A surprisingly common occurrence, neighbour and boundary disputes can be stressful and typically require appropriate handling to avoid severe tensions arising. Tensions between neighbours can be personal, aggressive and can even result in violence, therefore requiring high levels of experience to mitigate. There are no formal guidelines on how best to deal with a neighbour dispute, but in the post, we talk you through four common types of neighbour disputes:
Noise
Arguably the most common neighbour dispute of all, noise complaints typically involves anything from a dog barking all day, up to and including excessive amounts of loud music playing in unsociable hours. Most noise pollution is unavoidable or infrequent, but if there is a clear pattern of an ongoing issue, you should consider communicating with your neighbour before taking further steps. It’s a clever idea to keep a written record of the disturbances to provide you with clear evidence or patterns to refer back to in the future, especially if you are considering legal action.
Trees or Hedges
Another common reason for neighbour disputes is overhanging trees. If a neighbour’s tree is hanging over, or into, your property, they can be rightly asked to trim it back. Should they refuse, or not perform this task, you will then have the right the take matters into your own hands, allowing you to trim back the tree from your side. However, before this decision is made you should communicate openly with your neighbour to avoid further disputes. Tall hedges work this way also, if they are growing over 2 metres high, affecting the enjoyment of your home, (i.e because it’s blocking light), you can raise this issue with your neighbour before taking it further.
Boundaries or Driveways
Often disputes between neighbours happen because of shared land or ownership of shared walls. In this instance, you should check the property title deeds to discover who owns the land and where the boundary is situated for the property. In some cases, you may need an expert surveyor to source this information. Similarly, if there happens to be a shared driveway then each person should have equal access to it, and neither neighbour is able to block access at any time. Sometimes you may even share amenities with your neighbours, such as shared drains, gardens or communal rooftops, disputes usually arise over who is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the shared amenity.
Abusive or Anti-Social Behaviours
In many instances, neighbours can convey violent or abusive behaviours. Such examples typically include anti-social behaviour, verbal abuse, intimidation, bullying, vandalism and inappropriate treatment of animals. If you are experiencing any of these issues or disputes with a neighbour you should begin by attempting to mediate the situation with the opposing individual. If the behaviour continues, or they respond with aggression or defiance, at this stage you should consider contacting the appropriate authorities. This is especially important if your neighbours are discriminating against you based on ethnicity, religion, sexuality, disability, gender or any showing any other form of discrimination.
At DJP Solicitors we take pride in helping our clients through difficult civil legal disputes. We make sure that we’re fully trained and that we are in keeping with the latest changes to civil law to ensure that we offer only the very best legal advice. As a law firm in Aberdeen, we’re dedicated and proud to offer legal advice and representation over civil law claims. Contact us today.
Comments