Most Popular Housing Complaints Among Neighbors

Complaints about dogs, cats and parking top the list of neighborhood complaints discussed on the Nextdoor app, according to an analysis of comments by Regional Foundation Repair.

Keywords such as “barking” and “barking complaint” are particularly popular. Noisy and excessive barking disrupts work, sleep and relaxation. It can also cause annoyance and strain relationships between neighbors.

Stray and feral cats are another common complaint. Due to their outside nature, cats often freely roam around yards and streets, finding places to hide where neighbors don’t want them to be. This results in messes, damaged property and litters of stray, abandoned kittens left wandering neighborhoods.

Along with discussions about animals come complaints about poop. Waste from stray animals or animals with carefree owners goes uncleaned, causing stinky streets and annoyed neighbors. This combined with other trash makes foul smells another popular complaint.
Parking is another hotly discussed topic among neighbors, including struggles to find a parking spot, complaints about stolen spots, construction and other road/parking obstacles.

While parking is a problem in many cities, Philadelphia ranks No.4 for cities where neighbors complain the most about it. Philly also ranks No.9 for cities with the most construction complaints and No. 10 for cities where neighbors complain most about traffic.

Apps like Nextdoor and neighborhood discussions “help build a community with their array of topics,” RFR states. These topics can be good or bad, but they result in a sense of community and connection.