My neighbor's motion sensor light points directly at my bedroom window and turns on every time a cat walks past and I have not slept past 4am in three months.

Homeowner NFH

I want to be clear that the light itself is not the problem — I completely understand why someone would want a security light, I have no issue with that in principle. The problem is the placement. The sensor is angled in a way that covers not just his driveway and front path, which is its obvious purpose, but also a wide arc that includes the large tree at the edge of our properties, the strip of grass between our houses, and unfortunately my bedroom window which is on the ground floor facing that direction. The tree and the grass strip are apparently very popular with the local cat population between approximately 3am and 6am. Every single time a cat — or apparently a hedgehog, I've seen at least two at this point — moves through that area the light blazes on and directly illuminates my bedroom. I have blackout curtains but they don't seal completely at the edges and even the light coming around the frame is enough to wake me. I knocked and spoke to my neighbor about two months ago. He was polite and said he'd look at adjusting the angle. He did not adjust the angle. I knocked again three weeks later. He said he'd "try to sort it." Same situation. Last week I sent a written note with a photograph I'd taken from inside my room showing the light effect and asked if we could find a solution together. He hasn't responded. I'm not angry at my neighbour, I'm just genuinly exhausted and running out of patient approaches.

Posted Mar 5, 2026, 7:57 PM UTC

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