Weird neighbour keeps moving our pram.

There are a number of lessons for the OP (and come to that all of us here) about rules relating to communal spaces, dealing with awkward neighbours and the wisdom of raising such as topic on GD.

However, he did tie his own hands from the start by limiting his options.

FutileBreadMachine said:
There's nothing much I can do about it now, he says he is going to write to management and have it removed. I think he just got a bee in his bonnet about it being there and started exaggerating things in his head.
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Well, this is plainly what happens when you fail to activate boxing stance.
 
I think people become more bitter the longer they live in flats and shared accommodation. I live in a block of 12 flats and I too get annoyed by crap being left in the corridors/at the bottom of the stairs by other tenants. I didn't originally but it's slowly started to grate on me! The reason I moved into this place was because of how nice it looked and how clean it appeared to be kept. But peoples situations change, people move out/in and that once nice clean building ended up looking like the house of some chav with 6 kids living off benefits!

Needless to say, it was a good day when the management company came round and just removed all the bikes, scooters and other stuff and swapped it with a note stating these things should not be left in the communal area, here's the number to phone to get them back.

Bin bags are the main issue at the minute. One person decided to leave a bin bag outside their flat which stunk, now everyone else seems to think it's a good idea because they are too bone idle to take it downstairs to the bins. The carpet is stained to hell with leaky bin bags :( And don't even get me started on the parking situation! Thank god me and my partner are almost ready to buy a house!

OP, genuine idea for a solution here: Does the pram not have wheels? Can your wife not put said baby into the pram in your flat and simply wheel it down the stairs on the back wheels?
 
cokecan said:
*stuff*
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I know what you mean about people taking the pee, but I also believe in live and let live if it's not harming anyone. For example, we have a tenant parking area at the back, and someone often parks on the walkway next to the parking (I presume a friend/family of someone in the building). Technically they shouldn't park there, but they aren't inconveniencing anyone, so I never took issue with it. Suddenly last year a sign popped up there saying "Residents parking only", so someone must have complained.

Similarly, we have a large bike shed at the back which has like 10 racks and only 2 bikes in it. Someone from Royal Mail used to park their bike there sometimes, but there is so much space, who cares. Again, last year a sign appeared saying "Attention Royal Mail: Do not park your bikes here". So someone must have said something, even though there are literally only 2 bikes in there.

So there are rules yes, but it would be nice if people could exercise some common sense about them. And no-one else has ever mentioned anything about it, and everyone has been very pleasant in the 5 years we've been living there, and it's only 12 flats. We are friendly with the neighbours next door (they are the ones I mentioned earlier who got burgled). They even bought our baby a present. My wife is still friends with a woman upstairs who moved out a few months ago.

If there was really a problem, they would have said something. Last year we had some nightmare neighbors living above us who would scream at eachother every day and the guy would chase the woman around the flat. One day they were suddenly gone, and then we found out the other residents had gotten together and had them evicted for anti-social behaviour whilst we were on holiday. Apparently both the man and woman had been swearing at people, the woman pushed an old man over and they were making loads of noise.
 
It might not yet have been in anyone's way but what if, God forbid, there's a fire ? From the building management's pov such rules are probably not even for residents' safety, but to keep insurance premiums down.
 
As an architect, who is forced to make the smallest possible communal areas that the law allows to maximise profits for developers. I would like to offer my views.

The Op stats its a new building and it's too small and wants to move. I feel for you, and hate designing these mimimum size blocks.
An interesting point many don't know is blocks for private sale are actually 10-15% smaller than housing association homes, and they are small enough imho.

I design these small single stair blocks all the time.
Trust me - If there was a fire, you don't want anything in that hallway or the buffer zone / lobby adjacent to the single exit door as 20+ adults and possible as many small children all leave at the same time though it.
If you have an underground car park that just massively increases the fire risk.
For your own safety and that of the other residents well done for keeping the pram in the flat.

