{"id":1005,"date":"2026-11-07T13:02:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T13:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005"},"modified":"2026-11-07T13:02:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T13:02:48","slug":"my-neighbors-secretly-used-my-hot-tub-for-a-year-so-i-taught-them-a-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005","title":{"rendered":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our hot tub had been sitting covered and almost untouched for nearly four months when our neighbor, Lisa, appeared at the front door and asked us to keep the noise down.
\nAt first, I thought I had misunderstood her.<\/p>\n

My husband, Tom, and I hadn\u2019t even been home the previous Sunday. We had driven three hours away to visit his parents for the weekend.<\/p>\n

So there had been no music coming from our backyard.<\/p>\n

No people laughing.<\/p>\n

No late-night gathering.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure it was coming from our house?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Lisa hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it sounded like it was coming from this direction. Loud music, people talking\u2026 Honestly, Charlotte, it\u2019s been happening for months. Maybe close to a year. I didn\u2019t want to complain, but it\u2019s getting frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly a year?\n\nI thanked her for letting me know and slowly closed the door.\n\nThen I stood alone in the hallway trying to understand how our backyard could have been noisy while we weren\u2019t even home.\n\nTom and I had bought the house four years earlier after months of searching.\n\nThe backyard had been what convinced us.\n\nIt was spacious, lined with mature trees, and came with a beautiful hot tub the previous owners had installed.\n\nThe first two years, we used it constantly.\n\nFriday nights.\n\nQuiet evenings after stressful days.\n\nSometimes we sat outside after dinner with a bottle of wine between us.\n\nThen life became busier.\n\nI took a job that required me to travel roughly two weekends every month.\n\nOne of Tom\u2019s coworkers went on extended medical leave, leaving him with an enormous workload.\n\nBy the time he came home each evening, even relaxing felt like something else he had to schedule.\n\nWe kept telling ourselves we would start using the hot tub again once things calmed down.\n\nThey never did.\n\nSo it remained covered.\n\nAt least, that was what we thought.\n\nAfter Lisa\u2019s visit, one question wouldn\u2019t leave my mind.\n\nIf we hadn\u2019t been using it\u2026\n\nwho had?\n\nThe following weekend, Tom installed a camera.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t obvious.\n\nHe mounted a small unit beneath the garage overhang where it had a clear view of both the hot tub and the gate leading from our backyard into the alley.\n\nThe gate had been installed by the previous owners for deliveries.\n\nIt only had a simple latch that could be opened from either side.\n\nWe had never considered it a security problem.\n\nUntil now.\n\nThe next Friday, Tom and I made a show of leaving town.\n\nWe carried luggage to the car.\n\nLoaded everything where anyone nearby could see.\n\nThen drove away.\n\nInstead of traveling far, we checked into a hotel about forty minutes from home.\nSaturday evening, Tom opened the camera feed on his laptop.\n\nFor nearly two hours, nothing happened.\n\nOur backyard remained dark and silent.\n\nI was beginning to think Lisa had been mistaken.\n\nThen the gate opened.\n\nOne person stepped inside.\n\nThen another.\n\nThen two more.\n\nThey didn\u2019t move cautiously.\n\nThey walked through our yard with the relaxed confidence of people who had done it many times before.\n\nOne person immediately removed the hot tub cover.\n\nAnother set down an insulated bag full of drinks and snacks.\n\nSomeone connected a phone to a portable speaker.\n\nMusic began playing.\n\nThen all four climbed into our hot tub.\n\nTom and I sat completely still on the hotel bed.\n\nEventually, one of the people moved close enough to the camera for me to recognize his face.\n\nJim.\n\nOur next-door neighbor.\n\nThe same Jim who had waved at us from his driveway every week for four years.\n\nThe same Jim who had borrowed Tom\u2019s socket wrench the previous summer and politely returned it.\n\nThen I recognized the woman beside him.\n\nLisa.\n\nThe woman who had knocked on our door and complained about the noise.\n\nTheir teenage children, Emma and Jake, were there too.\n\nThey were laughing, eating snacks, and relaxing as though they were in their own backyard.\n\nFor several seconds, neither Tom nor I spoke.\n\nFinally, I whispered:\n\n\u201cLisa.\u201d\n\nTom stared at the screen.\n\n\u201cShe came to our house.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe asked us to keep the noise down.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know.\u201d\n\nAnd then I understood.\n\nLisa had never come over to complain.\n\nShe had come over to find out whether we knew.\n\nHer nervousness at the door hadn\u2019t been discomfort about confronting a neighbor.\n\nShe had been testing us.\n\nWhen I told her we had been away that weekend, she realized we had no idea anyone had been using our yard.