If your baby has ever screamed the house down, chances are you've worried about what the neighbours must think. But you've probably never had the people next door try to get rid of you over it!
One unfortunate mum from Australia did.
Janin Mayer (33) from Sydney said she received a letter from the company Bright & Duggan, the owners of her flat building, which stated she could be brought before a tribunal and be made to pay a $550 (£280) fine if she doesn't "control" her 19-month-old son Elliav and stop the “excessive noise.”
“It has been brought to our attention that excessive noise, in the form of your child shouting and screaming, is emanating from your apartment from early in the morning to very late at night on a regular basis,” the letter read.
“This is disturbing other residents and as such you are in breach of the strata scheme by-laws. Living harmoniously within a strata scheme requires all occupiers to be aware and considerate of each other.”
The letter stated Janin should be “mindful” of other residents and refrain from allowing her child to make noise.
“Continued breaches of the by-laws may result in the matter being taken further and a fine of $550 being imposed by the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal,” it stated.
Janin wrote on Facebook: “WTF?! Discrimination to the utmost! I am revolted."
The mum, who is pregnant with her second child with husband Evi, said she had tried to be civil with her neighbours.
“We try, obviously we’re aware of the fact that we’re in a city and there are neighbours,” she told news.com.au.
“We keep the windows shut. I don’t know what else we can do. He’s a toddler, that’s what toddlers do. There are other kids in the building but they are a bit older.”
However the mother said she is worried for when her second child arrives.
"With a newborn, realistically it’s going to be even noisier — that’s what babies do.”
Janin said she is now considering leaving the building.
