Help with nightmare tenants/neighbours

[ChChing]

Hope that someone can help, this is a bit of a long shot and bizarre story but here goes.....

 

My parents live in their owned (no mortgage) private property which is a semi detached. They're in their early 70's and my grandmother who requires full time care (early 90's) also lives there. My father still works full time. The adjoining property is let out to tenants through a private (multi national) estate agency.

 

Mum and dad have never had any hassles at all with previous tenants and they live in a quiet cul-de-sac on a family estate. Anyway, a new tenant moved in around Christmas on a 6 month contract. There have been no problems up until the last few months.

 

We know for a fact that the tenancy is just in her name and the estate agents have confirmed that there should only be her living there. Over the past few months, things have been gradually getting worse and worse. The tenants boyfriend is a firefighter in Glasgow (my parents live in Greater Manchester) and he works 4 days on and 4 days off. During his 4 days off, he stays in the property with his girlfriend (the tenant). They've had parties, BBQ's and gatherings and there has been evidence after these gatherings of drug taking etc (wraps and foil etc left on the driveway and in the garden). When the boyfriend stays, they have very loud, extremely noisy sex with the windows open and this goes on for 2 or 3 hours during the middle of the night. Having read up about it, I'm informed that cocaine and the like enhances sexual drive which is why they are at it for so long! A neighbour from over the road has verbally told them to be quiet (she has 2 young children) on several occasions but to no avail. The boyfriend will just shout obsenities and go back into the house. The neighbour then verbally complained to the estate agent about the noise.

 

This is when the big problems started. The tenant incorrectly presumed that it was my parents (specifically my mother) who has complained and they've made my parents life hell since this. They have recorded my mother talking to my grandmother, they have recorded my father snoring and they have also recorded my mothers cat meowing and play this back very loudly at ridiculous times such as 2 and 3am in the morning. They are also concerned that they have had their telephone (land line) tapped. The reason behind this is because my mother was on the phone to the doctor about my grandmother the other day and the tenant then played a partial recording of the phone conversation to the gardener! My mother heard this going on as she was in her garden hanging out the washing. The gardener then said to the tenant 'you shouldn't be doing this' and apparently she just laughed. They also had a party at the weekend and played recordings of my mothers cat meowing over and over again to their 'friends' of which they all though it was extremely funny.

 

This has been going on for sometime, my mother is not sleeping and it's now making her ill. She is extremely frightened of any repercussions as the boyfriend is very verbally abusive. I took my mother to her GP who has prescribed beta blockers to help calm her nerves. We also went to the police, however according to them, no offence has been committed so they can't do anything. They advised us to contact the council to see if we could get an ASBO against them, unfortunately we can't. Mum has just been told to keep a diary and report it to envirnomental health and they will then look into this.

 

As mum is so frightened of this scottish boyfriend, she did not report it to the estate agency for fear of giving her name. Anyway, she has now reported it in writing anonymously and not given a name and address. I've tried to convince her to give her details but she's living in fear.

 

Can anyone help or give me any ideas on what to do next. Police can't help, council can't help, environmental health may get involved eventually and mum is too scared to give her name to the estate agents (although they do have a complaint in writing now). Mum's spoken to other neighbours and they all agree that this tenant is a nightmare and they want her off the street. The tenant has some sort of recording equipment in her back bedroom because if you go into mums garden you can see extra wires and hear a buzz of some sort of recording equipment.

 

The estate agents did do an inspection earlier on in the week and have confirmed that there is only her living there. They also said that if someone else was living there, it would be a breach of contract. We know for a fact that the boyfriend stays there 4 times a week. My partner has managed to find this out anonymously as he also works for another estate agency and has been advised of this by an employee.

 

I wuld be grateful for any advice. This is making my mum ill and my parents life a misery. Mum is my grandmothers main carer and cannot leave her and should not have to live like this.

[thorntondog]

Im no expert but I think you have taken the first step by complaining in writing.

 

Now it's all about gathering evidence of the disturbances.

 

can you film the parties they have discreetly and the drug evidence ?

Record the sexual acvtivity and verbal abuse. There has to be evidence of the anti social behaviour not just complaints.

 

Sorry, I only think this as I watched neighbours from hell on Tv and after a trail of evidence - which takes a while -the tenants were evicted.

A lady filmed them through her net curtain walking on her car, throwing beer cans into her garden.

lighting a firework and throwing onto her land.

