'I accidentally got my neighbour evicted from his home – he's lived there 30 years' – The Mirror
A tenant has shared their guilt after accidentally getting their neighbour evicted from the home he’s lived in for almost 30 years, after complaining to the landlord about a “smell”
Living in as close proximity as we do, it's important to try and establish a good relationship with your neighbours.
But it doesn't always go to plan.
One tenant in an apartment building has shared how they tried to make small talk with an older neighbour they call 'Greg', but he repeatedly "declined" invites and any attempts to be friends.
As such, when a problem arose in the building, the tenant didn't think they'd be able to talk to Greg about it, so instead went straight to the landlord to avoid wasting time.
Writing in to Slate.com's Dear Prudence agony aunt column, the unnamed tenant reveals that as a result of their complaint, Greg has since been evicted from the home that he's lived in for almost 30 years.
They said: "When our entire floor developed a mysterious foul smell that began coming into my apartment, I didn't make more than a cursory effort to reach out to him before calling the landlord. He's the only other third-floor tenant.
"Our landlord did a maintenance visit to all the units in our building and found Greg's was the source of the smell, whether from hoarding or bad cleaning I don't know. She told me he wasn't going to clean it to her standards and has started the eviction process.
"I feel terrible because my actions are putting someone out of his home, but I also don't know how to help."
The tenant went on to say that Greg is so private that they haven't been able to find out if he's a 'hoarder' or just in need of some help around the house as he's getting older.
Responding as Prudence, columnist Jenée Desmond-Harris encouraged the tenant to forgive themselves for what had happened, as it wasn't really their fault.
"Unfortunately, Greg has much bigger problems than you, his polite and thoughtful neighbour," they said. "Your actions did not put him out of his home, and there's nothing you could have done, save for forcing yourself in and doing a deep clean that could have prevented this."
Do you agree with this? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.
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