\n\nHer complaint had been a cover.\n\nShe had been checking whether they had been caught.\n\nTom shut the laptop.\n\n\u201cWe need to decide what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d\n\nI nodded.\n\nBecause this had clearly been happening for far longer than one evening.\n\n\u2014\n\nWe considered confronting Jim and Lisa immediately.\n\nWe had video evidence.\n\nWe could walk next door, show it to them, and demand an explanation.\n\nBut I knew exactly what would happen.\n\nThey would apologize.\n\nThey would say they thought we wouldn\u2019t mind.\n\nThey would claim it started innocently.\n\nAnd within a few uncomfortable weeks, we would return to waving politely across the driveway.\n\nThat didn\u2019t feel adequate.\n\nThey hadn\u2019t used our hot tub once.\n\nThey had apparently been doing it for almost a year.\n\nThey brought food.\n\nThey brought drinks.\n\nThey played music.\n\nThey were comfortable enough to treat our backyard like an extension of their own property.\n\nThey had stopped worrying about being caught.\n\nTom and I made two decisions.\n\nThe first was simple.\n\nHe installed an automatic lock on the backyard gate that could only be opened using a code from our side.\n\nTheir access would end permanently.\n\nThe second idea was mine.\n\nI had trained as a chemist before moving into regulatory compliance, so I knew enough about compounds and skin contact to choose something harmless.\n\nI found a food-grade dye that was safe for skin and would gradually fade within a day or two.\n\nAfter prolonged exposure, however, it would leave a clearly visible green tint on the skin.\n\nHarmless.\n\nTemporary.\n\nBut impossible to ignore.\n\nThursday evening, I added it to the hot tub water.\n\nThe following Friday, we once again made an obvious show of leaving.\n\nThis time, however, we parked several streets away and quietly returned home.\n\nWe sat in the kitchen watching the camera feed.\n\nAt 8:30 p.m., the gate opened.\n\nJim entered first.\n\nLisa followed.\n\nThen Emma and Jake.\n\nSame insulated bag.\n\nSame portable speaker.\n\nSame confident routine.\n\nJim pulled the cover off the hot tub as though he owned it.\n\nThey climbed inside.\n\nFor more than an hour, Tom and I watched.\n\nThen Emma suddenly looked at her arm.\n\nShe said something to Jake.\n\nHe examined his own skin.\n\nLisa looked down.\n\nThen Jim did the same.\n\nEven through the camera feed, I could see the mood change instantly.\n\nThey were turning green.\n\nThey quickly climbed out and headed toward the gate.\n\nJim tried to open it.\n\nNothing happened.\n\nHe pulled harder.\n\nStill locked.\n\nHe tried pushing, pulling, lifting.\n\nThe automatic lock held.\n\nTom stood.\n\n\u201cAll right.\u201d\n\nWe walked into the backyard.\n\nJim turned when he heard us.\n\nHis expression was almost impossible to describe.\n\nHe was standing in our yard, tinted green, unable to leave through the gate, trying to decide whether he should be angry or embarrassed.\n\n\u201cCharlotte,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is going on?\u201d\nI brought the laptop outside.\n\n\u201cI was about to ask you the same question.\u201d\n\nI turned the screen toward him.\n\nFirst, I showed them footage from that evening.\n\nThen footage from the previous weekend.\n\nThere they were.\n\nWalking through our gate.\n\nOpening our hot tub.\n\nBringing drinks.\n\nPlaying music.\n\nMaking themselves comfortable.\n\nJim stopped talking.\n\nLisa stared at her arms.\n\n\u201cIs this stuff safe?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cCompletely. The color will disappear in a day or two.\u201d\n\nShe frowned.\n\n\u201cYou put dye in our water?\u201d\n\nI looked at her.\n\n\u201cMy water.\u201d\n\nNobody said anything.\n\nEmma stared at the ground.\n\nShe was seventeen, and suddenly she looked deeply embarrassed by the situation her parents had put her in.\n\nJake looked toward Jim.\n\n\u201cDad\u2026\u201d\n\nJim finally spoke.\n\n\u201cCharlotte, I know this looks bad.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow exactly does it look?\u201d\n\nHe hesitated.\n\n\u201cBad.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt looks like you\u2019ve been using our hot tub while we\u2019re away for nearly a year. It looks like Lisa came to our house pretending to complain so she could find out whether we knew. And it looks like even after you noticed the camera, you kept coming because you assumed we wouldn\u2019t check.\u201d\n\nJim sighed.\n\n\u201cI can explain.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo ahead.\u201d\n\nWhat followed wasn\u2019t really an explanation.\n\nIt was a collection of excuses.\n\nThe hot tub wasn\u2019t being used.\n\nHe thought we probably wouldn\u2019t care.\n\nHe had always intended to ask.\n\nThere had never seemed to be a good opportunity.\n\nI let him finish.\n\nThen I said:\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve paid for the electricity, the chemicals, maintenance, and service on this hot tub for four years. We assumed it was sitting unused because we hadn\u2019t had time for it. Apparently, our neighbors decided that meant they could use it without asking.\u201d\n\nJim nodded.\n\nThen Tom finally spoke.\n\n\u201cYour wife came to our door and blamed us for the noise.