A pram is both a large obstruction and combustible - both are not allowed by law in a 'protected corridor' leading to a 'final escape'
Your landlord and managing company have a duty of care to make sure the communal areas are clear - they can move your stuff without warning or even evict you! for repeatedly doing this.
You signed a lease that should clearly say having your stuff in communal area is not allowed, so you can't say you didn't know, even if you didn't notice it.

Leaving a pram in a communal area is unlawful, end of debate.
Accommodating or bitter neighbors make no difference.
There are real safety reasons it should not be there goggle 'safety communal areas' for chapter and verse.

I have kids and frequently do the school run (but live in a ground floor maisonette) - and we had a pram for a while, the wife loved it for long walks, and that your child is facing you/up. But we sold it because it was impractical (weight and size) for a rear facing buggy (could be folded flat) with a fully reclining seat (just like a pram)
I know first hand managing young kids and all the stuff that they might need on a trip out is hard. So I hope some of the possible options below are workable in your situation.

Possible options.
Sell pram for buggy - take kids and buggy down, unfold in lobby,
Keep pram and move it downstairs to carpark for wife each morning.
Wife takes pram down, then takes kids down. (technically this is still unlawfull)
Take pram down stairs and leave it with neighbor for 20minutes.

I hope this didn't come across as judgmental, I don't post in GD very often so wanted it to be helpful at the very least
 
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Another solution -

Stop banging kids out that annoy other people & save some money & then you could get a mortgage & have your own house & then you can leave the pram in your own garden & not be a pest to other people.
 
Get your wife to talk to him and explain it is too heavy for her to carry while holding child etc. The truth can sometimes go a long way.

He may react differently, obviously if after 5 minutes she has not returned and he walks outside with a shovel, call the police.

EDIT:

After reading Shadowscotlands reply, his seems much more usefull.
 
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shadowscotland said:
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You're right, I didn't know anything about the law around it until I made the thread. If the guy had left a letter in my post about it being illegal/against the lease I would have stopped putting the pram down there. My main issue was his despicable behavior. When the people upstairs were being noisy in the early hours every Sunday, I just slipped a letter under their door asking to please be aware we can hear them below.
 
Well it's fair enough, it's communal area, you have literally no right to leave your pram there. I know I wouldn't want to come in from work and walk past some pram covered in feces, urine, snot and usually an inexplicable amount of raisins.

No way, kids are incredibly unhygienic, I don't like walking past one in the street.

If I left my collection of used toilet seats strewn about the hallway, would you be happy about it?
 
pitchfork said:
Well it's fair enough, it's communal area, you have literally no right to leave your pram there. I know I wouldn't want to come in from work and walk past some pram covered in feces, urine, snot and usually an inexplicable amount of raisins.

No way, kids are incredibly unhygienic, I don't like walking past one in the street.

If I left my collection of used toilet seats strewn about the hallway, would you be happy about it?
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It's the ones with toddlers in you have to be careful of! Ours is currently pristine since the baby is only 4 months old, he just sleeps in there.

Anyway, it's resolved now, so thanks for the constructive comments to those who gave them. I already updated the OP with the outcome, so could a mod please lock the thread? I don't think there's anything more to discuss, and I'd rather avoid any more comments like android guy's.
 
FutileBreadMachine said:
It's the ones with toddlers in you have to be careful of! Ours is currently pristine since the baby is only 4 months old, he just sleeps in there.

Anyway, it's resolved now, so thanks for the constructive comments to those who gave them. I already updated the OP with the outcome, so could a mod please close the thread? I don't think there's anything more to discuss, and I'd rather avoid any more comments like android guy's.
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Someone did the same thing where we lived. Left their and their daughter's bike in the corridor. I didn't know who it was so left a note on the bike saying words to the effect of, "if you decide to buy a bike it's up to you to think of where you'll store it first, and not for us to squeeze past it every day afterwards". The bikes disappeared after a few days.

Likewise this. It's your bloody pram. Don't stick it in a communal area. I'd move it as well. Preferably outside in the rain.
 
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