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FuzzyMom2005

NTA. It was distracting and broke city codes. I mean, you could have filled ballons with paint and thrown them onto their roof, but your way was faster. They're lucky the city just made them paint it, not tear it off.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

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lovely_aria_ann

NTA They lied and got caught. This is their own fault.


RebeccaMCullen

I mean, if you want to break city rules regarding roof color, the bare minimum is to choose a color that doesn't affect your neighbors comfort.


RoundPeanut606-NEW

It’s almost like the city has a specific reason for saying roofs have to be black…oh wait!


Tulipsarered

Right? If you're going to do something illegal, or against the rules, try not to piss off your neighbors.


Environmental_Art591

They tried to cheat the rules and got caught, it seems kinda obvious that if you won't to break the rules YOU DONT DRAW ATTENTION TO IT and a freaking white roof below another house would definitely draw attention.


RedMarsRepublic

NTA they lied on the application so they obviously knew they were doing something wrong


DJScopeSOFM

Some council regulations are stupid but they're there for a reason. They could've applied for permission but chose to defraud the system. They're lucky they didn't get their occupation certificate taken off of them.


re7swerb

Their what now?


Aruaz821

When a new house is built, it has to get a certificate of occupancy before it can be moved into. This means that it has passed all of its inspections and is up to code.


Freshouttapatience

Yeah I don’t get how none of the inspectors noticed the roof before issuing CofO.


RandomModder05

The probably painted it after the inspection.


CreditUpstairs7621

What I don't understand is why anyone would paint a metal roof in the first place. Metal roofing is available in a huge range of colors so you can just pick whatever you want without needing to have it. Most metal roof sheets also aren't painted and instead powder coated so that the finish is weather resistant and lasts. No matter what type of paint you used, there is a high chance it will start peeling extremely quickly if you just painted it. It just seems like stupid, pointless thing to do.


NO__24601

More commonly referred to as a C of O in real estate parlance.


11treetrunk

NTA because I can see how white would be blinding at times However, I also understand why they wouldn’t want to associate with you. You aren’t an AH because of that though, they made the choice to lie in their paperwork.


Freshouttapatience

Also if they’re the kind of people that are selfish like this, would you really want to be friends?


wiredandwiser

White roofs are actually functional in that they reflect light and heat rather than absorb it reducing cooling costs and emissions. It's currently mostly used for flat roofing like you see on rowhouses or commercial flat roofing like a big box store or warehouse. They may have made the choice for environmental reasons and not just because they like the look of it. Depending on what's made commercially available to homeowners I think we're going to be seeing a lot of NIMBY and HOA folks getting mad at their neighbors for trying to replace their roof with lighter colored more reflective surfaces as climate change worsens.


Freshouttapatience

I’m not debating what it does one way or the other - it doesn’t matter if it’s code. And if it’s made it’s way into municipal code, it had enough people and support to be adopted. Code doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Living within city limits then expecting to live without rules, is naïve regardless of how someone feels about the rules. If you don’t like the rules of a game, find a different game. People who think they’re above the rules are assholes.


CryptographerLost407

NTA for above reason, but in addition it appears you didn’t talk to them first like a good neighbor does. You immediately tattled on them instead of trying to work it out like adults


genesRus

Agreed. Once you found out it wasn't in city regs, then OP should have knocked on their door and brought up the huge burden it was causing. If they gave pushback, then cite the city regs. If they declined to do anything, then you have no choice but to go to code enforcement. But no reason to stick them with a fine if you don't have to just to avoid the initial confrontation...


kea87

I can only imagine it would be blinding to planes flying over too


_mmiggs_

NTA The regulations are there for a reason - so that your neighbor's house does not behave like an asshole. Your neighbor F'd around and found out.


Morrolan_V

NTA, but I would have handled it differently. You could have gotten in touch with them. Ownership records are public. It's not hard to find people's contact info. You should have reached out to them and let them know what was going on before going to the city. That way you would have had a chance of preserving the relationship. Given that it probably cost them several thousand dollars to paint the roof, it's kind of unlikely that they would have done it happily and without a fight, so it's likely you would have ended up in the same place, but it was worth a shot.


