Woman’s Neighbor Makes Multiple Zoning Code Complaints. Then She Realizes That ‘Everything You Complained About Is Something That Blocks You From Seeing Into Our Yard’

A woman on TikTok says her “neighbor from h—” demanded she move her shed. Now, she’s turning the tables.

According to TikTok user Hope (@hopey_moab), when she first moved into her property, she had a pleasant, if a bit uncomfortable, relationship with her neighbor, Michael. She says that Michael and his wife invited them onto the property and talked about the neighborhood and that she and her husband have helped Michael and his family in various ways.

Still, something about Micheal rubbed her the wrong way.

“Michael makes several comments about how—this is cringy—about what an attractive couple my husband and I are, and how beautiful we are, and how he’s a photographer, ‘would love to take our picture sometime,’” she explains in a video. “Just, ah. You know, a little gross.”

Those weren’t the only problems with Michael. Hope says neighbors warned her that he was a possibly unethical dog breeder; she adds that when she saw some of his dogs, they were “so skinny” that one could “see their ribs.” Later, Hope says that she and her husband realized that they could see Michael from their property as he entered the shower. This was due to the fact that Michael’s bathroom had “window open, no blinds, no curtains, nothing.”

In response to this, Hope says she and her husband planted several tall trees that blocked Michael’s view into their yard. This set off a series of events that led to Hope needing to relocate her entire backyard shed.

Things Get Weirder

For a while, Hope says she still tried to keep things cordial, even as events with Michael became more bizarre. For example, Hope says that Michael would text her constantly, asking about her and her husband’s whereabouts. She also claims he began sending her pictures of tomatoes; the significance of these pictures is unclear.

Finally, after a dispute regarding a fence, the situation with Michael became untenable. The fence issue plus a host of other apparent concerns seemed to, in Hope’s estimation, push Michael over the edge. As a result, he began reporting Hope’s property for apparent violations.

Some of these violations were seemingly not real. For example, he claimed that her fence was too high; it was actually six inches lower than the legal limit. He also claimed her shed was too tall; it was not.

However, this investigation revealed that the shed was placed on the property in an illegal location. Hope says that their shed was simply a replacement for a previous dilapidated shed that was in the same spot. Still, she says she was forced to move it so that it was five feet away from the fence.

While this situation was frustrating, it also gave her some crucial information about Michael.

The Tables Turn

In a video with over 35,000 views, Hope sums up the current state of affairs.

Her video starts by observing that she hasn’t seen Michael since she returned home after a trip, which she says is “unusual.”

From there, she provides an update on the county’s findings, including the fence’s compliance and the fact that the shed was too close to the fence.

“I can’t help but notice that everything you complained about is something that blocks you from seeing into our yard,” she says. “Michael, are you obsessed with me?”

Hope adds that, after learning the county’s rules, she discovered that Michael had not been following many of them himself.

“I noticed your dog kennel is only six inches off the fence line. Yikes. That’s not allowed,” she starts. “And your shed? Well, there’s not even a fence behind it—because your shed is the fence. That’s not gonna cut it.”

“And your front yard fence? That’s only a foot off the road, and I’m gonna need you to scoot that back so that it’s five feet away,” she continues.

Not only that, but Hope claims that, in the process of learning about these requirements, she discovered that one can check if others have permits approved. Hope says that Michael had “[doesn’t] have any.”

“One last thing: Sheds have to be five feet off the property line, not the fence. But when the county comes out to inspect, they assume that the fence is the property line,” she concludes. “Just to be thorough, I got an official survey done, and your fence is one foot inside of my property. Should I charge you rent for it or tear it down and put a vinyl fence in its place?”

What Can She Legally Do?

In her latest update, Hope says that she was contacted by someone working on the HBO docuseries Neighbors about including her and Michael’s story. While Hope showed interest, Michael seems to have rejected the offer.

However, this development meant that Michael also became aware of the TikTok videos. In response, Hope received a message from the couple accusing her of lying in her videos about the situation. After Hope responded with her perspective, she received multiple other messages accusing her of lying.

Apart from what she’s currently doing, Hope says that she has reported her discoveries regarding Michael’s property and that she will let the county handle everything else moving forward.

Legally speaking, this may be her best option. In addition to keeping records of Michael and his wife’s statements and actions, she can simply let the county take care of the aforementioned issues. If she believes Micheal has become aggressive or threatening, she can block his and his wife’s number. If problems continue, she can seek a legal protection order, citing her recorded interactions as evidence.

For the time being, however, she may just have to wait and see what happens—and, maybe, share it with her TikTok followers.

BroBible reached out to Hope via Instagram and TikTok direct message.