You can choose where you live, but you can’t choose who you live next to. Unfortunately, that means that you can end up with terrible neighbors even if you’ve moved to the best neighborhood. The worst part is never knowing exactly what they’ll do next.

This is the situation a man found himself in after dealing with not one but two sets of neighbors from hell. The latest folks next door didn’t reveal their true colors until one day when their son severely injured the poster’s dog without any remorse. That was only the beginning!

More info: Reddit

A calm cul-de-sac can turn chaotic even if just one bad neighbor moves in

Image credits: Max Vakhtbovycn / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The poster and his family live across from a rental and have previously dealt with terrible folks next door, so when new neighbors moved in, he was glad that they seemed okay

Image credits: Barbara Olsen / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The problems began when, one day, the neighbors’ 12-year-old son ran into his driveway and began kicking his dog, and later mocked him when confronted

Image credits: William Gevorg Urban / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The man reported the issue to his town’s police, who went to confront the neighbors and found them under the influence of illegal substances while their kids were running wild

Image credits: hamershellz

Both of the people next door were arrested, and their kids were taken by child protection services, but instead of being remorseful, they threatened to sue the guy for reporting them

It’s hard enough to deal with one set of bad neighbors, but having to deal with two in a row is incredibly difficult. In the previous situation, the OP had to escalate matters to a small claims court because of the extent of harassment he and his family had received. That’s why he was wary when the new folks moved in, but they seemed okay enough.

Then, suddenly, out of the blue, their 12-year-old son began attacking the poster’s elderly dog. He injured the animal so much that they had to rush it to the emergency vet for a check-up. Later on, the man revealed that he had to pay $1400 as part of the vet bill after their insurance had covered the rest. Just imagine the severity of the injury to a defenseless animal!

When dealing with difficult or nasty neighbors like this, it’s important to take action before things escalate. You can consult the neighborhood association or even contact a mediator to solve the matter with minimal hassle. It’s also better to document every infraction committed by the people next door in case you later need to report it to the authorities.

The OP did just that and shared his security camera footage of the incident with the local police. They were then able to understand the incident better and confront the folks. Since all this took place in a small town, the police had the time and resources to get on the case fast. If this is not possible, homeowners can also involve their HOA or local code enforcement agency.

Image credits: Kindel Media / Pexels (not the actual photo)

After the incident with the neighbor’s kid and his dog, the man found out that the folks next door had been neglecting their children and using illegal substances. The authorities eventually arrested the people and took their children into protective custody. Even though the OP had done nothing wrong, his neighbors blamed him for their downfall and threatened to file a lawsuit against him.

The OP also told Bored Panda more about his experiences with past neighbors who were equally as nightmarish. He said that “the previous tenants were 3 families sharing a 4000 sq. ft. home, and they had a total of 8 kids between the ages of 9-14, who ran amok in our little cul-de-sac.”  

“One day, my wife was away on business, and I came home with my three-year-old and found the entire neighbor’s family in my pool. I called the police and filed a trespass charge against them, which was met with nothing but contempt. The next day, I came home to find the kids had been hitting my wife’s SUV with a baseball bat (which I had footage from my security camera), and I called the police.”  

In situations like this, where there always seem to be problematic tenants (which, in the OP’s case, there were), the landlord can be held responsible for their actions. The poster mentioned that the owner of the rental was an elderly man. The guy probably didn’t vet his tenants properly, which ended up causing problems for everyone around.

As this story perfectly illustrates, living next to a horrible person can fill your life with a lot of unnecessary conflict and drama. I really hope this is the last time the poster has to deal with neighbors like this ever again so that he can enjoy his peaceful cul-de-sac once and for all. 

Folks were horrified by the behavior of the man’s neighbors and urged him to take action against them and the landlord

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