Paranoid neighbor kept calling the cops on new tenant — until he found a loophole for the ultimate payback

We have all heard of or experienced living across annoying neighbors, but some seem determined to make life miserable from the moment you move in. That’s the reality one Redditor, u/Z-mount, shared in a post on September 7, which garnered more than 19,000 upvotes. In it, he explained how he found a creative way to handle a relentless neighbor. "My backyard neighbor has been difficult since the day I moved in," he began, "We closed on the house in late December, and by early spring, she was demanding I spend $10,000 to build a drywell to stop rainwater from flowing into her yard. My property sits higher than hers, and it has been this way for over 60 years. I refused but offered to let her pay for it herself. She declined."

The complaints did not stop there, as only a few weeks later, she contacted the town to report a missing cover on his floodlight. Code enforcement arrived in the middle of a gathering, which the user admitted was embarrassing, but the officer brushed it off. "She’s known for this, and not to worry, just correct the issue; no fines were issued," he recalled. And while this particular neighbor’s antics may seem extreme, they’re not as unusual as you might think. A nationwide survey by FindLaw found that 42% of Americans say they’ve had a dispute with a neighbor, and noise is the leading source of those conflicts.

The pattern repeated on Father's Day when the user decided to hold a "small surprise party for my father-in-law’s 80th birthday and played music on a small Sonos speaker." That Friday, the same officer called to let him know the neighbor had complained once more. Again, there were no consequences, but this time the officer told him that if he ever wanted to avoid drama when hosting a party with music, he could simply apply for a permit. That advice planted the seed for what came next. "In mid-July, I overheard my neighbor on the phone inviting people to a barbecue, giving the date and time," he explained, "The following Monday, I went to town hall, applied for a permit for that exact date and time, and it was approved."

When her big day arrived, he "turned on loud old Greek chanting music from the early 1900s." "My grandparents loved it and used to torture me and my cousins with it growing up, so I knew exactly how annoying it would sound blasting across the yard," he said. Within minutes, she came running and banging on his door, ringing his doorbell repeatedly, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he took his wife and his nearby neighbors — who'd also been troubled by her — out for drinks. The following Monday, the complaint landed on the officer’s desk once more. "[He] informed her that a permit had been issued, and nothing could be done," the user said.

Readers loved the sweet justice of the story, and many chimed in with their own thoughts. u/Kable133 commented, "Code guy here. We deal with 'frequent flyers' so much. I can tell you right now that the officer had the biggest grin on his face when he shot her down. In Florida, the complainant has to give their home address. I use a glasshouse policy if it's too nitpicky." u/UnhappyJohnCandy said, "I’ve never wanted to Greek chanting music more in my life than I do right now." u/Nunov_DAbov jokingly suggested, "Do you have any (even distant) Scottish ancestry? Perhaps a Scottish celebration with bagpipes would be suitable."

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