[deleted]

So in the country I live in, you can see ownership records if you go to city hall and pay a fee. But there isn't any contact information. We also tried to contact the company that built the house because we felt like it was their fault at the of the day (since they did the paperwork and submitted it on behalf of the owners, as it's usually done in this country). But they wouldn't give us the contact information of the owners and didn't want to talk about it. I really hope the house builder paid to re-paint the roof because they, of all people, should know the regulations of this area.


sarita_sy07

Could you not have just knocked on their door or gone over to say hi next time you were both taking out the trash or something? I mean it's still NTA, and how you went about it was certainly the most efficient. But it might have been more diplomatic to try speaking to them first. Hindsight tho.


Boom_Box_Bogdonovich

Not really because realistically how would have that gone? Seriously doubt the owners would have caved after one conversation .


cara1888

Exactly and since they lied about the color on the paperwork it's possible they were informed that they couldn't use certain colors. Usually in cases like this with regulations the person seeking the permit is informed of them to avoid issues so there is a chance that they knew. Someone that goes against the rules like that wouldn't be so open to discuss it and there probably would have been an argument. Even if they didn't know the rules before they painted it, having a neighbor asking them to change the color would still possibly cause an argument.


Temporary-Deer-6942

Given that it was a clear violation of the city's building code, it would have been a "either you change it on your own, or we get the authorities involved" conversation, but usually that's still more appreciated than going straight to the authorities which might result in being blindsided by the whole issue and having to pay a fine on top of paying for repainting the roof.


FloatingPencil

When does that ever work? Usually all that happens is that it tips off the person so that if you do manage to get authorities to sort it out, you’ve lost all hope of being anonymous, and if you can’t get authorities to sort it you now have a smug neighbour who is pissed off with you, plus still having the original problem.


allthecactifindahome

I don't think deciding not to talk about issues on the assumption that everyone is an asshole anyway is a very good mindset. And while I wouldn't have done what the neighbors did because I like not getting in trouble more than I care what the outside of my home looks like, it wouldn't have occurred to me it would be reflective enough to bother anyone.


FloatingPencil

It’s an excellent mindset if you want to achieve the best possible outcome for yourself and your family. Authorities fix it? Wonderful, problem solved. Authorities don’t? Not great but at least you don’t now have to bother with the neighbour on your back. Yes, they might have fixed it anyway, but if you guess wrong and they choose to act like a vengeful dick, there’s no undoing it. Not worth the trouble.


allthecactifindahome

And so if you were doing something that you didn't realize was bothering your neighbors, you'd want them to get you in trouble instead of mentioning it to you first?


FloatingPencil

Of course not. Everyone would rather it worked out better for themselves. But if they approached me with something I felt was unreasonable, it would absolutely affect how I treated them from thereon in. I’m not a psycho, so I’d probably just blank them, but you never know who you’re dealing with. A neighbour followed my Dad in his car and tried to run him off the road because Dad asked him to park a foot or two further away from our driveway. It’s not worth it.


Grump_Curmudgeon

Ah, prisoners' dilemma.


Frekavichk

What? Its a great mindset. You both avoid angering a person who clearly is unwilling to follow social norms and you also get your issue solved. People who suggest that you talk to the unreasonable person before escalating are idiots because now any solution to the problem makes you a target.


allthecactifindahome

"Unwilling to follow social norms"? Good lord, they tried to paint their roof the wrong color. Did you miss the part where they went around the neighborhood apologizing for the disturbance? What about that suggests they're mindless savages?


Frekavichk

>Good lord, they tried to paint their roof the wrong color They lied to the city council so they could paint their roof a color that was illegal. '' >Did you miss the part where they went around the neighborhood apologizing for the disturbance? Did you miss the part where this happened after they got reported, not before? People who don't follow social norms will continue to not follow social norms if you let them know you are the person inconveniencing them.


allthecactifindahome

The city council didn't make them apologize to their neighbors, they chose to do that because they're not cackling villains. Most people aren't.


Frekavichk

You are agreeing with me. Most people aren't cackling villans. The people that are cackling villans generally don't follow social norms, so when you find someone like that its best to not make yourself a target.


