Just remember that it is criminal offence to smoke cannabis in the UK
Specially in a public place an habitats. If anyone decides to report his/her neighbours or make a complaint to the local authority or the Police, about a neighbour smoking cannabis or taking any other type of prohibited drug, the person may want to do it discretely.
This advice is based on my own experiences as a tenant.
My first experience was terrifying and very stressful. I am talking about my experience so that you the reader can understand why I did what I did and why today I am hoping to reach out to people who have or are about to decide on how to go about making a safe judgement in reporting incidents to the Police.
It was very upsetting coming home from work and smelling cannabis inside the building where I was renting a 1 bedroom flat. The smell was so bad that it would stay in my clothing the next day. I was spraying all sorts of scent to cover the smell in the doorway and corridor, but nothing worked.
Mind you there were about 6 tenants living in the building and some had been living there for more than 5 years I was told. None of the tenants had ever made a report. In fact, no one wanted to talk about it.
I was fed up and upset to hear that none of the tenants had reported the problem to the authorities. What I didn’t realised was that the tenants were so scared of the repercussions that they chose to do nothing and live with the situation.
I bravely went to the Police and reported the incident. I was reassured that the matter would be dealt with. They even gave me a reference number. When I left the Police Station, I was upbeat because I thought very soon I was going to live in a healthier environment.
A week went past and then, one day on my return to work, I found a note pushed under my flat door. The note read, “I know you are the one who went to the Police to report number 6. I know that because I had a visit from the Police asking if I knew of anyone smoking cannabis in the building”. I was taken aback because I thought my report was anonymous. No one was supposed to know it was me. And I also convinced myself that it was for the safety of all within the building.
I said to myself, “I’ve been found out”, he knows now that I am the one that reported him. I started to think, nervously. I decided to look for a solution or a way out. My head was spinning and I nearly fainted. I couldn’t stand still. My living room was getting smaller and smaller, I went past the fridge, I just lost my appetite. Without removing my shoes and work clothes I set on the sofa staring at the door.
You can understand that at that precise moment I wanted to leave my flat for the night and sleep somewhere else. I was very scared. Looking at the time I realised that my friends were in bed, at least most of them were as it was midnight. I took my mobile phone and called several hotels in the area, but none had beds for the night, they were all booked.
I truly believed that I was living my last hours, as the tenant I reported could break in or wait for me outside and harm me or worse kill me. I could feel my blood boiling though my veins. I decided to call the Police and hand them the note. As I started to dial 999, I glanced at the note. To my surprise, it read “Do you want to get us killed? Stop interfering. You do not know what danger you are putting yourself into - number 2.” My hand froze, and I dropped the mobile.
“What! I shouted.” I realised that the note was from another neighbour who had received the visit from the Police and was upset and scared of what I had done. I guess the neighbours knew about the consequences of my actions more than I did. The next day I left a note under the door of number 2 asking for a get together so that I could understand why everybody was so scared and secretive about number 6. Three days later I had a knock on my door, standing outside was my neighbour from number 2.
I offered him a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Mr Blair started to tell me why they all behaved like the three wise monkeys. Apparently, the neighbour in number 6 was released from prison 5 years ago and was mentally unstable. No one knew exactly why he was sent to prison, but he could be the nicest guy if you left him alone. The only way to control his anger and frustration was when he smoked his cannabis. Mr Blair gave me one exemple out of many. He said that one day sometime before 3.00pm on a Friday in July 2015 the residents came home from work to find the electricity cupboard open and all the wires apart from those connecting number 6 cut. All the bulbs on the stairs and corridors had been removed apart from those near number 6.
When we asked him why he still had electricity and none of his wires were cut, he said that he was the only one in the building when it happened. He said that he was awoken by a noise, but was so high on cannabis that he could not make a rational decision to investigate. But when he decided to put his rubbish away he went down and saw a shadow rushing out of the building, getting away. He said he must have scared the person who was cutting the wires. He said that the cupboard door was open, and he realised what had happened. He said that the person who did it may have been working towards his wires when he interrupted him.
Mr Blair said that the police were called and the landlord was informed but there was not enough evidence to charge the neighbour at number 6. But it was obvious that it was him. They were convinced it was him because he was the only one left in the property, there were no signs of a forced entry in or out of the building and he was the only one who still had electricity; They all remembered that the incident occurred only a few days after an argument about him smoking cannabis in the building. Since then everybody in the building was scared to do anything about his smoking. Mr Blair also remembered that it was the most terrifying weekend he had experienced. Mr Blair said it took one week to have everything repaired, and the residents had to pay for these repairs.
After Mr Blair, had left, I was inclined to call the Police and withdraw my complaint. I was prepared to tell them that I made a mistake, and all is well in the building. In fact, I was prepared to go to the Police the next day on my day off.
The following day I was so busy I forgot to go to the Police and went home. On the bus, I was putting a reminder in my phone diary so that I could visit the Police Station before the end of the weekend. When I arrived home, I was a bit nervous, apprehensive and scared to enter my flat. As soon as I opened the door, I wasn’t at ease. I put the light on and looked around. Like in a horror movie I was moving slowly, trembling and hesitant at the same time. My living room looked alright and I moved to the kitchen and bathroom, they also looked alright. I moved to the bedroom and then put the light on. I cannot find words to described what I was seeing as there were creatures/animals all over my bedroom. I cried out so loudly that my neighbours came knocking at my door.
I rushed to open the door and let them in and directed them to my bedroom. I followed them to my bedroom and asked if the creatures were all alive. They told me that it was safe for me to see them because they were all dead. That is when I had the courage to go closer and see for myself what they had just confirmed. I thought a film crew would appear and that the scene was staged ready to be recorded. It was like I was part of a horror movie taking place in my flat. Lying on and around my bed were several dead mice and cockroaches. The smell was too much for me. I couldn’t handle it. I went out crying. I was dragged out by someone and could not remember what happened next because I fainted. I woke up 5 minutes later in my next-door neighbours flat. I heard a Police radio and other voices. I was still confused and disoriented. When I opened my eyes to see where I was and what was happening I saw a woman talking to me and calling my name. It took me a while to realise what was happening.
A week later I was back in the flat to remove the last picture frame from my bedroom. Yes, I was moving out. I wasn’t strong enough to fight someone that could beat the system or elude the Police. I found a new place and found peace and tranquillity. Not because my new place was free of a cannabis smoker but because I was taking a different approach to the problem. After the dead mice and cockroach incident, I was confronted with the same problem my neighbours had. I was scared to say anything or do anything. The Police investigation was ongoing, no one was charged with the incident because there was not sufficient proof against number 6, but we all knew he was the culprit.
You see I valued my life so much that I decided to move away. When someone gets this type of experience, life becomes very meaningful. It could have been worse. I could have been killed.
Have you had, or are having problems as a tenant or landlord with rented accommodation?
Are you a tenant in dispute with your landlord or a landlord in dispute with your tenant?
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