 

 

These people are another level they think in a different way. avoid them whenever possible- and gather evidence

 

 

good luck

[mariner51]

Noisy, abusive neighbours are disruptive for others, especially the elderly . The fact they are tenants has no real bearing, they cannot be forced to leave without a Court Order so LLs are best advised not to get involved, other than reminding the Ts they have a responsibility not to cause nuisance to the neighbours. Otherwise other agencies eg EH Noise pollution team may be involved by complainants. Take advice from EH before videoing/recording nuisance to avoid breaching DPA. Each neighbourshould keep a written log of time and nuisance for several weeks.

 

The female may be the only named T but she is entitled to have a boyfriend stay regularly for 4 days/wk without including him on T

 

Sorry, I do feel for your parents & g'mother.

[ChChing]

Thank you both for your comments.

 

Mum and her neighbours are keeping diaries to enable them to build evidence.

 

What mum is finding really frightening is the fact that they've recorded noises from my mums house, like phone calls and the cat meowing and even my dad's snoring (why anyone would want to listen to that is beyond me!). They seem to take great pleasure in blasting these recordings out of the window at ridiculous times of the night. I can't believe that this is not some sort of 'invasion of privacy', however the police say not.; What about DPA, does it come under that all?

 

Thanks for your help.

[renegadeimp]

Contact the landlord. They will give them a warning. If they fail to adhere to the warning then they will be evicted. Make sure all your neighbours complain as it gives your argument more power.

[ChChing]

We've spoken to the estate agent who has confirmed that they've now had 3 verbal complaints and one written complaint. They've written to the tenant advising that complaints have been made. The estate agents have told us that there's nothing much they can do until her tenancy expires in December 2013 and M&D just have to 'try and ignore it and get on with their lives'. What a joke!

 

The property is privately owned and managed through an estate agency, surely they have more power than that? They did say that the owner of the property is aware of 'noise issues', but that's that.

 

I presume the only thing we can do is to keep a log of every incident (along with the neighbours) and present it to environmental health. This will probably take us up to December anyway.

 

It's so unfair, unjust and not right that innocent people have to put up with animals who make people's lives a misery. It makes me so angry!

[ericsbrother]

Agents are wrong, the ll is obliged to try and sort the problems out. Look up the owner's name on the land registry and see if they have another address and write to them and ask them what they are going to do about the problems. The LL can kick the tenant out for many reasons but that is their problem as to the whys and wherefores but you can be sure that the tenancy states that they must not cause a nuicance

[ChChing]

We know the name of the owner, he used to live there about 10 years ago and it's been tenanted since them. I think we should contact him direct.

 

The owner is aware that there are 'noise issues' however the estate agent actually told us that they haven't told him about the noisy sex for fear of embarrassment! I actually spat my coffee out when they told us this!

 

There appears to be bigger drug issues now. M&D had to actually close their windows over the weekend due to the stench permeating from the neighbours. I'm not a drug expert but it did not smell like cannabis and I'm now concerned that it's something cruder and more dangerous. I've told M&D that if they smell it again to just call the police. Would the police come out for something like that? If they did and were caught taking drugs, I'm sure that the only thing the police could/would do is give them a fixed penalty notice. Does anyone know if this is correct?

 

My parents are making a full log of everything and noting down every incident. The neighbours are trying to coax my mums 20 year old cat into their garden now and there's a big fear that they may do something to it. The neighbours have made it quite clear that they hate cats and that's another big concern now.

 

Why are some people just so horrid and get off on making people's lives a misery. My grandmother is now in tears all of the time, she's not in good health and I fear that this could be the tipping point. It's so frustrating that the police cannot get involved.

[ericsbrother]

Phone the local (county) police drugs intelligence unit, they like toknow these things and take a different approach to just the local police. The landlord should be told and if you have his address make sure that he knows that as the problem has been spelt out to him he will be in trouble for allowing it to happen on his property. The new doors will be an expense he wont be able to claim off the insurance.

If you dont have address for LL, tell the agents that they will be named and shamed when you go to the police over this issue.

[mariner51]

Where do you get this rubbish you are spouting ericsbrother?

 

By all means notify LL/LA of Ts behaviour but there is little they can do apart from politely reminding Ts about their responsibility not to cause a nuisance. (minor breach of Contract) He could serve a 'no fault' s21 and get a repo order & evict in about 5-6 month time for~££175-300.

