A Reddit user’s response to a neighbor’s baseless complaint about their mom’s backyard shed—which turned into a $40,000 lesson in minding one’s business—has gone viral on the online forum.
The incident was detailed in a post shared by u/Mel_Melissaa, which has garnered 58,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments since it was uploaded on April 17.
The post was titled: “Neighbor tried to get my mom fined over our shed. So I got his $40K pool filled in.”
“I live with my mom. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, never bothers anyone,” the poster wrote. “A few months ago, our new neighbor decided to report her to the city for having an ‘illegal shed’ in the backyard.”
iStock / Getty Images Plus
The poster said the accusation was unfounded.
“It was total BS, the shed’s been there for years and has full permits. An inspector came out, checked everything, and left without saying a word,” they explained. “But the neighbor? Smug. Proud. Thought he’d scared us.”
In a recent survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Newsweek, 1,000 U.S. adults were asked about the most intense or unusual disputes they’ve had with neighbors. The conflicts ranged from noise complaints and lawn battles to property damage, intrusions and boundary disputes.
As frustrating as some disagreements may be, Gregg Ward, executive director at The Center for Respectful Leadership, warned that starting a war with a neighbor is never a good idea.
“If you’re neighbor doesn’t behave in ways you want them to, the last thing you should do is get into a tit-for-tat battle with them,” he told Newsweek. “This happens all too often, and it never ends well. In short, don’t respond to disrespect with more disrespect—it will just make everything worse.”
The neighbor’s moment of perceived triumph over the shed in the viral Reddit post turned out to be short-lived.
“So I did a little digging,” the poster wrote. “Turns out his brand-new pool was way too close to the property line and illegally built over a utility easement.”
Armed with documentation, photographs and city code references, the Redditor filed a formal complaint.
“Two weeks later, the city ordered him to either move it [impossible] or fill it in,” they said. “He lost the whole thing. $40,000 down the drain. Literally.”
The final blow? The neighbor now has a front-row view of the very structure he tried to get removed.
“Now he gets to look at our completely legal shed every day…while standing over a pile of dirt where his pool used to be,” the poster wrote. “Mom sleeps great now.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
Do you have a neighbor-related story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.