Living harmoniously with our neighbour’s can be a really important part of feeling at home where we live. If there is tension and friction between neighbour’s this can escalate to levels of conflict that can cause psychological or physical harm.
Talk about your concerns
If you are concerned about some aspect of your neighbour’s behaviour you need to remember that that they may not be aware of the impact of their behaviour until you have let them know this. Talking about your concerns respectfully but assertively with your neighbour could be the first and only step you need to take to resolve a problem.
If you have not previously spoken to your neighbour, or perhaps feel too distressed about the behaviour and feel unable to speak to them directly, you may prefer to send a polite and respectful informal letter outlining your concerns and what would help to resolve them. If a direct verbal or written approach does not improve matters then other options may need to be considered, but some of these may lead to deterioration in your relationship with them.
- Contact the local authority environmental health department, where a social or environmental problem is evident for example vermin or seriously dilapidated property
- The planning office of the local authority may need to be involved where a planning issue is involved
- Consider contacting the landlord of the offending neighbour – causing a social nuisance could contravene the terms of their lease and lead to eviction from their home
- Consult title deeds or leases as there may be specific covenants or clauses about rights and responsibilities for an owner occupier particularly in respect of ownership of disputed boundaries or access
- It may help to share the problem and recruit a number of affected neighbours to see whether a joint approach to the neighbour may be more effective
- Find out if there is a community mediation service in your area. Mediation can be an effective way of negotiating a mutually acceptable outcome in a complex dispute, but participation will be voluntary for all involved
- Consider consulting a solicitor to arrange for a letter to the neighbour to demonstrate you are serious about the issue. You will need to be prepared to pay for this yourself
- Involve the police. Where there is a possibility that a criminal offence has been or could be committed police involvement may be indicated. Repeated involvement of the police may provide some evidence to support civil legal action.
- Take civil action in the courts for damage, trespass or nuisance. You will need to be prepared to bear the cost of litigation and even if successful may not be able to recover these costs. If unsuccessful you could end up covering the other parties’ legal costs as well.
- Moving house may be a one of the last options to consider. However, you will need to remember that as part of the legal formalities associated with the sale you will be expected to declare details of any disputes between yourself and your neighbour(s).
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