It’s great to be neighborly when you can, but sometimes neighbors have pretty bizarre requests.

What would you do if your neighbor asked you to prohibit your kids from playing basketball in the afternoons? Would you comply or refuse?

In this story, one dad is in that exact situation, and he even gets legal advice on how to respond to his elderly neighbor who is complaining about the noise when the kids play basketball.

Keep reading for all the details.

AITA for letting my kids play basketball in my driveway during non quiet hours?

About 3 weeks ago I (50m) and my wife (46f) put up a basketball hoop in my driveway for my 12f and 10f children to practice basketball (they play on basketball teams). I live in an HOA and checked the CC&Rs prior , found nothing in there restricting this.

Last week I got the following text:

“Jack”, respectfully, may we get basketball quiet hours from 4-6pm on weekends and 4:30-6:30 on weekdays? The constant bouncing of the ball is very disturbing of our senior rest time in the late afternoon. Thanks for considering. “John”

Here’s how he responded…

After again checking the county code and CC&Rs and consulting with my sister and friend (both attorneys), I wrote the following response a few days later:

“John”, I’ve considered and discussed your request with my wife. While we want to be good neighbors and have met your prior requests, your current request for “quiet hours” during the late afternoon is unreasonably restrictive.

In reading the County Noise code section (Noise Ordinance) and the CC&Rs, it appears that quiet hours as defined in the County code are 10pm-7am M-F and 10pm-9am Sat-Sun.

The CC&Rs document is silent on additional quiet hours beyond county code.

OP offered some more context and even advice.

You’re asking for a restriction on their prime playtime between school and dinner for your senior rest time.

I’m somewhat sympathetic to your dilemma, since I work from home mostly. During business hours, I hear all manner of .

I have found a set of noise canceling headphones very essential and effective.

My children certainly don’t play basketball daily and while I have not measured the sound pressure level inside the house yet, I have a hard time with thinking it approaches anywhere near 55 dBA limit as defined in the County Noise Ordinance. Thank you for your understanding.

Here’s how the neighbor responded…

Fairly quickly, that night I received this response:

Wow, “Jack”….Your response is really over the top. We were simply asking for some neighborly consideration, and certainly not expecting a legal brief in response.

The noises you describe do happen, are sporadic, and cease. The basketball is a constant bouncing on concrete under our bedroom and living areas, which is a completely different experience.

Frankly, we were surprised the court was installed without the simple kindness of a conversation as our lot lines are very minimal. The impact to our home enjoyment is substantial, and your suggestion that we live in headphones at the behest of your basketball whims is ludicrous.

They sound entitled.

We are shocked at your unneighborly response, which is lacking in basic kindness.

Consideration for the fact that we are over 70 and need some quiet periods to rest in our home is what we were seeking, as well as open rapport so that we may continue to enjoy our neighborhood together.

The past 12 plus years have been a very pleasant experience for us. We wrongly assumed that you simply didn’t realize the impact on our living space from your sport court and were opening a dialogue.

OP could just as easily claim that the 70+ neighbors aren’t being considerate of his children and their schedule, that the afternoon hours is the only time they have a chance to play basketball.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who got creative with his parking after his neighbors started using his extra spot without asking.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person is on OP’s side.

Another person points out that this is the only time the kids could play basketball.

This is funny!

Another person knows how annoying basketball hoops can be.

I guess I’ve never lived close enough to anyone with a basketball hoop to know if the sound is annoying or not. I remember playing basketball in my driveway when I was a kid, but our houses were spread out enough that I highly doubt it bothered anyone. We also didn’t live in an HOA.

Senior rest hours are not a thing. The neighbor will have to find a different time to rest.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.