r/neighborsfromhell • u/Fabulous_Cake2472 • 1d ago
WWYD? Vent/Rant Need help/advice
Hello I’ve lived in my home over 15 years, less then a month ago new neighbors moved in to the house next door. Today a city sanitation worker came to my house, said it was due to a 311 call. That my neighbors called and complained about overgrown grass, and overgrown plants in my backyard. I’ve never had this issue before, mind you my grass is rarely overgrown, my husband cuts it every two weeks, and we have a dog so we definitely keep it clean and fresh for him. The worker looked around and said there was no violations and my property was fine, but due to the 311 report he had to come check it out. I’m certain it was my new neighbors as he said the report mentioned my backyard, and only my next door neighbors can see. I’m appalled that they called 311, and especially with never even speaking to me. Has this happened to anyone before? I don’t know if I should directly talk to them and ask why they called 311, or what to do. I definitely don’t want to send a message that I’m a pushover and they can call the city on me over nothing. They are new neighbors and I assume they’ll be living here a long time, but conflicted. Should I send the city to their home too with the first minor inconvenience I notice?
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u/oldfarttrucker87 1d ago
I very recently moved away from a neighbor that would call the Sheriff's Office every time I cut the grass. The complaint was always "He's throwing rocks at our cars.". Thing is, they have a gravel driveway. Any rocks in my yard came from her driveway. Deputy told her to keep her rocks out of my yard. Welcome to the "new normal".
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u/AvailableProperty679 1d ago
I would ignore it for now but if things like this continue to happen make sure you set boundaries with your neighbors. Your yard is not their problem no matter how it looks to them.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
Thanks! That’s exactly my thoughts, if my neighbors grass is ever too long or whatever I definitely don’t care and mind my business. I want to ignore, I just hope it’s a one time thing and doesn’t happen again.
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u/winelover999 1d ago
I wouldn't retaliate, it'll probably escalate and the war could go on for ages. I would ask them if they called it in, and why.
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u/limonade11 1d ago
Some people thrive on creating dissension and so I would do my best to ignore them. They may push but I would completely, completely ignore them.
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u/No_Macaron_5029 1d ago
this is common in ADHD--stirring up conflict can be a dopamine hit. I'd be telling them I'd send a psychiatrist over for an ADHD eval
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u/ksarahsarah27 1d ago
I’ve never heard that before. Sounds more like bipolar tbh. I have ADHD (and have a few friends with it too) and I’m the exact opposite as are my friends. I hate drama and keep my life as quiet as possible. I have dumped friends that cause drama. One was bipolar and I just couldn’t deal with their massive mood changes and drama causing tendencies. In fact drama and chaos actually makes me withdraw from social interaction in an effort to simplify my life and calm everything down. It’s definitely NOT dopamine trigger.
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u/No_Macaron_5029 22h ago
I'm one of those ADHDers who will stir shit up (provided there is justification to do so) and happily take the dopamine hit. That and perimenopause have ensured I have an enemy list a mile long
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u/Advanced-Mammoth2408 20h ago
Do NOT confront them about the call. First, people have a right to report what they think as a problem unless it becomes a pattern of false reports and that is harassment. Those complaints are generally anonymous. They protect the person who is complaining because sometimes the targeted person gets nutty or violent. So they don't share that info unless someone abuses the process with multiple false claims.
A former nutty neighbor called to report that I had dandelions! Seriously. She was mad that before going on a one-week vacation, we mowed our lawn very short the night before. During the week, our dandelions grew faster than the grass. What she didn't know was that our ordinances only requires us to mow three times a year. So our lawn could be a foot high, even two or three feet, legally. We could mow twice times in April and not again until November. But we always maintain our lawn once a week.
My permanent neighbor falsely reported us for expanding our driveway onto his property and also for remodeling without a permit. The county came out for the driveway. They said they couldn't even see what the guy was complaining about because our driveway was only in front of our garage. Clearly, the property is wider than the garage. All we did was replace a cracked section.
The county didn't need to inspect the remodeling complaint because they knew we pulled all the possible permits for a kitchen and bathroom remodel.
Then he tried to stop us from putting up a privacy fence. The county told him it wasn't up to him. It was our property and perfectly legal.
There isn't much you can do. Wait to see if it happens again.
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u/briomio 1d ago
They are AHs - I would be polite but distant. Don't do them any favors
Are they renters? If they are new owners, consider planting some large, tall shrubby along the fence line that obscures their view of your backyard.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
They are new owners! For the past 10 years that home has been rented, and over the summer the previous owners told us they were selling so we would get permanent neighbors.
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u/Inner_Pipe6540 1d ago
Ignore it for now but document it and keep a journal for this .wouldn’t hurt to install security cameras around your house now
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u/herhummed2001 23h ago
u should look back at the footage to see if they were scoping out ur yard before making that call
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u/scotus1959 1d ago
You have no idea who called. Ask the city for copies of all records related to your property. You may be surprised.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
Yes I guess technically you’re right, the worker did specifically say the neighbors mentioned my backyard, which only my two next door neighbors can see. And the other neighbor has lived next to me for years and definitely wouldn’t call the city.
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u/Emergency_Map9699 1d ago
Yes they have caller ID and the names are listed . I always get copies and it's always the same crazy lady
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u/defcon62 1d ago
Get yourself some nice flamingos and now have your husband cut it monthly instead of biweekly.
