Revealed: The ideal neighbours for Brits

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New research has revealed what makes the perfect neighbour and unsurprisingly being friendly & talkative and taking in parcels were uncovered as the top traits. Britons are more likely to have issues with their neighbours if they don’t maintain the exterior of their property, if they are opinionated or if they park outside the homes of others instead of their own.

Over three quarters of Britons have issues with their neighbours and surprisingly almost 40% of those people have confronted their neighbours/admitted it to them. Apparently, Britons are more likely to have an issue with opinionated neighbours than with noisy neighbours or those who don’t control their children. 

The survey was carried out by the team at home interiors specialist www.hillarys.co.uk, as part of an ongoing study into Britons’ experiences with their neighbours. 2,144 Britons aged 18 and over, all of whom stated that they own or rent a property, were quizzed about their neighbours and the good and bad traits they possess. 

Firstly, all respondents were asked ‘What do you like the most about your current neighbours?’ to which respondents stated ‘they’re friendly and talkative’ (23 per cent) and ‘they take my parcels in when I’m not home’ (19 per cent). When asked if they ever spent time with their neighbour in each other’s homes, just 24 per cent said that they did.   

All respondents were then asked ‘Have you ever had any issues with any of your neighbours, current or previous?’ and told to take into account any issues, whether discussed with the neighbour or not. The overwhelming majority, 76 per cent, said that ‘yes’ they’d had issues with at least one neighbour. When asked if they’d ever spoken to their neighbour about their concerns, 39 per cent admitted that they had whilst the remaining 61 per cent hadn’t. 

All respondents were asked why they’d had issues with their neighbour(s). When provided with a list of possible responses and told to select all that applied, the top five answers were:

1. They don’t maintain the exterior of their property – 47%
2. They’re too vocal about their views, considering theirs to be the only opinion – 41%
3. They park outside my house when there’s space elsewhere – 33%
4. They’re noisy at all hours – 30%
5. Their children run riot and aren’t controlled – 29%