If the property was raided due to Ts smoking class A/B drugs,(private use) LL has duty to repair door and try to reclaim cost from Ts. It is still an allowable expense which may be covered by LL insurance. I doubt he will be in trouble for another person's offence, unless there is evidence he routinely lets to known drug suppliers. S s8 g14 repo is unlikely to be granted unless the T is convicted.

OPs M&D have same rights as any other neighbour, but the process is long-winded and Ts prob know that.

 

We all worry when new neighbours move in. 200yr ago the populace would just march unruly ciitzens out of the village.

[renegadeimp]

The current tenants can be evicted as described. My father went through the same sort of thing a couple of years ago. The letting agent contacted the ll and within a week the ll had issued the forms for eviction.

[ashmk]

I wonder if the tenant claims benefits and has she let the social know her boyfriend stays 4 days a week. If not she could get into trouble as that would be benefit fraud and she would lose her housing benefit and therefore have to move.

[ChChing]

OK an update......

 

Things have now moved on and stepped up a notch.

 

M&D and my grandmother have had a hell of a few months. The neighbours have been blasting recordings through to M&D's bedroom nearly every night (starting at 2am then on the hour for about 3 hours) and it's recordings the tenants have made by listening in to everyday noises such as the washing machine and the telephone ringing and the cat meowing in my parents house. It's just ridiculous, it's like something you'd watch in a psychological horror film and not on a quiet cul-de-sac in suburbia! Where do these people get off!!!!

 

Anyway as a result of all of this my mum has become paranoid and scared (understandably). They've written back to the estate agents and their head office on numerous occasions but to no avail. They've been back in touch with environmental health who have now sent M&D some recording equipment of their own to record the noises the neighbours have recorded. Mum is doing that this week.....

 

However, we got some good news last night, my partner who is an estate agent knows the estate agent who is dealing with this and they've told him that a section 21 notice to quit has been served on the tenants and they've got to be out by 6th Jan 2014. We are relieved but still got over a month to go with this. Just hope that mum doesn't crack up (even more so) and my grandmother can cope for another month.

[raydetinu]

Don't get your hopes up, a S21 notice of repossession is just that. it is only after that has expired that the LL can then proceed to court to get an eviction order, which may take quite a few weeks or months.

However the LL can issue a S8 where tenant has broken terms of lease and this can be done much quicker.

[bdendoftether]

Our neighbour now has a rotten looking caravan in front garden - loud thumping music coming from it. Someone seems to be living in it. Whatever next. For the last twenty years or so she has been a neighbour from hell but ever since her husband left she has got worse. Everything she does, she blames us for doing it to her! If anyone makes a complaint she automatically kicks off at us whether we made the complaint or not. She accuses us of harassing and intimidating her when it is her that is doing it to us. Everyone she tells believe her every word. They are so naïve. Am waiting for her to kick off at us again and then I will have it all on tape and I will then prove to her "friends" that it is her that is doing it. She is over 40 years old and is behaving like a teenager. Some people. We won't be making a complaint about it as if anyone else does then we will get the blame anyway. If you can't beat her, join her. She has a new bloke living there and she obviously has told him everything that we have apparently done to her, so she is trying to do everything she possibly can to annoy us so that she can prove to him that what she says is true. How sad. Obviously not happy. She is nothing but a serial bully who loves to be the centre of attention. We have had a terrible 12 months due to cancer so we really do not want to know what she is doing, and care even less. She does not want to even think that anyone else who lives around here is capable of making complaints about her. It is just easier to blame us. I am just biding my time and waiting to get her abusing us on tape and then I will go to town on her as she deserves it.

She has refused face to face mediation on 5 occasions now to try and sort things out. What does that tell you about her? She has loved every minute of abusing us and accusing us. Think she may be bi polar or something - some sort of mental illness anyway. The kids father takes them every other weekend and all she seems to do is try to annoy us and drink and then accuse us of being alcoholics. What a laugh. Someone wants to remind her that she is over 40 not a teenager!!!! She needs to grow up and quick. This will be going on now until the early hours of the morning. Well, I just hope they don't want to lie in tomorrow morning because she won't be able to. I know that two wrongs don't make a right, but it seems to be the only thing she understands.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

If you're looking for advice on your problem, it would be better to start your own thread here rather than tagging on to an old one.

 

My best, HB