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There's a paranoid schizophrenic living in my apartment building. Is there anything I can do?
He said "I'm MI5" so I just said "cool man" t… I was stepping out of my flat today, and a guy in a ski mask jogged up to me. I'm fairly tall and built so I wasn't threatened, but I was still on guard.
He said "I'm MI5" so I just said "cool man" then he pulled out his phone and showed me a JPEG of a page of different badges and said "see this badge? I'm MI5" and I said "okay man that's cool."
Then he walked with me to the exit door talking about his mission and all that; and when I tried to leave but he blocked me and said "I'm the head of the police, why are you following me? You stepped out when I stepped out, who are you? You're part of the IRA we've been watching you." So I just said "I'm just trying to leave, I don't know you" and he pointed at my Levi's jacket and said "why are you wearing our clothes? I'm Jewish why are you wearing our clothes?" (Levi is a Jewish name) so I just said "okay I'm going to go back to my flat now" and went back. Then I left five minutes later and walked past him talking to a guy in the car park about how he was the king of England and that guy was wearing the mark of the beast (Adidas logo).
My mum (who lives in the same building but a different flat) says she's seen him as well. The most notable time being when he ran up to a delivery truck and slammed his fist on its window. He was yelling at the driver about how his (the schizophrenic's, not the driver's) initials were on the license plate, that he was part of the CIA and that the driver needed to fuck off.
Is there anything I can do about this? I'm sure the answer is that there's very little I can do, and it'll be one of those "we can't address him until he's done something" situations, but of course by then it'll be too late.
I'm actually moving out of that flat soon, but my mum is still there, and I of course don't want anyone else who lives there to be in danger either.
Thank you!!
Polo or Adidas, it's always the logo with these guys. If your mum's in a council or housing association flat, she should ask the estate office if there's a tenancy enforcement officer. They can serve him with a warning about harassment of other residents, which gets the paper trail going without needing a full mental health section. The council's anti-social behaviour team is also worth a call, they handle stuff that's not quite criminal but still makes life miserable for everyone else. She can report it online on the council website, which is often faster than waiting on hold for 101.
fwiw if your mum's near a decent sized mosque or synagogue, sometimes their community outreach people have good relationships with local mental health teams and can fast-track stuff. not sure what area you're in but some of the bigger ones in london have a social worker on retainer basically
also worth checking if there's a local Mind or Rethink drop-in nearby, they do peer support and usually know exactly which borough teams actually respond vs just take notes. your mum could pop in for a chat without even giving a name, just to get the lay of the land
the ski mask thing is the bit that gets me tbh. if he's wearing that regularly and blocking exits, that's already past the "just eccentric" line. your mum should def get a chain lock like the other person said, and maybe a cheap door wedge for when she's inside. they're like a fiver at Wilko and stop even a solid push from opening the door
yeah that's unsettling. the council's mental health team is the right call but honestly in london the crisis line (0800 023 4650) can sometimes get someone out faster than 101. they're the nhs one for mental health emergencies. i'd tell your mum to call them and mention the ski mask and the blocking your exit specifically, that's a bit beyond just delusional chit-chat.
also worth flagging to the building's managing agent or landlord. if he's a tenant they might have a duty of care to other residents. some of the bigger housing associations round here have a community safety officer who can mediate. not a guarantee but worth a shot.
your mum could also pop into the local police station in person if there's one nearby. the desk officers are usually more switched on than the 101 call handlers. just for a quiet word so they know he's on their radar. stay safe
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What are some innovative ways to anonymously compare rental prices in a city?
SpareRoom's "rooms wanted" ads are underrated for this. people post what they're currently paying alongside what they want next, so you can scrape a rough sense of going rates by postcode without anyone knowing you looked. it skews young and flatshare heavy tho, so not much use if you're after 2-beds in zone 2.
Another one is just the depozit or tenancy deposit scheme data. not public-facing, but your council's housing officer can tell you median rents from deposit registrations if you email them under FOI. takes weeks, but its proper anon and nobody clocks u.
Rightmove and Zoopla only show asking rents, which are often 10 to 15 percent above what a place actually goes for, so they're a poor benchmark. The trick I've used is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which breaks things down to borough level and is genuinely anonymous since it's aggregate data, no listing or account needed. For something more granular, the London Renters Union runs a rent reporting tool where you submit what you're paying with your postcode and it maps it against others nearby, though the coverage is patchy outside the inner boroughs.
the openrent "rent check" thing is decent for zones 3-4 where the unions tool barely reaches. also worth checking the london.gov.uk planning portal for new build applications, they list "affordable" and market rent figures per unit in the viability assessments, which is basically the developer telling the council what they expect to charge. bit of a faff to dig through but its public, anonymous & nobody knows ur looking