\u201d\n\nLisa said nothing.\n\nJim looked toward the gate.\n\n\u201cCan I have the code so we can leave?\u201d\n\nTom crossed his arms.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll open the gate when we\u2019re finished talking.\u201d\n\nJim\u2019s expression tightened.\n\nI looked at both of them.\n\n\u201cWe need this to be absolutely clear. You will never enter our yard without permission again. You will never use anything on our property again. And if you have something to discuss with us in the future, you speak to us honestly.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d Jim said quickly.\n\n\u201cAnd I want an actual apology. Not another explanation.\u201d\n\nThere was a long silence.\n\nFinally, Jim nodded.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I really am. It started small and went too far.\u201d\n\nLisa looked at me.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry too. Coming to your door like that was wrong. I knew it was wrong.\u201d\n\nEmma apologized without being asked.\n\nJake followed.\n\nTom unlocked the gate.\n\nThey left.\n\nAnd for a few minutes, we simply stood in our backyard looking at the hot tub.\n\nI thought the story was over.\n\nI was wrong.\n\nThat evening, I posted a short message in our neighborhood watch group.\n\nI did not upload footage of the family inside the hot tub.\n\nThat felt unnecessarily humiliating.\n\nInstead, I shared footage showing them entering our yard through the gate, along with a simple explanation that we had discovered people repeatedly accessing our property without permission.\n\nThe responses surprised me.\n\nThree different neighbors contacted me about Jim.\n\nOne man said Jim had borrowed his pressure washer and returned it damaged while denying responsibility.\n\nAnother neighbor said she had repeatedly discovered signs that Jim had been using her driveway when she wasn\u2019t home.\n\nThen I received a private message from a woman named Diane who lived three streets away.\n\nHer message said:\n\nWhat I know may be bigger than the hot tub. Can we meet privately?\n\nWe met for coffee the following Saturday.\n\nDiane explained that she helped manage a short-term rental property for her sister.\n\nMonths earlier, while learning how the booking platform worked, she had searched nearby addresses out of curiosity.\n\nThat was when she found Jim\u2019s house.\n\nThere was nothing unusual about him renting out his property.\n\nThe unusual part was the list of amenities.\n\nIt advertised:\n\nPrivate hot tub access.\n\nJim didn\u2019t own a hot tub.\n\nThen Diane showed me the listing photograph.\n\nI immediately recognized it.\n\nIt was our backyard.\n\nOur hot tub.\n\nOur deck.\n\nOur hedge.\n\nEven part of our garage roof was visible.\n\nI stared at the screen.\n\nJim hadn\u2019t merely been using our hot tub with his family.\n\nHe had been advertising it to paying guests.\n\n\u201cHow long has this listing been active?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cAbout fourteen months.\u201d\n\nAlmost exactly as long as Lisa said the noise had been happening.\nDiane showed me reviews.\n\nSeveral guests specifically praised the hot tub.\n\nOne called the backyard the highlight of their stay.\n\nAnother review had been posted eight months earlier.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s been sending strangers into our yard,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cIt certainly looks that way.\u201d\n\nSuddenly, the situation became much bigger.\n\nJim had been earning rental income partly by advertising an amenity he didn\u2019t own.\n\nWe paid for the water.\n\nThe chemicals.\n\nThe electricity.\n\nThe maintenance.\n\nThe servicing.\n\nAnd he had been using our property to increase the value of his own rental.\n\nHe had effectively built part of his business around our backyard.\n\nI went home and documented everything.\n\nScreenshots of the listing.\n\nGuest reviews.\n\nDates.\n\nPhotographs.\n\nCamera footage.\n\nNow that I knew what I was looking for, I realized some of the people captured on camera weren\u2019t Jim\u2019s friends or relatives.\n\nThey were rental guests.\n\nI called Tom.\n\n\u201cCome home when you can. We need to make some calls.\u201d\n\nWe contacted our homeowner\u2019s insurance company first because we needed to understand what liability we might have faced if someone had been injured.\n\nThen we contacted the rental platform and reported the unauthorized use of our property.\n\nFinally, we called the non-emergency police line.\n\nWe were eventually connected with Detective Hartley, who handled property-related fraud cases.\n\nShe asked us to come in.\n\nWe brought everything.\n\nHartley carefully reviewed the timeline, the recordings, the rental listing, and our documentation.\n\nThe unauthorized entry onto our property was relatively straightforward.\n\nThe financial side was more complicated.\n\nTo establish fraud, investigators needed to determine whether guests had specifically paid for access to a hot tub that Jim falsely represented as belonging to his rental.\n\nThe listing itself helped.\n\nSo did guest communications.\n\n\u201cLeave that part to us,\u201d Hartley said.\n\nShe also asked us not to contact Jim directly.\n\nWe agreed.