Aussie renter receives 'unsettling' note from neighbour about the 'unspoken rules': 'Is this normal?'
An Aussie renter has been left feeling anxious in her own home after a series of bizarre late-night visits from a neighbour.The neighbour took issue with what she claimed were the building's 'unspoken rules', leaving the tenant shaken and unsettled.The tenant revealed she and her partner had recently relocated to Sydney after years of living in a standalone house in Melbourne.The renter explained it was their first time ever living in a unit so they were still learning 'what's normal and what the unspoken rules are' when a neighbour quickly began making herself known.Things escalated further when the neighbour knocked around midnight on one occasion, telling the couple they should turn off their kitchen lights because the glow was 'bothering her' and affecting her sleep.'The lights were inside our apartment, and our kitchen window doesn't directly face her unit,' the tenant said on Reddit, adding the request felt like 'a big overstep'.From the first day, the neighbour - who claimed she was the chairman of the building - introduced herself and told the new tenants they could come to her if they ever needed help.'At first, we thought she was just being friendly,' the tenant said. The tenant shared that the neighbour was continuously knocking on their door complaining about noise, sharing intimate private details of past tenants then left a note requesting they turn off their kitchen lightBut that friendliness soon took an uncomfortable turn when the neighbour knocked on their door three nights in a row, each time late in the evening, while the couple were unpacking and settling in.The couple stressed they weren't hosting parties or playing loud music, yet the woman made a series of pointed remarks rather than lodging a direct complaint.'There are nurses and doctors in the building,' the neighbour claimed.'If something happens, I get calls. I just wanted to let you know…'The tenant said the comments felt deliberately vague and implied wrongdoing without actually accusing them of anything.On the third night, the neighbour reportedly returned while the couple were washing dishes at around 9.30pm and watching television at a normal volume.With temperatures soaring between 30 and 40 degrees, the couple had their windows open, which may have allowed sound to travel, though they insisted nothing they were doing was unreasonable.The neighbour had told the couple she had been 'very close' to the former tenants before launching into intimate personal details about their family - information the renter said they never asked for. After multiple late-night visits and what they described as boundary-crossing behaviour, the renter said they now felt anxious and watched in their own home'That conversation made me really uncomfortable and honestly a bit unsettled,' they wrote.'It made me wonder how much access or involvement she had with them, and whether she feels entitled to the same level of involvement with us.'After multiple late-night visits and what they described as boundary-crossing behaviour, the renter said they now felt anxious and on edge in their own home.And while they initially tried to be understanding, assuming the elderly neighbour may have been lonely or overly sensitive, the behaviour no longer felt helpful.The post sparked a flood of responses from fellow renters, many of whom shared eerily similar experiences with overbearing neighbours and dubious complaints.'I'd contact the landlord and ask for specifics on this woman's role in the building and let them know about all these instances,' one person advised.
'Chances are she's just a bored busybody and has been doing this for years (likely pushing people out of the building).'Another commenter revealed it took years to understand why their rent seemed suspiciously reasonable.'It took me four years of living in the flat above a nightmare neighbour who left insane notes and letters and called emergency services for specious reasons to realise why I'd never be able to find another place for the same 'reasonable' rent!' they wrote.Others shared stories of repeated inspections triggered by false complaints.'I had a neighbour that made me have four 'special inspections' because she said I was smoking cigarettes and weed, neither of which I did at the time,' one renter said.'By inspection number four, the landlord was standing in my living room and said, 'I know you aren't doing anything, we just have to follow protocol'.''I had a neighbour like this,' another added.'The landlord and I bent over backwards to make her stop complaining… [they] literally had our floors and her ceiling redone to try to make it more soundproof but she would still complain.'Several commenters were quick to point out that holding a position in a strata committee didn't give her the authority to police other residents either.As the original poster questioned whether the behaviour crossed into harassment and how to set firm boundaries without escalating the situation, many urged them to document every interaction and deal only with property managers or strata through official channels.
