Ask Your Brother: How to Deal With Annoying Neighbors
Got neighbors who are getting on your last nerve? We’ve all been there. But hey, that’s what living in a neighborhood is like! Everyone has certain…quirks…whether that’s painting their house a bright shade of lime green, mowing their lawn at the crack of dawn every Sunday, or consistently hosting dance parties at 1:00 a.m. on a Wednesday. After reading through a ton of submissions begging for the Bros’ advice on how to deal with annoying neighbors, Drew and Jonathan are playing Judge in the court of public opinion. They’re ruling in favor of either the plaintiff (those who sent in the complaint) or the neighbor (those who are being complained about) on this week’s Ask Your Brother.
Between renovating houses for friends and family and helping countless people all over find their dream homes, plenty have asked for advice on how to deal with annoying neighbors over the years. And no—it’s not battling it out on the front lawn or taking passive-aggressive jabs at one another until someone moves. So, what did submitters have to say about their neighborly irritations? And how did Drew and Jonathan recommend they manage their complaints? Tune in to see what the Bros had to say about how to deal with these annoying neighbors, and their advice to keep the peace.
“My neighbor has a very concerning tradition of mowing their lawn at 7:30 a.m. every Sunday. What is the earliest time someone should be legally allowed to mow their lawn?”
“I’d say, as a courtesy, 9:00 a.m. on the weekends,” Jonathan says.
“But also, if this is a business, come on. You don’t need to work on the weekend! Do it during the week, and then you have peace and quiet on the weekend,” Drew says. There’s no need to be waking up the whole neighborhood to get your grass looking its best! Be thoughtful of your neighbors and their sleep schedule.
BRO JUDGEMENT: Plantiff
“My neighbor just painted their house a disturbing shade of lime green. Is this going to drive our home value down? What should I do?”
“Yes, it is. Moving on to the next question,” Jonathan jokes. “The fact of the matter is, unless you live in a community that has neighborhood rules, aesthetic rules, there’s really nothing you can do about it. So you’re not going to be able to make them change their home. It probably will affect your home if somebody was going to buy your home and they look next door and they see that. Not a lot, but a little bit. Is it going to affect the entire neighborhood? No, not likely.”
“It’s a reflection of somebody trying to show their personality,” Drew adds. “Unfortunately, that’d be nicer if they did that on the inside of their house…”
BRO JUDGEMENT: Neighbor
“My neighbor has seriously been neglecting their yard. Not only is it an eyesore for the neighborhood, they’ve got vines and weeds creeping over the fence line. What’s the best way to handle this?”
“They might be older or they may have some sort of disability where they’re not able to do the work themselves or afford to have someone come. Maybe you can pull a few people together from the neighborhood to volunteer to go over and help them out,” Drew says.
“You never know what their situation is. You are more than welcome to trim up anything at the property line—anything that encroaches over onto your side. You can’t just march onto somebody’s property and deal with it. You need their permission,” Jonathan says.
BRO JUDGEMENT: Neighbor
“My neighbor Jerry put a hot tub right on the property line, and he’s out there like five nights a week (having cigars, drinking Miller High Lifes). He’s basically taunting me with this thing. Worst part is, he hasn’t even invited me over for a soak. Lord knows my herniated disk could use a soak. So how do I get revenge on him?”
“First of all, what is all this extra stuff? The soak in here, the ‘Lord, my herniated disk’? Irrelevant!” Jonathan jokes. “Focus on the facts. Now, can your neighbor develop a permanent fixture right to the property line? No, they cannot. There’s a setback. So any permanent structure, which would include a hot tub, cannot be right up to the property line.”
“Jerry, if you’re listening right now, please, for the benefit of the neighborhood, no more cigars in your tub on the property,” Drew says.
“Yeah, and that 3:00 AM nude swim? Maybe we—maybe we stop that,” Jonathan says.
“Yeah. You should stop,” Drew adds.
BRO JUDGEMENT: Inconclusive
“I recently started a new rock band with a few of my coworkers. I’ve been practicing in my garage for the past couple of weeks on a kickass setlist. Problem is, we got an anonymous note from a disgruntled neighbor saying, ‘Hey, keep down the noise pollution after 7:00 p.m., you’re scaring the children.’ How do I rock without creating enemies on my block?”
“You got to rock the block. Sometimes, you just got to do it,” Jonathan says. “You can get very inexpensive sound dampening panels that you can put on the inside.”
“Hopefully you have some insulation in there. Your main issue will be the garage door for sound, but you can put panels on the back of that to dampen that,” Drew adds.
BRO JUDGEMENT: Be Reasonable
Overall, Just Be a Nice Neighbor
“The moral to the story is: Why can’t we all just get along? Let’s be good neighbors. And, is it reasonable for people to say they don’t want to hear you thrash?” Jonathan says.
“Is it reasonable to say that maybe you shouldn’t make your house lime green with polka dots?” Drew says. “I think that’s reasonable! Consider your neighbors. Be a nice neighbor.”
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Bree Pulver
Bree is the Senior Digital Editor at DrewandJonathan.com. In the past, she’s worked for publications focused on home improvement and sustainable living. Bree’s Pinterest board is filled with cozy textures; vintage patterns; sculptural furniture; and moody, warm-toned colors. She has a degree concentrated in the intersection of writing and architecture, which influences her passion for exploring creative solutions to unusual home layouts and stylish renter-friendly decor. She’s a self-proclaimed pro at finding the best antique furniture in the most unlikely of places (but her cat Blue can certainly back these claims).
