A woman claims she can’t open her curtains without seeing her neighbours sunbathing or playing sports naked in their garden – and now she doesn’t know whether to complain or not
A woman has sparked a debate after admitting she is fed up with her neighbours’ unusual garden habit – claiming she struggles to open her curtains without seeing a naked person outside. The homeowner explained how she lives on a new-build estate where houses are positioned close together, meaning it’s easy to see into surrounding gardens.
While she accepts people should be able to enjoy their own homes, she says her neighbours have taken things a step further by regularly spending time outside completely naked. Taking to Mumsnet, she asked whether she would be unreasonable to say something – or whether she simply needs to “live and let live”. She explained: “Our house is on a new build estate and the houses are pretty close together. It’s fairly easy to see into neighbours’ gardens because the trees etc are not well established yet.”
According to the woman, her neighbours don’t just enjoy a private dip in their hot tub, but have also hosted gatherings where guests are reportedly naked in full view of surrounding homes.
She added: “Am I being unreasonable to say my neighbours shouldn’t be naked in their garden? They are often out in the garden totally naked taking photos of themselves.
“They have parties quite often and it’s not uncommon for them and friends to be out in the garden naked, using the hot tub etc.”
She admitted she was unsure whether she was being too judgemental, asking other users: “Am I being a killjoy? Seems excessive to me.” Her post quickly divided opinion, with some people telling her to ignore it, while others agreed the behaviour sounded unusual.
One person wrote: “I think it’s fair enough to be naked in your own garden if your neighbours are literally having to peer through the shrubbery to see you. Not so much if it’s literally open and obvious.”
Another said: “Live and let live. Why are you bothered and why do you keep looking?”
A third suggested: “Give the trees plenty of food to help them grow. Maybe you could put some fake ivy on top of the fence in the short term.”
Someone else added: “Sitting in their hot tub naked is pretty normal, having parties with lots of naked people or walking about naked more generally is odd to me – but it’s in their garden so up to them.”
Can I sunbath naked in my own garden?
While it’s perfectly legal to sunbath naked in your garden here in the UK, you could get in trouble for causing “distress or alarm” to others – as this is an offence under Section 66 of Sexual Offences Act 2003.
The Crown Prosecution Service says: “In the case of naturism a balance needs to be struck between the naturist’s right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress.”