The worst neighbor annoyances — ranked

by Emily Mack

Are your neighbors the worst? Maybe they throw wild parties or peep over the fence. Maybe they just make terrible small talk. Whatever it is that grinds your gears, you can bet it comes in on this list of the top neighbor frustrations.

The recent survey, conducted by Lombardo Homes, includes feedback from a range of Americans. And it appears that annoying neighbors are everywhere. More than half of the respondents are living near an annoying neighbor currently: 57% of single-family homeowners report this as do 28% of apartment-dwellers.

But, in addition to revealing their neighbors’ most offensive behaviors, respondents also said they dealt with them.

The top 20 neighbor annoyances

1. Noise
2. Not cleaning up after pets
3. Intrusive/nosy
4. Parking issues
5. Unsupervised children
6. Aggressive animals
7. Heavy/loud footsteps
8. Cigarette smoke
9. Unkempt landscaping
10. Passive aggressiveness
11. Overflowing garbage
12. Odors
13. Marijuana smoke
14. Grumpiness
15. Dirty home exterior
16. Overly chatty
17. Unsightly storage
18. Not cleaning up after children
19. Trespassing
20. Public intoxication

Unsurprisingly, the No. 1 annoyance was noise. And the homebuilder’s survey dug further into the issue. Within the noise category, the biggest complaints were, in order: loud music, shouting, loud children and noisy exterior work (like lawn care or construction). Most respondents agreed that loud noises should cease by 10 p.m.

But what about when people refuse to keep it down?

Most respondents (37%) said they have confronted a neighbor face-to-face over frustrations while 20% filed formal complaints. Seventeen percent admitted to doing something else annoying as revenge.

Sometimes, though, nothing seems to work. And that’s when you may want to move. Seventeen percent of respondents said they chose not to re-sign a lease because of their neighbors, while 14% decided to move.

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