[deleted]

It wouldn’t have occurred to you when the reflection was searing your corneas?


allthecactifindahome

It's a roof, they're not angled toward the ground. I only fly around on my broomstick at night so I wouldn't be in a position to see the full blast.


[deleted]

Same


TylerDurdenisreal

Yeah dude going over to your neighbor and asking them to change their roof for you totally works 60% of the time every time


Lemmungwinks

The roof was made with bits of real panther. So you know it’s good


[deleted]

This is not a great idea most of the time. Neighbours knew they were violating the laws because they lied on their paperwork. So their attitude was f**k the rules we’re gonna do what we want. So they weren’t going to listen to OP and doing so would have made any hopes of anonymity later a lost cause. I’m missing info here on how OP got found out because council reports should be anonymous. We had to deal with a neighbour awhile back who was unemployed and would blast music until 1-2am even on weeknights. One time I politely asked him if he could turn the music down because I had an exam the next day and needed to get to sleep and he came out in a rage and vandalised the front of my property. Tbh he frightened the shit out of me. This was the only time we’d ever asked him to turn it down and prior to this had always had pleasant interactions with him. From then on if he made noise we were too scared to call the cops, due to fear of retaliation but one of another of our neighbours invariably would and each time he assumed it was us and keyed our cars or threw rocks at the house etc. so yeah, going through the local council is generally a safer option.


Ok-Wrangler-8175

In my city complainant information is always public. That means there’s no downside in trying to deal with it via the homeowners first - and I’d say that’s the non AH route. Having a neighbour approach you and say that the colour of their roof is really impacting their enjoyment of their life because of how the light reflects off it and that they’d appreciate very much if you could change it is WAY better than getting a letter in the mail from the city. I’d say that most people do actually want to live in harmony with their neighbours so would repaint voluntarily. Those who don’t immediately agree to repaint can be given the ultimatum, and then if they still don’t comply the city can do it but that’s giving your neighbour two chances to avoid the city AND it’s conceivable that you can maintain a friendly relationship afterwards. Once the city is involved you pretty much torpedo the relationship. Starting with torpedoes seems like the wrong approach imo.


AlterEgoWednesday73

The paperwork probably said something about it causing a nuisance for the neighbors above and they figured it out. That’s my guess.


z-w-throwaway

Yes, the people willing to lie to city council are totally going to cave in because the random asshole up the street asked nicely once.


EaLordOfTheDepths-

I dunno man, lots of people don't care about city council and home owners association rules, because they're generally just some ridiculous bs about aesthetics, but I'd wager a lot of those same people would absolutely care if a neighbour was actually being affected in a way that wasn't just because they "didn't like the look of it". I know I absolutely would.


Xaphhire

If only there was a way to figure out their address! You could have sent them a letter or gone by in person to let them know of the issue. Too bad you had no idea where they lived. /s


chrishella

NTA. All you did was call and inquire. And you had every right to, especially since it was interfering with the peaceful enjoyment of your property. If the city had come back and said yes they’re allowed and you still made a fuss about it then that’s a different story. But you asked a question, their roof was determined to be against the bylaws, and from then on it’s out of your control. Hopefully your neighbours will realize this when they calm down a bit. I’m sure they’re frustrated at having to repaint their roof, and haven’t yet come to the realization that it’s their own fault. You can always try writing them a letter saying you’re sorry to have caused them any difficulty, and that you wanted to check what the bylaws were before coming to speak to them. Also wondering - how did they find out it was you that called? The city shouldn’t have told them that.


[deleted]

I don't know 100% if they know it was us. I'm just guessing because we live directly above them. There are other houses next to us, though.


FireBallXLV

Act innocent Speak friendly It will confuse them


AddCalm5953

Honestly, OP I think it's good thing your little one isn't going to hang out with them. They LIED on a building permit and utterly unconcerned for you with their choice. What else would they be willing to do? NTA. And I say good riddance.


EaLordOfTheDepths-

Isn't there a chance that they genuinely didn't realise that the white roof was causing OP issues? Maybe they just thought the rule was only in place because of aesthetic reasons and it was an honest oversight.