\n\nThe investigation lasted about three weeks.\nLife continued strangely normally during that time.\n\nTom worked.\n\nI traveled.\n\nWe even used our own hot tub twice.\n\nThere was something satisfying about reclaiming it.\n\nMeanwhile, Jim still waved whenever he saw us.\n\nWe waved back.\n\nWithin several days of our report, the rental platform removed his listing.\n\nFour days later, Jim knocked on our door.\n\nHe had no idea about Detective Hartley.\n\nAs far as he knew, our disagreement had ended after the backyard confrontation.\n\nThe disappearance of his rental listing clearly worried him.\n\n\u201cCharlotte,\u201d he said. \u201cI know things became uncomfortable between us. I was hoping we could clear everything up.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to be honest about something.\u201d\n\nI waited.\n\nHe admitted that he had occasionally allowed rental guests to use our hot tub.\n\nOccasionally.\n\nThat was the version he offered.\n\nA small mistake.\n\nAn overstep.\n\nSomething that had gotten out of hand.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to make things right. Whatever you think is fair.\u201d\n\nI thought about fourteen months of bookings.\n\nThe guest reviews.\n\nThe electricity.\n\nThe maintenance.\n\nThe chemicals.\n\nEvery person who had walked through our gate believing our backyard was part of the property they rented.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll let you know what I think is fair.\u201d\n\nJim looked visibly relieved.\n\nHe returned home.\n\nTwo days later, Detective Hartley called.\n\nJim had been charged with fraud and criminal trespass.\n\nThe rental platform had provided booking and payment records covering the fourteen months his listing was active.\n\nSeveral guests had also received messages explicitly stating that a private hot tub was included with their rental.\n\nThe evidence was much clearer than investigators had initially expected.\n\n\u201cHe was arrested?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cEarlier this morning.\u201d\n\nI sat silently for a moment.\n\nI had wanted consequences.\n\nI wanted the situation handled seriously.\n\nBut I hadn\u2019t fully imagined what that would look like once the legal system became involved.\n\n\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d\n\nHartley explained that the process would continue through the courts.\n\nTom and I might be contacted regarding restitution.\n\nWe would probably need to provide statements.\n\nAnd investigators would keep us informed.\n\nI thanked her.\n\nThen I sat quietly at the kitchen table.\n\nFour weeks later, Jim and Lisa put their house on the market.\n\nWithin days, there was a pending-sale sign outside.\n\nThey moved out in late November.\n\nA moving truck arrived early Saturday morning.\n\nBoxes disappeared into it.\n\nCars were packed.\n\nThey clearly wanted the process finished as quickly as possible.\n\nAs Emma climbed into the car, she looked toward me.\n\nShe was seventeen.\n\nWhatever mistakes her parents had made, she was still a teenager who had followed the adults around her.\nI raised my hand.\n\nShe raised hers.\n\nThen they drove away.\n\nThat evening, Tom and I used the hot tub.\n\nThe November air was cold enough that thick clouds of steam rose from the water.\n\nOur other neighbors, Frank and Helen, had their lights on next door.\n\nEverything sounded wonderfully ordinary.\n\nTom poured two glasses of wine.\n\nAfter several quiet minutes, I said:\n\n\u201cFrank and Helen never used our hot tub.\u201d\n\nTom laughed.\n\n\u201cNot that we know of.\u201d\n\nI smiled.\n\n\u201cGood thing the camera faces the right direction.\u201d\n\nFor a while, we said nothing.\n\nI thought about everything that had happened.\n\nLisa standing at our door pretending to complain.\n\nThe camera footage.\n\nThe green dye.\n\nThe confrontation.\n\nDiane\u2019s message.\n\nThe rental listing.\n\nDetective Hartley.\n\nJim returning to our house and offering me the smallest possible version of the truth.\n\nEventually, I realized the hot tub itself had never really been the center of the story.\n\nThe real issue was entitlement.\n\nJim had looked at something that belonged to someone else and decided it was being wasted.\n\nBecause we weren\u2019t using it often, he convinced himself there was nothing wrong with using it himself.\n\nThen he discovered he could profit from it.\n\nAnd each time nothing happened, the line moved a little further.\n\nAt no point did he seem to think of himself as someone doing something seriously wrong.\n\nHe probably thought he was simply being clever.\n\nResourceful.\n\nNobody was using it.\n\nPeople enjoyed it.\n\nNobody was getting hurt.\n\nBut none of those things made it his.\n\nThat was the part every excuse ignored.\n\nI didn\u2019t feel triumphant about his arrest.\n\nI didn\u2019t sit there celebrating that his family had moved away.\nWhat I felt was relief.\n\nRelief that the entire truth had been uncovered instead of only the portion Jim was willing to admit.\n\nTom put an arm around me.\n\n\u201cWe should use this more often.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe should.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo scheduling.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust us.