Austin, TX Renter Says New “Neighbor From Hades” Took the Parking Spot, Filled the Apartment With Smoke, and Left a Dog on the Balcony

An Austin renter said a new neighbor had been next door for only a week before the situation became bad enough that they turned to Reddit for help.

The renter described the problem in a post on r/Austin, asking for resources to deal with what they called a “neighbor from hell.” According to the post, the new neighbor had already claimed their reserved parking spot, left a barking pit bull on the balcony all day, allowed the dog to use the concrete patio as a bathroom, smoked indoors badly enough that smoke drifted into the renter’s apartment, and had loud early-morning fights between 5 and 6 a.m.

The renter said the situation also involved three small children who banged on the walls and screamed “at all hours.” That added a complicated layer to the complaint, because the renter appeared angry, exhausted, and unsure how to address the adults without making life harder for the kids.

The list of problems was short, but it painted the kind of apartment-living spiral that can turn a home into a place where someone never really gets to relax. The first problem was practical: the neighbor allegedly took the renter’s reserved parking spot. In a complex where assigned spaces matter, that alone can trigger a daily headache. But the renter said the behavior did not stop there.

The dog appeared to be the next major issue. The renter said the pit bull was left outside on the balcony all day with no food or water, barking and leaving waste on the concrete. In Texas heat, that detail immediately caught commenters’ attention. The concern was not only the noise and smell but also the animal’s welfare.

Inside the apartments, the renter said smoke from weed and cigarettes made its way into their unit. That kind of problem is especially frustrating because it crosses the line between someone else’s habit and another person’s living space. Even if the renter never opened their door, the smell allegedly followed them inside.

Then there were the fights. The renter said the couple argued every morning between 5 and 6 a.m., and the fights were apparently about cheating. For a neighbor trying to sleep, work, or simply get through a normal week, the early hour made the conflict harder to ignore.

The renter did not describe a long back-and-forth with management in the original post. They were still at the “what can I even do?” stage, asking Austin Redditors for resources before the situation escalated further.

Commenters mostly pushed the renter toward documentation instead of retaliation.

Several people told the renter to start recording dates, times, and specific incidents. The advice was not to write vague complaints like “they are loud all the time,” but to create a clear timeline: parking violation on one day, barking for hours on another, screaming at 5 a.m., smoke entering the apartment, and so on. One commenter said that kind of record matters because it helps show property management the situation is not a one-time annoyance.

Others brought up Texas renters’ rights and the idea of quiet enjoyment, telling the renter that tenants are supposed to be able to live in their home without unreasonable interference. A few commenters linked to tenant-rights resources and said the renter may need to pressure the apartment owner or management company in writing.

The dog drew its own set of responses. Some commenters told the renter to call animal control, especially because the dog was reportedly being left outside in hot weather without visible food or water. Others warned that animal control can be hard to involve at an apartment if officers cannot easily see the conditions from the ground.

There were also darker, more reckless suggestions. Some commenters floated passive-aggressive payback ideas involving loud music, subwoofers, or messing with the neighbor’s car. Others quickly warned against that, saying the renter should not start a battle with people who already seemed unpredictable. A few commenters said retaliation could easily make the situation more dangerous and could also make the renter look bad if management or police became involved.

The most practical advice came back to the same few steps: document everything, keep complaints in writing, contact management, report the dog if welfare concerns continue, and avoid doing anything that could be framed as harassment or vandalism.

The post did not end with a clean resolution. Instead, it captured the beginning of a messy apartment conflict before anyone knew how far it would go. A new neighbor had arrived, the renter’s peace was already gone, and Austin commenters were warning that the next move mattered.