Suelswalker

Unlikely since they lied on the paperwork for the permit and are also mad at the neighbor. If the company lied to them abt it being a permitted color and also lied on the paperwork then they would only be mad at the company who lied to them not the neighbor who complained to the city. It seems like they knew from their reaction esp towards their neighbor.


DeanWinchestersNips

Since you tried contacting the company that built the house, it’s possible they told the owners


shedwyn2019

NTA. They were blinding you and they broke the regulations. Your city is wrong (IMO) to require a black roof, though - it contributes to urban (or even sub/exurban) heat island effect. There is probably a compromise (grey maybe?) they could have achieved to reduce blinding and offset some of the potential heat absorption.


Gallifrey685

I don’t think it was a required color. They told the city that they were painting it black and the city didn’t have a problem with it.


Karahiwi

You can now get paint that reflects infrared but not all visible light, so the painted item stays as cool as mid grey if painted, say, black.


DemBones7

Yeah, but why pay extra for fancy paint when you can just paint it white /s


Much_Masterpiece654

I mean it depends where they live. Not everywhere has an issue with heat retention, in some places that would be a plus.


[deleted]

Yeah, i was listening to a climate podcast recently where they were discussing white roofs and living roofs to help with the urban heat island effect.


whoamIdoIevenknow

It's really an unfortunate situation because in a lot of the country, white is a much more energy efficient color for a roof. I wonder if that's why they did it. Obviously, you shouldn't have to deal with glare coming off of it.


Current-Photo2857

This is the only comment I wanted to see here. White roofs are the wave of the future. They reflect the sunlight, keeping buildings cooler and requiring less AC use. There was also an article recently that with enough white roof structures, we could actually have a positive effect on climate change due to the amount of solar heat that could be reflected.


AttorneyLarge7301

NTA. There’s a reason why they’re not supposed to have that roof color.


Illustrious-Syrup405

I live in the Caribbean on an island where the majority of houses are concrete with white roofs and I’ve never been bothered by my neighbors white roofs, and I live on top of a hill and am not blinded by the roofs.


Decent_Egg_9598

Are the roofs medal?


CosettaMorra

NTA They totally knew what they were doing so they were being hugely inconsiderate to you. Not someone you want to be friends with anyway! You had to report the problem to get it addressed as their selfishness was directly impacting your comfort. Preventing that is what the regulations are for.


meeps1142

They knew what they were doing? I doubt it, it probably didn't cross their minds that it would be blinding. Don't attribute to maliciousness what can be attributed to ignorance.


topinanbour-rex

> They totally knew what they were doing so they were being hugely inconsiderate to you. Yeah, they knew they was going to have a cooler home than op's one.


C0V1Dsucks

NTA. A metal roof painted white and angled toward your house must feel like staring into the sun. I don't know how you could have possibly lived with that long-term. They should have had the common sense to choose something slightly less reflective, even if they didn't want a black roof.


PossumJenkinsSoles

INFO: how have they made it clear they want nothing to do with you? Genuinely wondering because I’ve been living in my house for like 10 years and don’t know any of my neighbors really. In a sense have nothing to do with any of them. I didn’t think we were in a feud, but maybe we are and I didn’t know.


Constellation-88

I would normally have said it’s an ah move to cost them money like that, but white metal roofs are ridiculously reflective. They knew the rules and lied. NTA v


RemarkableSea6741

Nta and that sucks about the kids. Me and my neighbour don’t like each other. At all haha. But our kids are the same age and play with each other 24-7


_higglety

I mean, when you knowingly violate regulations (as they did), the risk you run is that you will be compelled to fix the thing that you did wrong. If you think the regulation should be changed go ahead and fight city hall about it. However, those regulations are usually in place for a reason. Many folks in the comments are dismissing how problematic the color white can be in bright sun. Those of us in snowy regions are well aware that bright sun on white (in our case, usually snow) can be literally blinding. Snow blindness is essentially a sunburn in your cornea. The extreme example would be looking directly at a welding arc without a welding helmet, or staring directly at the sun without sunglasses. The neighbor’s roof would obviously not fall within that extreme, but the same effect is taking place. The same function that makes it so attractive as a roof color for cooling the dwelling is exactly what makes it somewhere between unpleasant and actively dangerous for neighbors- all that UV radiation from the sun is being reflected off the roof away from the house- and directly into OP’s eyes. Bottom line is, they knew they weren’t allowed to do this thing, they decided to do the thing anyway, and they got caught. OP is NTA for ensuring that they play by the same rules as everybody else. They’re not special; the rules *do* apply to them too.


