'My entitled neighbour demands I stop cooking after 9pm - she has no right'

12 March 2024 , 11:37

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He doesn't think he should have to change his schedule to suit her (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Doing your neighbour a favour is a kind gesture - as long as their demands don't go too far.

Most of us wouldn't bat an eyelid if our neighbour popped round to ask for a spare drop of milk or a couple of teabags, and for some of us, even being asked to turn our music down wouldn't be too much of a problem for the sake of being courteous. One man, however, has said his neighbour's demands have gone too far - as she has asked him to stop cooking after 9pm because the smells "annoy" her and her husband.

Although the man can understand that smells in a block of flats can certainly travel, he's baffled as to why she feels entitled to try and dictate his eating schedule. This is particularly frustrating as he is currently working "multiple jobs", meaning he can't always eat any earlier.

In a post on Reddit, the man explained that he's on a diet and will usually cook chicken with salt, pepper, or garlic with a side dish of zucchini or squash every night at around 8-11 pm. He continued: "I eat two meals a day which I cook in my home. I also work multiple jobs. I understand that smelling the same thing every day can be repetitive, however, it seems thoroughly unreasonable to ask somebody to change their life schedule in their own home to accommodate your preference. She even suggested that I meal prep and only eat reheated food at night."

Although he knows full well that he is adhering to building regulations and is well within his rights to refuse such a request, he can't help but wonder whether he might be in the wrong somehow. Fellow Reddit users were firmly on his side, with one person advising: "Smelling what other people are cooking is not unusual in apartment life. This doesn't give you the right to tell others not to cook."

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Another commented: "It's wildly inappropriate to ask a neighbour to not cook after 9 pm. Short of you jumping up and down, singing, and banging pots and pans while you're cooking, there's no reason you can't cook at any point during a 24-hour period."

Zahna Eklund