In the house across the street from mine, there is an odd living situation. AFAIR, two male renters were kicked out two weeks ago and a male with a daughter moved in. When the guys were displaced, the owner had to come to the house and do the cleaning up. This resulted in two completely overflowing recycle bins of booze bottles. According to him, they were hidden everywhere. Not strange, thinks I, since the owner is quite the dope fiend and boozehound himself. He has told me he rents this house to down-and-out folks trying to make a living, it seems though it’s kind of a halfway-house, as each renter has considerable addiction problems that are obvious to those around them.
I like the owner for the most part, don’t respect him much, but he’s okay in a delusions-of-grandeur kind of way. He once told a neighbor that he was a cop and gave her a false name. That was weird, especially since she lives two houses away. He had some strange cop gear in his car to back this up. He’s not a cop. He’s a “real-estate investor”, or so he says. He says he owns many properties throughout CA. Big whoop for him. Whatever.
Here’s the rub. These guys that were supposed to move out have apparently taken up residence with the new renter and his daughter. So, there’s four adults living in a less-than-900 sqft house. It’s waaay too small for four adults. Really, I’ve been inside. It’s a scary house too, with the kitchen having been decorated by the former tenant, an artist. The kitchen is decorated in the scheme of “grab a can and throw it at the walls and cabinets”. Not my taste, but…
All of these adults have cars, and more than one. All of the cars that these adults have are junkers. Hoopty junkers. They’re peeling paint, have huge dents and are filthy. They’ve found that they don’t have room to park all these cars (7) in front of their house and have been parking in various spots throughout the neighborhood. This morning, upon finding the most hideous of the junkers parked wrong-way in front of my house, I decided on a mental exercise. “Let’s see how many junky cars we see on the street that aren’t near my house”. That’s the game. There were none. This is a neighborhood of owned homes, excepting this one. All the other neighbors have decent cars and if they’re junky cars they go in the garage. These guys are flaunting their junky cars because they KNOW nobody wants those cars in front of their houses. Some of their cars never move. I’m tired of having my single-most valuable investment (my home) losing perceived value because of the inconsideration of these renters. I’ve tolerated it for two years, and spoken with each of the renters about their cars. I’ve tipped them off if someone was calling the cops. I’ve warned them in advance if someone was calling the owner. I’m nice to these people. I just want them to go the fuck away. And take their crappy cars with them.
I know all about how folks’ seem to think it’s okay to park wherever on the street because it’s public domain, but this is starting to feel really disrespectful. We’ve seen other homeowners out in that yard doing their yardwork, simply because the renters don’t care to keep it clean. They’re nuisances, and I’m wondering how I might take that tact to the legal people. They are infringing upon my fair use of my curb and making me ashamed of my surroundings to the point that I have to explain them each time someone comes to visit.
Could a zoning law come into play here? Are there laws that dictate how many people can live in single-family homes? Could I obtain a “cease & desist order”? How can I get these people away from here???
Any advice?