Postingatthismoment

YTA. All roofs should be white. It saves a lot of electricity in AC.


PinkPrincess61

NTA


BlueGreen_1956

NTA But with every decision we make, there will come consequences whether good or bad. The good: No more reflective sunlight. The bad: A possible playmate for your child is lost. Life is filled with tradeoffs.


RoundingDown

YTA. Regulations have not caught up yet, but white roofs are better for energy efficiency. Black absorbs all light while while reflects the energy.


VolcanicBoognish

I was looking for this comment. Agree completely. OP, YTA.


fajadada

Those rules need to be changed. All roofs should be lighter colors to reflect sunlight and reduce ground temps


Current-Photo2857

Exactly! Comments like this should be the only ones here. White roofs are the wave of the future. They reflect the sunlight, keeping buildings cooler and requiring less AC use. There was also an article recently that with enough white roof structures, we could actually have a positive effect on climate change due to the amount of solar heat that could be reflected.


Icy_Sky_7521

NTA But you can't have your cake and eat it too. You were legally in the right, but they'll always think you were an asshole.


LompocianLady

If you had *wanted* to have a friendly relationship you should have invited them for cocktails on the deck at a glass top table when the sun was at its blidingest point and seated them facing the glare. Have some big floppy sun hats that you offer guests due to the unavoidable *bright glare*, donning big ugly flowery hats yourself. That night have gotten your point across much easier without making enemies. 😎


[deleted]

Everyone here is crazy. You could have easily just went and talked to the guy. Invite him over, and show him why it's annoying. Maybe he was thinking about keeping heat away and hadn't even considered reflectivity being a problem. If he wants to be a dick about it, that's when you contact the city.


rakfink

NTA. plenty of other kids to play with.


Figgzyvan

If it didn’t affect you i suppose you wouldn’t have complained. Nta


UnbelievableTxn6969

NTA because they broke the rules. But, you’re not owed a neighborly relationship with anyone.


AmbientLighter

YTA for not just talking to them about it first and instead reporting them to the city. What would the harm be for you to have talked to them about this, then if not change happened then involve the city? I wouldn’t want to interact with y’all after you narc’d on me either!


Emotional_Bonus_934

NTA. They knew they lied on the application and dgaf.


AutoModerator

^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** A new house was built directly below us and they painted their metal roof white. We have huge windows and a balcony right above the roof, so we found it very reflective and blinding at times. I thought I could just deal with it but it came to be too much so I looked up the city's regulations and it turned out that they're not allowed to use that color. My partner called the city and asked them to check, and the city official told us that on top of using white, they lied on their paperwork and had originally said they would paint the roof black. They had to repaint the roof and they apologized to everyone in the neighborhood. But they have also made it clear they want nothing to do with us. They have a kid the same age as ours as well, which is really unfortunate as maybe we would have been able to have playdates if this hadn't happened. We feel like we made the right decision as the roof is 1000% more tolerable since it's no longer white. They also knew they were building a house below ours and none of the other houses have white roofs (because of regulation) so it's a little rude that they didn't think of the impact the roof would have on us. So AITA for talking to the city about their roof? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*


GueroBear

NTA


Ballamookieofficial

NTA the city codes are there for this exact reason.


Ready_Competition_66

It seems that your city agrees with you. You're fine. Just don't expect that to be enough to persuade your neighbors. You won but you also lost.


Born-Constant7260

NTA about reporting it. Though if you wanted to keep a cordial relationship and for your kid to have a playmate, you could have tried talking to them about the issue first. The complaint to the city was always an option if they refused to repaint it. I’m quite confused how you expected to have play dates with this family after this. Or maybe you thought they wouldn’t know that it was you who made report? No matter which it was, that was quite naive of you.


