Buying your first home is supposed to be one of the most “exciting times” of your life, according to Aussie couple Jas and Ben.
But for this Brisbane couple, the excitement of the milestone was dampened after a frosty welcome note left within 24 hours from a mysterious neighbour had them feeling “frustrated” and instantly “judged.”
The couple, who share their life on social media, had barely settled in before the anonymous letter landed on their new doorstep, allegedly threatening to dob them in for “neglecting” their two dogs.
“We moved in on Friday and got the letter on Saturday,” the couple told Yahoo News Australia.
“We felt judged by people who don’t even know us yet. It should be an exciting time of our lives… but this definitely left a dampener on the experience.”
Noise dispute erupts between neighbours
The couple’s new neighbours seemingly took issue with their animals being left on the balcony, while tradespeople got to work inside the house.
The letter claimed the animals “seemed distressed” and were causing “great noise” to the neighbours, the couple shared.
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The couple say their two dogs were the subject of the letter after a neighbour complained about the noise.
(TikTok/@ben_and_jas)
Noise disputes are “one of the most common neighbourhood complaints in Australia”, Alison Barrett, principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, told Yahoo News.
“Please take this as a first and final notice, and if it’s not rectified in seven days from the date of this letter, we will be launching an investigation to the RSPCA for welfare concerns and Brisbane City Council,” the letter allegedly said.
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Explaining the situation to Yahoo, the couple admitted the dogs were put outside “for maybe an hour” while the tradespeople worked. It certainly wasn’t for “prolonged periods of time” as the letter claimed.
New homeowners confronted by neighbour after uproar
At the time, Ben and Jas had no idea who it was from. But interestingly, after the ordeal started gaining traction online — where they first shared the “neighbour beef” — one local unexpectedly outed themselves.
“We’re pretty sure this neighbour has since seen [our video] and come over to introduce herself,” the couple revealed to Yahoo News.
“She told us that she heard about it, and that it wasn’t her. It’s Interesting considering neither of us had told anybody about it! So we’re not 100 per cent sure who it was from, but we both reckon it was her.”
Despite the rocky start, the couple are determined not to let the anonymous critic ruin their property milestone.
While they admitted the situation was both “amusing and frustrating” and a “huge overreaction” for a completely isolated moving-day incident, they have no plans to retaliate.
“We decided to leave it,” they said. “At the end of the day, there is no point making this worse than it is, although we would love to!
“We just want to get on with our lives and enjoy the new house and neighbourhood. Hopefully, they’ll get to know us and see we are a lovely young couple who make great neighbours and love their dogs.”
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