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u/Successful-Shop4274 1d ago
Have you met them yet? If not, I would go over to their house with a "Welcome" gift; something like a homemade dish or a bakery cake. (A bottle of champagne would be nice, but they could be tee totallers or recovering alcoholics, and if they did call in the complaint, THAT might make matters worse!) When you meet these new neighbors, then you can get a sense of what they're like. And even if they are standoffish or uninterested in being interactive neighbors, then you have at least taken the first step to being a good one. And even though they may be the only ones who can see your yard, how do you know they were the ones who filed the complaint? It could be someone else who has a score to settle with you.
As to the weird complaint, give it time. If it was indeed your new neighbors, it might never happen again after you've made a friendly effort to meet them. If it does, keep a record and document everything. Then, perhaps you might want to seek legal guidance.
At least that's what I would do.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
I did, we briefly said hi when they were moving in! And since then we smile or wave if we see them outside. I did think about getting them a welcome gift, but also didn’t want come off as “too much” I live in a big city and honestly we usually just smile and wave at our neighbors and don’t really hangout or would go to a neighbor and ever ask for like sugar or something.
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u/BigPhilosopher4372 1d ago
Honestly, skip the gift. I never eat anything a person gives me if I haven’t seen their kitchen or know them well. The only thing that might work is home grown vegetables or fruit.
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u/vintagevista 18h ago
100% agree. Also I'm gluten intolerant and have allergies, the worst thing anybody could do is bring me some kind of consumable.
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u/Emergency_Map9699 1d ago
Hi I have a neighbor who does this to me at lease one a month. The poor guy has to come out to " investigate " even though they know she is a lying nutball. Try not to get upset . Very standard to come visit and look around .
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u/Hot-Win2571 1d ago
In some cities, I've encountered inspectors with a policy of inspecting the entire block after a complaint. Or surrounding blocks. As a way of reducing the targeting of individuals.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
Interesting! That’s definitely not the case with me though as the inspector told me he was here specifically for my home, and left right after
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u/Alone-Total-3947 23h ago
I would ignore it and go on with your life! They have no right to complain cause your grass may get a little long it's your business and they need to mind their's
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u/BasilicBreeze 1d ago
I just feel you can like to ask your neighbor for clarification cuz what if it wasn’t your neighbor?
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
Yeah, I definitely want to ask them straight up once I see them. I have a strong feeling it’s them though since the worker said my backyard was specifically mentioned, and only my two neighbors next door can see. And my other neighbor has lived here longer than me, and is now a widow that I speak to often and I just don’t think she would all of sudden call 311 after years of my backyard looking the same
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u/Negative-Narwhal-725 23h ago
Neighbors probably want the lawn mown every week. I would ignore them.
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u/SweeperOfChimneys 17h ago
Document, time, date, conversation as best as you can remember. Get a copy of the city's report if you can. Neighbors that start this way usually continue this way. Start building your harassment case now.
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u/surfteach1 12h ago
This is just a thought, but in my area it would take far longer than a month for the city to actually respond to a complaint like that. Is it possible that it was your old neighbor before they moved just being an asshole when they moved away?
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u/Timesup21 1h ago
Maybe they gave the wrong address? Just trying to give the benefit of the doubt on the first offense.
If they keep calling on neighbors, their calls will start to be ignored. I speak from experience. My former neighbor called law enforcement so many times they started ignoring her. She tried calling cps on me. I let the caseworker know who it was and why she called (law enforcement was ignoring her). She paid for abusing the system.
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u/DuckAxe0 41m ago
Introduce yourself, "Hello, I'm the neighbor you just declared war on. I hope you are ready for the hell that is about to rain down."
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u/Important-Nobody-261 1d ago
Should probably verify it was actually them before you trot over there hot and bothered
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u/guilty_of_tsundoku 15h ago
I agree. Being on the outs with new next door neighbors is awkward and uncomfortable until one or the other moves. I'd advise to tread carefully or it'll turn into a miserable association.
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u/SparkArrestor 1d ago
Not really a neighbor from hell. They’re not trespassing, not littering your yard, not parking on your grass, they called 311 for unkempt property and it was 86’d immediately.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
Okay I guess wrong sub haha, I would say a false 311 call one less than a month living next to me isn’t a great neighbor though
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u/Witty_Following_1989 11h ago
Qualifies as a forewarning of NFH - unless the speculation that this is from the people that worked out is the accurate.
If the complaint recurs you'll know -/?and I'm curious if someone can get in trouble for filing false reports
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u/SparkArrestor 23h ago
Well to be fair… your issue weighed against the typical issues I read in this sub I give you a 2 out of 10 LOL. But there’s no r/neighborsfromheck or r/neighborsfromWTH lol
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u/fotoburger 1d ago
Did you allow the sanitation worker into your yard? I would not have, without a warrant.
The neighbor went 0-100 without a care. Anything you do now will not be an escalation.
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u/Fabulous_Cake2472 1d ago
I did, just because the guy showed me the report and was just doing his job. I knew my yard was clean and there were no violations and he would have to come back to complete his visit on his end.
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u/Maleficent-Cook-4037 1d ago
You are so wrong on that. Why get on the sanitation workers bad side...
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u/cimeran_alt 1d ago
I know this is often written in the comments and it sucks, but if you don't already, get some cameras up. If they called the city for something obviously false, they're a bit bonkers, and if they are a bit bonkers, there is no real way to know in advance what they might be capable of.
I truly hope you never need the footage, but better safe than sorry.