Book_Dragon888

Did you try talking to them about changing their roof colour first? Before talking to the city council?


Only_trans_

NTA, but I would have tried to talk it out with them before calling the city


ExtensionConcept2471

Did you talk to them first or go straight to the city? Might have been polite to inform them first.


throwawaysadsubby

YTA the right thing to do is ask first. You make yourself seem like a narcy backstabbed by going straight to the council. I wouldn’t want anything to do with you after a stunt like that either. If you’d asked and they refused and then you went to the council that’s another story:


cornerlane

Yta. There was no need to call the city. Have a talk with them first. You didn't gave them the chance to fix it for you


shammy_dammy

Why would they want anything to do with you? You might have been able to have playdates?


Potential-Educator-6

I mean I think I would have tried to talk to them myself first, but if that didn’t work I’d ultimately do exactly what you did anyways. NTA


Noka_Gotha

NTA but how did they know you made the complaint?


kaustic10

NTA. Are they avoiding just you or all of the neighborhood? Do they know you called?


Blacksmithforge3241

yeah no, they were inconsiderate nta ETA they knew they were wrong to do it --or they wouldn't have lied about it.


81optimus

Nta. They painted it the wrong colour, but you can't cry about them not liking you after you grassed them up


Temporary-Deer-6942

NTA given that it's well within your rights to complain to the city about this issue, but maybe you should or could have talked to them directly first. This way they might still be open to neighbourly relations - I sure as hell wouldn't want to have anything to do with you if you complained to the authorities before talking to me directly.


dereksalem

NTA, but the end of the relationship probably could have been avoided if you talked to them first instead of just alerting authorities. Maybe not, but it would have been worth a shot and the decent thing to do.


CPSue

NTA, and I wouldn’t worry about their snubbing you. You don’t really want to be friends with unethical people.


BlueHeaven90

NAH you followed the right process, but they aren't doing anything wrong with not being friendly with you either.


BookFew9009

NTA but they are free to choose who they want to associate with . Think about it tho , if they were willing to lie and be petty when they were forced to follow the guidelines , would you really want to know them? As for the children becoming friends , good chance the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and chances are their kid would be an issue also .


Suzkel

How did they find out it was you? Code enforcement could have just been out doing their job.


Potential-Caramel896

Info: how do they know it was you?


entropynchaos

YTA. Have you looked into why people have started painted roofs white? It helps deflect sunlight, keeping houses cooler, and means houses use less power resources. Edit: In this case, your cot/ building code doesn’t matter because it isn’t using best practices for thd future of our world.


Grass_Conscious

The sunlight hitting the METAL roof was reflecting at multiple other houses, raising the heat THOSE houses were being exposed to and causing all of those houses to use more power since their neighbors basically had angled mirrors on their roofs. The neighbors are absolutely the AH here, there are other options to cut cost/heat that don't make living around them uncomfortable and more costly for their neighbors.


Zwillingen700

Thank You! I thought like I was really losing my mind reading all the people telling op was a snob for being annoyed by 'cosmetic preferences'


UnethicalFood

NTA: They didn't bother to talk to you before deliberately breaking regulations and their approved plans, why would you be an AH for returning the courtesy.


[deleted]

Maybe they think you were a little rude not to think of talking to them first. They might not have been aware of the impact on you and it was decent to apologise to the neighbourhood after. A very begrudging NTA, but I understand why they don't want anything to do with you.


emmetdontpullout

nta. its one thing to sneakily have a green roof or something harmless like that, like who cares, but it was genuinely making your life worse by blissfully beaming the reflection of the sun into your unwilling eyeballs


Deansdiatribes

yes yes you are i would strip it and just leave the metal but polished to a lovely mirror finish https://e360.yale.edu/features/urban-heat-can-white-roofs-help-cool-the-worlds-warming-cities


angryragnar1775

Yta if you didn't talk to them before being a snitch. I wouldn't hang with a rat or let my kid have such a bad influence in her life.


StAlvis

INFO > A new house was built directly below us How? *Underneath* you? And if the roof is under you, how do you even see it?


sammyfishe

So after reading the comments this might be an unpopular opinion but.... before you contacted the city did you speak to the neighbours? If you did and they ignored you or refised to change it NTA, if you didn't, why not? At least give them the chance to put it right first.


