There are lots of benefits to living in an apartment versus a house. Security, convenience, more amenities, lower maintenance, a sense of community, and often it’s more affordable. Recent data reveals that around 38% of American renters reside in apartment blocks. But staying in such close proximity to other people also has its downsides. Less space, landlord or body corporate restrictions, and of course, limited privacy.

There’s an online community dedicated to sharing the joys and sorrows of apartment living. It has over 110,000 members posting tips and tricks about anything from decorating, to dealing with landlords, to maximizing space. What really caught our eye were some of the horror stories apartment dwellers have had to deal with.

From neighbor’s complaints about snoring, to cigarette butts landing on their balcony, and even cars crashing through the wall. Some people are dealing with the most. Keep scrolling for Bored Panda’s best picks from r/Apartmentliving, and don’t forget to upvote your favorites.

#1 Here’s A Good One… Last Month My Lovely Downstairs Neighbor Taped This To My Door

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#2 Well This Is Embarrassing

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#3 Neighbors Letting Homeless Man Sleep In Front Of My Door

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Scrolling through this list of horrors brought back memories of my own apartment dwelling dramas. And boy, have I had a few. Personally, I prefer living in a free-standing house. Partly because I have a pet, and partly because I love my privacy and space. When I say pet, what I mean is a furkid. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my dog.

So imagine my surprise when I got an unexpected knock on my door one random Friday morning and found an animal welfare inspector standing there, alongside a security guard. Completely confused, and very convinced they were at the wrong apartment, I asked how I could assist.

#4 Ex Kicked A Hole Through My Door And I Was Quoted $675

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#5 My Ceiling Fan Fell On Me While I Was Sleeping

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#6 What Is It?

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“I’m here to investigate a complaint, mam,” came the reply. To which I confidently told him that he must have my apartment confused with another. The inspector glanced down at his notes, repeated my apartment number and told me that he was definitely at the right place.

At this point, my very healthy and happy “velcro dog” was right at my feet, seemingly just as confused as me. Mind you, I did notice the inspector checking the dog out, with a slightly perplexed look.

#7 Cigarette Butts From Upstairs Neighbor On My Patio

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#8 Show Me You’re A Renter In One Pic

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#9 My Upstairs Neighbor Dropped Something Super Heavy And These Popped Up Through My Entire Ceiling

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To cut a long and crazy story short, it turns out “someone” had reported me for leaving my dog alone at home for days on end. The inspector was very satisfied that this wasn’t the case, and that my dog was living his best life, at times believing he too was human.

I obviously had more than enough proof that I’d not gone away. I also allowed the inspector to check the dog, his food and treats cupboard, water bowl, sleeping quarters (my bedroom), etc. I had my dog's up-to-date vet card at hand, as well as great photos and references to prove my competence as a pet owner. The inspector didn't ask for these but did apologize for his visit, adding that he often has to waste time and resources being called out to complexes, for nothing in particular.

#10 Landlord Is Charging Me $8000 To Replace Floors

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#11 Neighbor Threw All This Trash Out Her Window And Keeps Throwing More. Today's Friday, And Management Won't Be Available Until Monday

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#12 Do You Think I Can Ask For Reimbursement On This?

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When I posted about my experience on the complex WhatsApp group chat (don’t get me started on those), I received a very rude direct message. The guilty party told me they’d been “watching” me since I moved in and that I am “never at home”.

I found this quite amusing but also infuriating since I am at home 90% of the time – and how would they know whether I was or wasn’t. I responded by telling them to up their stalking game because I’ve been home the whole week, and I’m currently typing this message from my lounge. "Can you see me now, Karen?"

#13 Woke Up To A Lovely Note On My Car This Morning— I’m Parked In My Assigned (Paid For) Parking Spot

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#14 Not Sure How To Feel About This Or Go About Handling It

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#15 My Neighbor Returned A Stolen Package 1 Year Later

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A bit more back and forth, and it emerged that my lovely neighbor had assumed my long absence because she hadn’t seen a car parked in my parking bay for a while. And at one point, she had heard the dog barking. As I reminded her, I have a front door. You’re able to knock on it, or slip a note underneath.

