A woman was left baffled after her 'cheeky neighbours' painted a communal door and then asked her to help pay for it.
The communal door is to a building which houses eight flats, with her new neighbours recently purchasing one of the flats as an investment to let out. Since the purchase of the flat, they've painted the front door black, as well as the porch door, and sent an email around to the other flat owners asking them to chip in £25 each to cover the costs of the paint and labour.
The woman was not consulted about the job before it went ahead and was baffled to receive the request for money. Taking to Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread with a post titled "Cheeky neighbours want me to pay", she sought advice on how to proceed without causing awkwardness with the new neighbours.
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She penned: "New neighbours bought a flat in my building. There are eight flats in total in the building. I haven't met them yet but they're buying for investment and I found it posted online for rent already.
"I came home the other day to find the main door to the building had been painted. It was shabby before and could do with a coat but this was surprising since I hadn't been consulted and it was a shared door. The new colour is black which I was always told was a bad omen. I really didn't like it but didn't want to make a fuss.
"They have now emailed us saying they want the flats to equally contribute £25. Lovely to meet you too. It may not sound like a lot of money but I am really budgeting right now and my weekly budget for fun is £30 and it would have to come from that which is miserable.
"I just know if I send them the money I will be bitter about it and anxious that they may expect me to pay in the future without consenting me. If asked, I would have reluctantly agreed to have it painted just not black. Is there any way I can get away with not paying and not entirely ruin any relationship with them?"
The post was met with hundreds of responses from fellow Mumsnet users, keen to share their thoughts. One asked: "Equally contribute to what, the door they painted? 1. that's ridiculous 2. what's the paint made from, tinted gold dust?"
Another said: "That's really cheeky of them. They should have got agreement from all the flats before going ahead. I'd email back to point that out, and just say unfortunately you don't have the budget right now. But if you do offer to pay, ask to see a copy of invoice from the painters and any other quotes they got for comparison. I bet you won't be the only one p***ed off at this and refusing/unable to pay."
A third said: "No there should be no hard feelings if you weren’t consulted and therefore didn’t see any quotes much less agree to the job and the cost then they really shouldn’t be expecting anything. If anyone does pay it that should be looked upon as a bonus..."
Another commented: "They were out of order painting the communal door without asking and quite cheeky to then charge. But it isn't much. I would just pay it this time but say in future these jobs need to be discussed first."
A fifth added: "Email back and say that’s not how communal improvements or maintenance works. Point them to however it does work in your block. I certainly wouldn’t be paying them £25, cheeky f***s. Nice earner if you can get it, £200 for a coat of paint!"
In a follow up comment, the woman added: "So far I have ignored the message but I will update if they send another. All of my friends and family without hesitation have said that they would just pay to maintain the relationship and everyone on here is saying not to pay. I am so torn."
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