My first sucky neighbor complaint against me

[Food Lady]

..that I remember, or at least not for a long time. My downstairs neighbors (directly below me) have been wonderful. I have zero complaints about them and never have. So this is bizarre. The complaint is that when they are in the shower they can hear me walking across my bathroom floor and turning on the faucet in the bathtub, "messing up their shower." OK, why would I do that?? Also, he said he talked to me about it, but I have never spoken to the guy at all. I once talked to the girl when she came up to ask about the water situation when the pipe burst last year. I told her if they ever have any issues please let me know. And they haven't.

I have at times used it to fill up a bucket or something, but I don't remember anyone else being in the shower. I do sometimes hear someone on the side of me or possibly them turn on the faucet for like 3 seconds and then turn it off. It's a huge mystery to me why they do that, and it's been going on for as long as I can remember. It's weird, for sure.

I also notice that very often I'll be in the shower and someone else is on the same schedule as me and gets in and that changes the water pressure or whatever. I notice, but it doesn't bother me. I just adjust. It might be the downstairs guy, but I can't tell. There are several apartments connected to that line. I do turn off the water in the middle to conserve or I turn it on to rinse my feet before getting out because my drain's slightly clogged and the tub fills up.

I am upset because these are the neighbors I actually like. And he said he talked to me, which is a mystery. I'm kind of hurt. I think I'm going to write a note to them and explain that I don't know what's going on, but I'll try not to run water if I hear someone in the shower. It's all I can do.

[April]

This complaint should be straight tossed out. Even if you DID bathe every time they showered, so what? It's an apartment. It's bound to happen. Do they stay in a hotel and complain that other people are showering at the same time as them?

Honestly, I do NOT think that you should write a note. You have the right to shower, run water, whatever whenever you want in your own home

[notalwaysright]

There are several apartments connected to that line.

I've only lived in one place where the water was somehow connected to the other units. I don't mean the whole water line, I mean where other apartments could affect my water pressure. My current place is in an old house, so we all share a hot water heater, and there are no pressure valves (regulators?) or whatever, which means that if someone flushes their toilet, the water gets scalding hot for a while. I should talk to the landlord about it, but I just stand over to the side and wait for it to go back to normal.

But yeah, I never shower during certain times because there will be either no hot water, or terrible water pressure. Since you seem to know the person who supposedly complained, is it possible that the landlord misheard him? Like he tried to describe the unit and the landlord confused someone elses with yours? Regardless, unless they have some kind of weird rule about it (unlikely, probably not legal) the complaint should never have even been brought up to you.

[raudf]

Frankly, that is the stupidest complaint I've heard. What I think happened is they heard you do it ONCE (by accident) and assumed from there that every time the pressure changed while they were in the shower, it was your fault. Never mind that there are several units attached to the same line and any one of them could be doing it at any given time. Nope, it's all your fault, which isn't fair.

You know what? They can suck it up and deal. It's part of living in an apartment unit or staying in a hotel. They can't tell you what you can or can't do or even when you can or can't do it, nor more than you can to them.

[Kittish]

So, if you heard about this from your landlord, I'd make a reply in writing to the landlord. Something to the effect of what you posted here. If it's just rumor, then ignore it. Not a word to the neighbor, especially not a note. And continue on as you have been. I really don't see any way you're actually doing anything wrong in the situation you described.

[Agent Paperclip]

The lying part is what makes me mad. I had a similar thing happen to me a while back but not just to me but to 2 other neighbors as well. All 3 of us got several complaints from 1 neighbor and he claimed on each complaint which were only a few days apart that he talked to each of us before "having to resort to management". He never talked to any of us. All 3 of us wanted to go ask him personally what was up. Management said they would handle it.

I guess they didn't want a lynching because it turned out lying douche bag neighbor was trying to get one of us evicted so one of his friends could move in because our complex at the time had a special if you got someone to move in then the complex would give you some sort of discount on your rent for 12 months and your friend would get a 6 months 50% off coupon thingy for a local spa membership. The promotion was so popular that they rented out every apartment within a month.

I'm still miffed at the liar because management won't evict him and only gave him a warning.

[MoonCat]

Either they have you mixed up with someone else, or they lied about having talked to you about it. I agree with raudf, you have a right to use the water in your own apartment. You're not doing anything wrong.

[Food Lady]

I think it's very possible they have me mixed up or the manager is confused about who she talked to. Well, I'm going to let it go and not run the tub faucet if anyone's in the shower (common courtesy anyway).

[Catwoman2965]

I'd let it go, and wouldn't worry about it. First of all, living in an apt, you may have some "issues" with water, pressure, etc. That's just how it is. Second, unless you've been given a formal complaint by your landlord, oh well.

It just sounds like they're the type that every little thing annoys them, and no matter what you say or do, they won't be happy. I'd let it go, since you're NOT doing anything wrong. you're using the water in your apt as your supposed to. nothing more.

[XCashier]

First of all, living in an apt, you may have some "issues" with water, pressure, etc. That's just how it is.

Exactly. Apartments are small dwellings built right up against each other, and on top of each other. No matter how well-built the buildings are, if you live there, you will have to deal with water pressure changes, electrical changes, hearing footsteps and shutting doors, other people's TVs and radios, etc. If someone can't deal with that, they'll need to try a different housing arrangement.

Screaming fights, vandalism, dogs constantly barking, excessively loud TVs and radios, littering, drug manufacturing and usage, now those are things to complain about, and rightly so. Normal living problems are not.

[Catwoman2965]

I know in my complex, sometimes when I'm taking a shower, if the water isn't set to screaming hot, every now and then it cools ever so slightly. I'm guessing someone flushes the toilet or maybe turns their water on. But not a big deal.

I also hear my toilet, at regular intervals, make a "whoosh" sound, like it does when you flush it, for about 5 seconds at a time. Again, nothing to fix, and just something that happens. And has happened for the last 11 years since i moved in!

[Monterey Jack]

More than once, I've had my water pressure slow to a lukewarm trickle when someone above me decides either to shower or use the bathroom faucet at the same time I'm in there, but I just shrug and get my shower with over ASAP.

[bainsidhe]

which means that if someone flushes their toilet, the water gets scalding hot for a while.

Oooh yeah, sis's apartment is like that. I was visiting and staying at her place, and didn't recognize the sound of another apt flushing the toilet, let alone what that would mean while I was taking my shower. I heard sis's laughs through the door, after I was done shrieking.

[Food Lady]

Most of the stuff y'all are describing doesn't even happen here. The only time I've ever noticed a pressure change was when someone first turns on the faucet before turning on the shower head. And it's a very quick, slight change in temperature that sometimes self-corrects. So this is obviously a completely baseless complaint, much like those of my sucktomers. It's along the lines of calling the store to complain I was rude because I asked to confirm how much someone was paying on her card. Just...completely out of left field. People are weird.

Screaming fights, vandalism, dogs constantly barking, excessively loud TVs and radios, littering, drug manufacturing and usage, now those are things to complain about, and rightly so. Normal living problems are not.

Exactly.

[Catwoman2965]

Or the gaggle of little girls who play in my courtyard and shriek and scream like they're being murdered. I'm all for kids playing outside for hours vs. being inside watching tv etc. I can handle the normal yelling, noise from scooters, bikes etc. But the incessant and constant screaming, which echoes through my courtyard is driving me nuts! And the parents who are out watching them don't seem to care!

There are 7, 9, 13, I don't know how many of them, but they are loud! Besides, what if something really does happen, and they scream? No one will know if they're playing or not!