AITA for not paying my neighbor for mowing my yard?

I (33M) moved into my current neighborhood about four years ago. One of my neighbors (50sM) has lived here his entire life and is a bit odd. I’m not trying to diagnose him, but he clearly has some emotional and learning disabilities. But the thing I want to talk about is his yardcare obsession.

In the summer, he will mow his yard every day. Occasionally twice a day. He’s very particular about his grass and has confronted me about the trees in my backyard dropping leaves in his backyard. After I explained that I can’t do anything to prevent that, he began raking all the leaves in his yard and throwing them over the fence into my yard because they’re my responsibility.

When I moved in, my neighbor complained to me several times that my grass was too long. It was a bit shaggy but it wasn’t tall by any means. Either way, there’s no HOA here so I can keep my grass how I like. I told him this, but he just insisted that I needed it to be cut short like his.

My first year here, he’d repeatedly ask me to mow my yard more and I’d say no, that my roughly weekly mowing was fine. He was obviously frustrated that I was blowing him off but I’m not going to cater my yard to his preference.

I also have a suspicion that he reported me to the city for having grass that was too long. A city worker came by and told me someone reported me for having long unkept grass with rats living in it. I showed the city worker my backyard and he shrugged, said I was good and left.

This leads me to the point of the post. He began mowing my front yard himself, presumably out of frustration. Typically twice a week. I’ve asked him why he does this and he says "somebody has to." I’ve asked him to stop and he was dismissive.

So now he’s just kinda my volunteer gardener. I still do other yardcare and take care of the backyard. I even now the front myself if I think it needs it. This has been going on for 3 years.

I mentioned this to a coworker and she suggested that I pay him for mowing my grass. I said no. This isn’t a service I asked for or require. He’s doing it himself and if I had a choice, I’d rather he stop so I could have slightly shaggier grass. I especially don’t want to encourage this weird vindictive behavior. My coworker said it was a bad look to have a person with some kind of mental disability work for me unpaid but I insisted that it’s a huge mischaracterization of the reality of the situation, but I see the point she was trying to make.

So am I the asshole here?

13 thoughts on “AITA for not paying my neighbor for mowing my yard?”
  1. NTA – to pay someone for basically being a nuisance is ridiculous. He’s not trying to be nice nor doing you a favor. Not only did you not ask him to do this, you’ve asked him not to. 

  2. NTA. You didn’t ask him to do this and you actually don’t want him to do this, yet he’s doing it. He should be happy that you haven’t reported him.

  3. NTA! He definitely has something mentally wrong with him. People usually mow once a week to once every other week depending on how much it rains. You told him to stop and he won’t so you should not pay him. Maybe he has some form of OCD. He needs to recognize that he’s unwell and go to therapy for it.

  4. There is no need to pay him unless he will quit if you pay him. His obsessive behavior should not be rewarded. It will make the situation worse.

  5. You do have a choice, and you absolutely should put a stop to it. He’s on your property without permission. But by knowing about it and doing nothing to stop it for years, you’re tacitly giving permission. If he gets hurt on your property you could be in a real mess. Might be worth talking to a lawyer, I am not one – but you should probably tell him by certified letter that he is not welcome on your property, and call the police next time and every time it happens.

    NTA

  6. Isn’t it classed as “illegal dumping” to do that with the leaves? Even if it came from “your” tree.

  7. NTA. If this guy is “off” enough to report you for imaginary rats, do you really think he wouldn’t sue you if he hurt himself on your property? As others have mentioned, I would either send a certified letter, telling him to stay off your property, or I would have an attorney do it.

  8. >he began raking all the leaves in his yard and throwing them over the fence into my yard because they’re my responsibility.

    You’d get a fine from the city if you did this where I live. Same with mowing your grass so that it lands in your neighbors yard, or in the street.

  9. He needs to stop. This is a liability. If he gets hurt while on your property, it’s your responsibility. He may even be able to claim your land as his after X amount of years, since he’s doing the upkeep.

    Stop this immediately. Send him certified mail telling (not asking) him to stop, and that if he sets foot on your property again you will call the police for trespassing. Follow through every single time he enters your property boundaries. Don’t let the police give him a slap on the wrist.

    Install cameras. Multiple. Have them monitor your property 24/7.

    Things will probably get a lot worse before they start to get better. He *will* throw a tantrum. Utilize the police and a lawyer if necessary, every step of the way.

    NTA, but if you let this continue then YWBTA.

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