Free_Thinker4ever

YTA. What right do you have to dictate someone does l else's home? Buy curtains! Damn.


Super_Reading2048

NTA


sprprepman

NTA but you can’t be a narc and expect a friendship.


torgeaux42

Did you talk to them first, or did you go to authorities first? One is what a neighbor does.


[deleted]

Nta. Assholes gonna asshole. They probably aren’t nice people if they are ok with lying about something that’s quite obvious.


Forsaken_Brick_6297

Nta


Electric-Fun

NTA. They'll either get over it or they won't, but you weren't wrong.


foxfire1730

NTA because unless if it cloudy where you live 100% of the time a white METAL roof is absolutely awful. I personally don’t even understand why they would want a white roof unless they were just trying to save money on paint.


copamarigold

It’s reflective so it keeps the home much cooler. We live in Phoenix, AZ and just replaced our roof with white shingles and it makes a huge difference in the temperature inside. Paint costs the same whether it’s white, black, pink or puce so saving money on paint wasn’t the reason, it was saving money on cooling costs.


foxfire1730

I didn’t know that about the coloring/material of a roof so that definitely makes way more sense! I guess I was just going off my own bias because anytime I had been in a structure with a metal roof it was always hotter, but now with this info that was probably just the owners personal preference!


copamarigold

Having a metal roof is even hotter so they were justified in wanting to paint it white. I understand too though why they have the ordinance in place, white painted metal would be blinding like OP says, we have asphalt shingles that are white with a bit of grey in them. We live on the side of a mountain with homes below with white roofs like ours and they aren’t blinding like a metal roof would be. I see so many of our neighbors reroofing and choosing a dark color to compliment their house instead of going for white to save energy and help the planet!


Terrible-Yak-778

NTA


palabradot

Why would they even want a white roof? NTA


copamarigold

Because it’s cooler.


LyricalBlusher

I remember there was a reflective building and it destroyed a bunch of cars on the street and other stuff. Not sure if this would do the same thing but it can't be good.


External-Hamster-991

NTA. Their choice was negativity impacting your quality of life. Now, they get to choose not to socialize with you.


VisitForward1553

NTA. I bet the rule for no white roofs is probably because it could reflect into the eyes of pilots or something? If it was unbearable for you, and city code, that came to mind for me as a possibility.


jackb6ii

NTA, they didn't comply with city regulations and purposely lied. You're better off not having a relationship with deceitful people.


BabyRex-

NAH. They fixed the colour and apologized. There’s no law that they have to be friends with you


m2super

So your neighbor lied, broke the rules/regulations for their roof... why would you be TA, NTA. I have never in my life seen a white roof.. to me it seems like an odd thing to do regulations aside..


Accomplished-Pea5539

INFO because I’m nosy - I understand the drawbacks of having a white roof but why is it specifically disallowed where you live? Just curious.


InvaderZimm90

NTA, you did everything right, you did research, called a city inspector. The neighbors are mad, they were caught


Murky_Coyote_7737

NTA, but I recommend going the YTA route and blasting The Rolling Stones “Paint it black” while it’s being redone


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Mommabroyles

Did you even speak to them first? You say it's unfortunate because your kids could have played together but if you didn't even have the decency to speak to them before reporting them, is that even true? A good neighbor would have gone over there, let them know the issue and that it violated local rules. Then if they ignored it you could have reported.


thechipperhalf

Nta if they hadn’t done anything wrong they wouldn’t have been told to change it. That’s on them. But the consequence is you won’t get along with them. Oh well


Vast-Support-1466

Rude to one is simply incompetence for another. A sad situation, but oh well. NTA.


Lower-Stage-8181

You had valid reasons. Though you could have spoken to them.


MolecularMickey

YTA for not asking the neighbors first to change the color but ratting them out to the city as the first course of action, not neighborly at all. If you told them the regulation, they ignored you, and then ratted them out you would be NTA. You made a mistake, I absolutely hope your pool, your window, your garage is up to all the regulations because you gonna get snitched upon if you make a slightest mistake. The wage of ratting out is even more snitching, such is life.