What I should have said was “Never Assume, it makes an A*s of U and Me”. One of my very funny friends later advised me to park my son’s toy car in the bay, to avoid any of this ever happening again.

#16 Neighbor Parking Issue: How Do I Deal With This?

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#17 I Come Out This Am With My Dog And See The Cleaning Lady At My Complex Spraying Down The Mailboxes With A Hose On Full Blast ??‍♂️

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#18 The Building Next To Mine Got New Outdoor Lights… This Is Now My Bedroom At 2am

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In another incident, three actually, my dog was getting bouts of violent illness. The kind where you find yourself wanting to throw up while cleaning up. I thought it strange because I hadn’t fed him anything weird. He and I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. He hadn’t been in contact with sick dogs, and was fully vaccinated. It all made sense when I caught an upstairs neighbor throwing food scraps (old meat) from her balcony into the garden of my ground floor apartment.

#19 Only Fire Extinguisher In The Hallway Did Not Pass Inspection 3 Months Ago Md, USA

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#20 Someone Left Butter (??) On My Door

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#21 New Apartment Building Drama

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I’d like to believe the elderly woman was doing this with good intentions. As angry and disgusted as I was, I decided to take a calm approach. I kindly informed her that her “generosity” was making my dog sick, and if she wanted to give him any treats, she should please ask me first. She understood, apologized never did it again, and we were able to live happily ever onwards.

#22 Is This Note Ok To Leave For My Neighbors?

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#23 Downstairs Neighbor Came To My Door At Midnight After Throwing Rocks At My Window And Calling Me A C***

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#24 AI

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Loving thy neighbor is often easier said than done. A recent LendingTree survey found that 1 in 4 Americans can’t stand their neighbor. Almost half say it’s because the guy or girl next door is unfriendly or rude. 31% say they make too much noise, and 29% say they live next door to someone who just can’t mind their own business. Around 3 in 10 millennials have even packed up their belongings and moved because of a problem neighbor.

#25 Upstairs Neighbors Pouring Water All Over Balcony

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#26 Is This An Acceptable Note To Leave My Neighbor That’s Smoking In A Smoke Free Building?

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#27 Not My Neighbor But Love This

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#28 Woman In My Building Has Police Called On Her Routinely For Abuse Of Her Children, One Disabled. She Left This In Public Space

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#29 Drunk Neighbor Just Drove Through Our Bedroom And Condemned Our Apartment. Landlord Won’t Answer Our Or The Police’s Calls And Now I Have Nowhere To Live

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#30 What Is This Growing In My Linen Closet??

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#31 Curious As To What The “Formal Complaint To The Leasing Office” Would Look Like…

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#32 Note To Upstairs Neighbors With Kids

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#33 I (26m) Found A Huge Roach In My New Apartment

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#34 First Ever Note… Is It Bad?

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#35 Is Leaving This Note On My Neighbor’s Door Too Harsh Or Not Harsh Enough??

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#36 Saw This When I Came Out This Morning

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#37 Bruh What????

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#38 Found This Note On My Door. How Do I Walk Around In My Apartment Without Bothering This Person?

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#39 My Neighbour Is Disgusting…

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#40 Bathroom Roof Collapsed In The Middle Of The Night. I Live In Texas. I Have No Idea Who To Call In Case Of Emergency And I'm Kinda Freaking Out Since Idk If That's Black Mold And If I Can Spend The Night Here Tonight. What Can I Do? Sorry If It's Not The Right Place I'm Just Scared

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#41 The Main Door To My Building Doesn’t Lock And The Main Door To My Apt Is Hollow With Just A Lock Knob… I Feel Like This Isn’t Right I’m In Nh. First Apt. Please Give Me Insight On A Girl Living Alone

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#42 My Friend Parked My Car And Got Me This LOL

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#43 My Upstairs Neighbor Attacked My Apartment And Broke Our Window

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#44 Update To Lady Downstairs Harassing Us

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#45 My Entire Ceiling Collapsed Last Night

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#46 The Dumpsters Behind My Apartment Building Have Not Been Emptied In 3.5 Weeks

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#47 Neighbor Left A Note On My Door…

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