We're in rented accommodation and the housing association knows about the problems we're having. It's been going on for several months now. This neighbour is bipolar which is the excuse he and his wife use for his behaviour. Both myself and my husband suffer with depression but we don't use that as an excuse to behave badly.
The saga started when he complained that we weren't clearing up after our dogs when they poop out there and it was causing a smell. This is completely untrue but the community team officer for our area had to come out to us. She was satisfied that we were telling the truth. Anyway he complained again so she came out just to find out that it was a wasted journey again. We were really fed up so had a list ready for her over problems we've had since we've lived here. To make a bit of sense of this there is a right of way through the gardens and as his is the middle bungalow he cuts through ours when he wants to mow his front lawn. These included;
- him chucking pot plants and bags full of grass cuttings on our lawn on the grounds that they were in his way even though they were by the step by back door so he had to walk round that anyway
- pulled out rose bushes and plants at the end of our garden for no reason at all
- made clean washing on the line grubby as he moved them going through our garden
- is noisy from 6 am when he's working
- lets his dog wander off the lead when he takes the dog for a walk or he's out the front. He's even taken his dog through our garden.
There have been other things but you get the picture. His dog is a beautiful spaniel called Max and we wish our dogs could play with him. The problem is our dogs have been attacked by other dogs in the past so they get tetchy with other dogs. For that reason when we take them out we keep them on their leads when we take them for a walk. If we see any of our friends with their dogs they know our two will bark but if we stand and chat the dogs calm down. Unfortunately this neighbour doesn't care nor does he have any respect. We also brought up the point that he can go through the garden the other side of him. Anyway the last time he was a pain was just over a week ago when he chucked garden to the end of our garden walked backwards and forwards through our garden several times and even tried peering through our window. Due to the angle of the blinds he couldn't see much but I knew it was him as his reflection was on my laptop.
Yesterday I went out into the garden for the second time to clear up after the dogs when he came out having a go at me. He insisted the whole garden was covered and it smelt. I was sharp back as there wasn't any smell and there was only a couple of bits out there. He just wouldn't shut up so I went in to calm down then went round the front to put all of two small bags in the bin and he started again. I completely lost it and gave as good as I got as he was coming out with a load rubbish so I told him exactly that. Hubby will be back on the phone again tomorrow as I have told him I can't take anymore and would rather be homeless than put up with the war.
We are on the Homeswapper list but the only people who have been interested live in flats above the ground floor. That's no good for us even if we didn't have pets as we got our bungalow on medical grounds due to arthritis. Our physical health has got worse as well. I've also applied to East Durham Homes as well as they do a bidding scheme. We want to stay in the same town but just not next door to him. It is possible that our housing association might suggest moving us our they know we are quite happy being tenants of theirs which would be the best solution for us.
We lived in Rochdale 10 / 11 years ago and it was when the Commonwealth Games were on. It's rotten feeling anxious though
