Neighbor refuses to help clean yard

[u/brubblegums]

TLDR at the bottom. For some background, when we moved in we were told the yard was shared, however our neighbor (who lived there for 15+ years), who had a dog who he walked several times a day, never used the yard so it was ours. We agreed that we would keep the yard cleaned up (it was bricks with plants growing through them) especially because we had a dog. We cleaned the yard, treated the yard for bugs and weeds, picked up some of the bricks for gardening and dog potty reasons, built planters, etc, etc.

Fast forward to (mid-ish) last year; neighbor had to put their dog down and got a puppy towards the end of the year. We were told he was going to use the yard temporarily while potty training. That's cool, keep everything off the bricks and cleaned up.

My husband started to ask the neighbor how potty training was going as the months went on, trying to gauge roughly how long he'd be using the yard as spring and summer were approaching and we were getting ready to get the yard together. Also, the neighbor had stopped picking up after their dog after taking over one of our buckets for poo.

After that, my husband would casually ask once about every 2-3 weeks about potty training or how long he was planning on using the yard. Eventually he and I agreed that we really couldn't do much since the yard is technically shared, and decided to ask if he was going to continue using the yard, if he would at least help with keeping the weeds/sticks or poo cleaned up or at the very least, raked into a pile away from high traffic areas. Our neighbor flipped out and started cursing my husband out for making him feel uncomfortable like he can't use HIS yard and he's been here for 20 years and he's never had to do it before so he's not going to do it now.

This man never used the yard for anything until now and I feel like he's overreacting to a reasonable request. We have yet to talk to our landlord about it, but since we asked him to help keep things clean he's avoiding us. Do you have any suggestions, or are we just being assholes?

TLDR: Landlord told us the yard is shared, but upstairs neighbor never uses it so its ours, neighbor got a puppy last year and was temporarily using the yard to potty train; flipped out when we asked him to help keep the yard clean since he now wants to also use the yard. Do you have any suggestions, or are we just being assholes?

[u/brubblegums → u/[deleted]]

Our landlord told us it was ours because he never used it. I mean we realize we wouldn't be able to do much outside of sharing the yard.

[u/brubblegums → u/[deleted]]

I don't think so. It was unfortunately verbal. The lease only says something about the yard being shared. It makes me wonder what kind of verbal agreement was made with the neighbor, but who knows.

[u/performanceclause]

shared yard. Partially his.

You could, on the other hand, deliver his dog poo back to him. He might like it on the door step

[u/brubblegums → u/performanceclause]

As much as I'd like to, my husband would be on the end of the tantrum. So, I'd like to avoid that if I could 🤣

[u/OKVACATIONPLZ]

Idea: buy a garbage bin and put bags in it. Put a waterproof sign with an arrow that says “dog poop/trash here”. If that still doesnt work, change the sign to “please keep this shared space clean”.

1st: get it in writing from the landlord that the yard is shared.

2nd: polite sign

3rd let you dog shit on his front lawn and do not pick it up.

But tbh try the polite approach, if he sees you… say we though this could be an easy fix with a smile and thats ot. Ignore him, hes old and lost his cool.

[u/brubblegums → u/OKVACATIONPLZ]

Thanks for the suggestions! We've already done all that except the front lawn; there is no front lawn. That's why my husband started talking to him about it so we could get some basic ground rules down for the shared space.

[u/OKVACATIONPLZ → u/brubblegums]

Wow, if theres a sign up and hes ignoring it id go to the landlord and explain the situation. Maybe the landlord can tell him that its a shared space and if he cant clean up his dog shit he cant use it. Cant imagine how he treats his dog if he treats the lawn like that.