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust us.\u201d\n\nSteam drifted into the cold night.\n\nThe backyard was quiet.\"\"\n\nAnd for the first time in a long time, we were living exactly the way we had imagined when we bought the house.\n\nFriday night.\n\nWine.\n\nThe hot tub.\n\nAnd nowhere else we needed to be.\n\nThree months later, new neighbors moved into Jim and Lisa\u2019s old house.\n\nMarcus and Joy were around our age and had a small dog.\n\nThey spent most Sunday mornings gardening.\n\nThe first weekend, they introduced themselves over the fence.\n\nJoy glanced toward our hot tub.\n\n\u201cThat looks amazing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll get one someday.\u201d\n\nI smiled.\n\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re settled, you\u2019re welcome to join us sometime.\u201d\n\nHer face brightened.\n\n\u201cThat would be lovely.\u201d\n\nShe returned to her garden.\n\nTom walked over and stood beside me.\n\n\u201cThey seem nice.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey seem straightforward.\u201d\n\n\u201cProbably the same thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cUsually.\u201d\n\nThen we went inside.\n\nAnd this time, when I looked back at the hot tub through the window, I knew exactly who had permission to use it.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our hot tub had been sitting covered and almost untouched for nearly four months when our neighbor, Lisa, appeared at the front door and asked us to keep the noise … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-drama-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our hot tub had been sitting covered and almost untouched for nearly four months when our neighbor, Lisa, appeared at the front door and asked us to keep the noise …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reading Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"928\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Reading Times Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Reading Times Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Reading Times Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d\"},\"headline\":\"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005\"},\"wordCount\":153,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Family Drama Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005\",\"name\":\"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg\",\"width\":928,\"height\":1152},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?p=1005#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reading Times\",\"description\":\"The Best Family Drama Stories Telling\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d\",\"name\":\"Reading Times Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km\",\"caption\":\"Reading Times Admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingtimes.online\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times","og_description":"Our hot tub had been sitting covered and almost untouched for nearly four months when our neighbor, Lisa, appeared at the front door and asked us to keep the noise …","og_url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005","og_site_name":"Reading Times","article_published_time":"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":928,"height":1152,"url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Reading Times Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Reading Times Admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005"},"author":{"name":"Reading Times Admin","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d"},"headline":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson","datePublished":"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005"},"wordCount":153,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg","articleSection":["Family Drama Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005","url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005","name":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson - Reading Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-07T13:02:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/792915430_28328717896761217_8588760640691542020_n.jpg","width":928,"height":1152},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?p=1005#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"My Neighbors Secretly Used My Hot Tub For A Year So I Taught Them A Lesson"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/#website","url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/","name":"Reading Times","description":"The Best Family Drama Stories Telling","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5cae4f37471ce82bf85ad41de2e3109d","name":"Reading Times Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62edd62ba20ff63cad9a09a957f2266f6d1b738c997137e7da9487a3b3dbba94?s=96&d=initials&r=g&initials=km","caption":"Reading Times Admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/readingtimes.online"],"url":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1007,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005\/revisions\/1007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingtimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}