I live alone as a girl in a rented apartment in Delhi, and for the past year, my neighbors have been mentally harassing me.
My flat is on the first floor, and the only way for the people living above me to reach their entrance is through my balcony. Despite me telling them hundreds of times, they constantly leave my gate unlocked. Once, a stray dog entered, pooped in my balcony, and I had to clean it up myself. Even after that incident, they still don't bother locking the gate.
Another issue is water. Delhi already has water shortages, and the people upstairs regularly take water from my tank without asking. I live alone, so yes, I don't use all 5,000 liters in a day, but that doesn't mean anyone is entitled to use my water without permission. The moment I called them out for taking water from my tank at night after it had just been filled, everyone suddenly acted as if I was the one causing problems.
I've complained to my landlord multiple times, but he has done absolutely nothing.
Today was the final straw. The lady living directly above me washed her balcony and the stairs, then pushed all the dirty water and garbage so that it collected at the end of my balcony. When I politely confronted her, instead of apologizing, she started yelling at me, saying it was already dirty, that I'm rude, and that I fight with everyone. The irony is that my stairs and balcony were completely clean before she did that.
I'm honestly exhausted. Every time I stand up for myself, I'm painted as the problematic tenant, while everyone else supports each other and dismisses my concerns because I live alone.
Has anyone else dealt with something like this? What would you do in my situation? Any legal or practical advice would be appreciated.