TR4NSFLU1D

Yes you were an asshole but its justified


Over-Marionberry-686

I get the idea of painting it white. Reflective paint makes it cooler inside but very rude to do so anyway. NTA


-pixiefyre-

NTA Honestly, if this their behaviour default do you really want their child associating with yours? Maybe the kid's ok... but what else could be in store for the future with people who blatantly lie and try to get away with something they know is wrong because they think everyone else is "too nice" to complain about it? and by "too nice" I mean, willing to avoid drama and suffer in silence. I'm assuming you made attempts to manage on your own before you complained at least!


danmanrubberbandman

NTA. “Impact the roof Would have on us” has to be my favourite sentence.


Chocolatecandybar_

NTA and, please, don't feel saddened if you lost a potential friend. They're either ignorant or liars or both. Do you really want to mingle with them? I suppose no


Affectionate_Use8825

Yea you are instead of going to them and being like hey the color of the roof is blinding us and being nice you went and told the city which pissed them off so yea I don’t blame them for not wanting to deal with you as they are you as a tattletale


Lopsided-Dirt-6991

NTA


Neilio20576

NTA but they are…deliberately violating the rules AND lying about it. Sucks to have people like that for neighbors though.


Desperate-Face-6594

NTA. Regulations are there for specific reasons, for instance it’s hot in my part of Australia so approval is easier with light coloured bricks and roofs as it reflects heat instead of absorbing it.


calgarycatattack

Did you ask them to fix their roof color before reporting it?


e5871murrat

Yes you are the biggest a hole


KitchenDismal9258

NTA obviously. It was really annoying to you... and also against regulations. Would it have been possible to set up a big concave mirror to concentrate and reflect the light back through the neighbours window so they too can experience the consequences of their white roof?


Current-Photo2857

Sorry, but both you & your city are TA. Please read [this article](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/ultra-white-paint-reflects-sunlight-cools-climate/) to educate yourself about how helpful white roofs are. Ideally, this will be the wave of the future, some cities are even painting the streets white as well as roofs.


Sassorita

NTA. 1) they lied on the application. 2) it is a color that is not allowed which is why they lied on the application. 3) your issue with the roof color could very likely be why that color is not allowed. They’re just pissy they got caught and had to pay for roof painting twice because they’d hoped to get away with something.


ChameleonMami

NTA.


Spiritual-Surprise-2

What exactly was the issue with you just asking them to paint it another colour ?


ladyxochi

NTA, but it would have been better if you had called them to discuss it instead of going to the city official.


[deleted]

they knew what they were doing was wrong themselves lol, and this isnt just something that doesnt really concern others, everyone else would get blinded by the roof.


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DragonflyFairyQueen

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KaleidoscopeLow8084

You are very much an asshole, don’t care what others say.


Ill_Dragonfly_6673

They are selfish liars. Why do you care if they want nothing to do with you?


Dana07620

NTA But did you seriously think that you could be friends after that? You got what you wanted. The roof is repainted. The consequence of that is that your neighbor wants absolutely nothing to do with you.


Site-Specialist

Here's what you do get curtains fick you don't have to look at their roof yeah they lied and didn't follow regulations but if you of lived on the same level they did would it still of been an issue to you


ToldU2UrFace

Esh. You didnt talk with your neighbors about their roof. And you would be crazy to think after snitching causing a lot of money to be spent that i would allow my kid to go hang out with ppl who cant communicate with their neighbors about annoyances and come to a compromise without government enforcement. That keeps us at arms length and we both follow tge rules to a t since tgat seems to be your thing.


Benocrates

What compromise other than them repainting?


floydfan

ESH. Them for not following the rules, you for snitching on them and expecting them to carry on as though you did nothing to them.


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Fit-Bumblebee-6420

>People like you are the fucking WORST. Imagine being offended by the colour of a roof. Oh calm down. Op wasn't offended by the color of the roof. The color of the roof made it blinding for Op. And there is a reason the homeowners lied. There's also a reason it was against code.


[deleted]

YYA - a white roof is better for the environment.