Orlando Sentinel

Neighbors need window coverings for condo.

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Amy Dickinson You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@ amydickins­on.com. Readers may send postal mail to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.

Dear Amy: My husband and I live next to a married couple who are about our age. Our condos are close and some of our windows face each other.

They removed all of the curtains and blinds about a year ago. We try to avoid looking into their house, and we've angled our blinds to obstruct our view most of the time. But even walking through our house, you can see into most of their house without even trying.

A month ago, I caught a view of our neighbor in his living room. The husband was sitting on the sofa in the living room, totally nude, clearly in a sexual position. A few weeks later, my husband saw the exact same scene as he checked the weather outside.

We began to feel uneasy about the whole thing, like maybe they wanted to be seen. They could go into their bedroom, so why were they doing this in front of their big, uncovered family room windows?

I contacted the homeowners associatio­n complainin­g about their lack of window coverings. There is no regulation requiring anyone to have window coverings. They said unless we were seeing something obscene, there's nothing they can legally do.

We're not sure what to do now. We feel like we should be able to look out our windows without being fearful of seeing our neighbors in a compromisi­ng situation. — Over Exposed

Dear Over Exposed: Depending on where you live, your neighbors' activity might legally be considered "indecent exposure" if they are naked and engaged in sexual activity, deliberate­ly exposing others -- even if they are in their own home. Check your local statutes to see how restrictiv­e the laws are where you live.

However, many local laws DON'T consider this sort of exhibition­ism in one's own home indecent, even if it is deliberate­ly within public view, and sexual in nature.

Your neighbors might enjoy this sort of display. You could write them a note, saying, "We respectful­ly request that you either get window coverings, or take your nudity into a more private part of your home. We -- and our guests -have the right to look out our own windows without having to view your sexual activity, which, unfortunat­ely, we cannot unsee."

Understand that, depending on local statutes and their own willingnes­s to cooperate, you may have no recourse other than to block the view with your own window covering.

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