Invasive and selfish landlord living in front of us - help?

Question

We live in a flat behind a house and the new owner of both places has just moved into the front house and tells us what to do. We are very clean tenants but she tells us to move cat food when it is outside. We also had a pile of prunings covered up that was on our side of the property and we heard her husband complaining loudly about it. This was not in any way being blown to their side. At the same time these landlords have not moved the PILES of rubbish left in our shed on our belongings left by the last tenants nor removed the rubbish from our bin which was filled by the last tenants. They also block our car in on the driveway (we use our park). Yesterday one of them walked through our area and when we asked why he said he was finding a place to put more rubbish left by the tenants. (in our area!). We also find them staring at us a lot when outside or inside. (facing windows) Any advice? We don't want the cost of moving or hassles of courts as why should we be forced to move?

We feel they don't want anyone living behind them but know from conversations that they have a large mortgage to pay. Reason we are here and not moving is due to huge moving costs and to save when I have full time work for our own home (great suggestion we agree with 100%). The place is cheap so guess we have to put up with it....*sigh*

We have just been given 42 days notice as a "family member" is moving in. We are unsure about this. She approached us about a previous tenants rubbish that we removed from our area and went nuts when we told her our rights and her responsibilities. She then asked had we received our notice. She forced our door open. She was blaming us for the tenants rubbish and we feel she thinks we are bad tenants when we aren't. Oh well.

Answer 1

Check your local and state legislation regarding tenancy of a property. At the very least you are entitled to 'quiet enjoyment' of the premises. You may want to confront the landlords on these issues and try and work out a mutually agreeable solution. I always encourage both parties to talk about what is agrieiving them. If you can't come to a mutually agreeable solution, then it may be time for 'official' action.

Official action is when you get some official paperwork either from your county or state office responisble for residential tenancies regarding the issues you mentioned above and serve it to the landlord. That might be enough to straighten their act up. Once official paperwork from either the county or state starts appearing in their mailbox, they might sit up and take notice.

You might think about moving. Moving is a hassel and it's not cheap, however, your mental health should trump all. That is, what is it worth to your mental health. Is it worth worrying about what your landlord might think or do? Or putting up with an agrieved landlord. It is conceivable that the landlords don't want you there as a tenant, but don't want to go through the hassel, and it is a hassel, of evicting a tenant. It takes a bit of time and paperwork to evict a tenant.

You may want to consult a lawyer who specializes in this area. Some lawyers will give a free consultation for say, 30 minutes. In which case write down all your questions ahead of time and be prepared to write down the answers given to you. Rembmer, the clock starts ticking as soon as you walk into the lawyer's office, so get to the point, stay on topic and don't go off on a tangent.

As for the landlords looking into your windows, close the curtains and don't be shy about letting them know you want privacy.

I myself have had my share of 'bad' tenants and good ones too. I know what it's like to have tenants move in and then the relationship deteriorates over time.

Answer 2

Want to make things much easier for you and your new landlord?
Well clean up the area. It would not take that long for you to do it. As far as the cats food outside i must remind you that rats are attracted to food that is left outside and they are not the only critters that would be attracted.
Now after you have clean everything up including what the past tenants have left behind. If this will not keep the new owners from hassling you (keep a log) The your next move would be a letter from an attny.

Answer 3

I know you say you don't want to move, but it sounds like the most logical answer. The only thing you can do before you make that decision, it try to reason with them. Tell them you feel uncomfortable when they stare at you and tell you how to live. Explain you also do not appreciate the rubbish pile as it is not attractive nor classy. Ask him if he could move it, and if would also mind giving you a bit more privacy. That's not too much to ask.

If they snarl at you, you know what you are dealing with. Consider the possibility that they might not want you there. Then you can decide if the cost of rent is worth the aggravation or if you would rather move.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

It sounds like you want to work out things with your inconsiderate landlords and maintain a workable continuing relationship. A great way to do this would be through a dispute resolution intermediary. Many communities have volunteer mediators and ADR (alternative dispute resolution) panels. See if you can find one in your area. This sort of thing is entirely voluntary and I am not sure that your landlords will have any motivation to participate. Perhaps they have another agenda; perhaps they really want you to move. But it might just be that these people have no manners, no boundaries, and no common sense. In that case there is little for you to do but find a better place to live. Despite all the downsides that some have encountered in home ownership recently, this is the exactly the sort of thing that drives some of us to do whatever we can to purchase a home.