most of the responses were full of concern and suggestions to get the authorities involved.
The OP Says Their Neighbors Make Too Much Noise and Use Their Entire Shared Porch
According to the post, the Redditor had lived in the same building for 10 years without incident. However, when their newest neighbors arrived, everything fell apart. “My main issue was they completely took over the porch so I couldn’t really go out anymore,” they explained about the space that joins their two units, adding that the noise level remains consistently high, even after the OP has talked to them about it.
“I was trying to start things off civil even if I was annoyed,” they continued. “Like on my daughter’s first day of school last week I opened the door to find all seven out there, and I’m not a morning person so that was a lot.” Things only got worse when the OP explained how their daughter had to walk through “a cloud of weed” when getting on the bus.
When the OP tried to put a physical barrier between the two units using an oversized planter to block off their side of the porch, they wrote that the renters just moved everything out of the way and continued to spill onto their side of the porch.
After getting nowhere with the neighbors on their own, the OP wrote that they went to the office manager to ask to be transferred to another unit, which is when they found out that the cops had been called about a fight that took place with that same family in the complex parking lot.
“So anyway, their own stupidity on that, plus the fact that we have a freaking camera pointed directly at our porch, made them tell on themselves,” the post concluded. “All the people not on the lease have 14 days to leave. And hopefully I’ll be out soon in a rental house with my own walls and porch and yard!”
Redditors Warned That What the Neighbors Were Doing Was Likely Illegal
Even though the issue seemed to be resolving on its own due to the police being involved, many Redditors expressed their concern for the children living in the unit. “Eight people in a two-bedroom is actually insane; I don’t know how anyone lives like that,” one person wrote. “Honestly feel bad for the kids too because that porch probably feels like the only escape.”
Meanwhile, another person suggested that it was both a health code violation and worth a call to child protective services. “One woman and four kids in a two-bedroom is probably illegal unless all the kids are of the same sex,” yet another person added.