Homeowner says neighbor throws trash

A: I would like to know what legal action can be taken against neighbors that dump their trash into my yard. First, I must point out the fact that these neighbors have an 11-year-old autistic son who they really don’t supervise. In the past two or three years, they’ve allowed their son to toss trash into my backyard as well as the yard of the neighbors on the other side.

The first year they moved in, the mother claimed her autistic son was trying to adapt to his new surroundings, and when he gets upset, he throws his little sister’s toys over the wall.

Now, enough is enough. They allow him to throw anything over the wall, I mean anything, as in jars of mayonnaise straight from the refrigerator, bottles of soda, juice, plastic cups, bowls, toys, shoes, clothes, pipes and jars of peanut butter.

When I went to their house to confront the mother about it between 2 and 5 p.m. on Monday, she refused to answer the door. I tossed their crap back over to them and he continued to throw it over into our yard.

Finally, I phoned the police yesterday around 2 p.m. to do a welfare check because it makes no sense for these people to just allow their autistic kid to grab things from the refrigerator and toss them onto the property of others. They could set up a barrier to keep him away from the walls since he has to have fresh air, or take him to a nearby park to play. If they would get rid of their trash like they’re supposed to, there wouldn’t be empty water bottles, juice bottles, etc., for him to throw over the walls.

I have no idea what the results were of the first visit the police made because they left pretty fast. But I have reason to believe one or both of the parents gathered a bunch of their trash and tossed it into my yard yesterday morning, since the boy always throws individual things.

When they allowed their son to toss a phone book over the wall around 2 p.m. along with bowls, grill racks, cups, a huge rug that resembled fake grass, etc. I tossed that back. It didn’t do any good because they allowed him to throw more things. I really had enough of them when they allowed him to dump a box full of videos into my yard.

When I climbed the wall to confront the parents, I was shocked and disgusted to see the boy was the only one in the yard and running around completely nude! I phoned Child Protective Services, but there’s no telling whether or not anything will be done about all this.

I’ve also contacted the city code of enforcement again. Last year or the year before last, they left their water on after filling up their pool and water ran from their yard right into the street. Another time, city code enforcement had to be contacted because they wouldn’t take their trash can and recycle can back to the side of the house for a week after trash day. They’re only renting, and fortunately the house is up for sale. The problem is, their trashy yard brings down the property value. There has to be something that can be done to get them to stop being such pigs or just move!

It’s also obvious they’ve had to speak with the police before, because the father of that family knows all the lies to tell to make themselves appear innocent, such as claiming he’s offered to clean any mess that was made by his son, but we supposedly refused to accept his offer. It’s as though they’re trying to use their son’s mental handicap as an excuse for their own negligence.

A: It would appear that you are doing the right things, even though you see little progress. Keep calling the Metropolitan Police Department and Child Protective Services. It does take time, and with CPS, they need to build documentation. In addition, I would recommend that you contact your management company and ask that they send the owners and tenants a courtesy letter.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. Questions may be sent to the Association Q&A, P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Fax is 702-385-3759, email is support@hlrealty.com.