Are your neighbours a nuisance?
Category Newsletter: Article
Living in a sectional title estate or complex offers a number of advantages, not least of which, convenience and security.
You are however, now part of a small community of residents and in many instances the closeness of units and homes also means that you are more exposed to noise levels and the goings on in your neighbour’s house.
While living in such communities may be a great source of socialising and residents often befriend their neighbours, enjoying visits, braais and so on, there are times, when you might be saddled with neighbours who make a nuisance of themselves. Often, this takes the form of loud visitors and parties or late night festivities.
The same can be said for pet owners, especially those with unruly cats who roam and might make themselves at home in your unit or dogs who bark continuously.
For those who seek a quiet life, this can fast become a great source of irritation, but being a good neighbour and adhering to complex rules is in any event part and parcel of sectional title living.
Sectional Title complexes and estates usually have a set of house rules that provides a broad spectrum of guidelines for how residents should conduct themselves, what level of noise might be permitted as well as regulations for pet ownership.
The rules also provide for steps that an aggrieved resident may take. As a guideline, here’s how to approach the problem:
Check up on the rules and your rights – the first step is to check up on the guiding rules and your rights and the steps that you can take to have the issue addressed. Ascertain whether your neighbours are in fact contravening any rules.
Speak to the culprit(s) – then, as a first step and to promote neighbourliness, it is advised that you first approach your neighbour and alert him/her to the problem. Often, your neighbour might be quite unaware of the problem. That way, the neighbour will be more considerate in future. Keep a record of the conversation and any subsequent conversations about the issue.
Raise the matter with the managing agent/complex manager – if the problem persists, then lodge an official complaint in accordance with the governing procedure. The agent or complex manager will usually then send a formal notification to the resident and enforce certain notices of breach if necessary. If it is a rented unit, then the owners of the property should also be notified so that they can take the necessary steps against their tenants.
Local authority – in the event of excessive noise or other disturbing behaviour, you have every right to call in the local authorities, but these instances are hopefully seldom a factor. Usually the property owners and managing agent will step in and assist.
Mediation – if the problem persists and it is not necessarily an outright contravention of rules, it may be referred to mediation where the two parties can sit down with a view to reaching a compromise.
Legal action - While it might be easier to work with a property owner in the event of noisy tenants to get them evicted or to vacate the premises, it is much harder when the actual owners of the property are the culprits. In this event, the relevant by-laws of the area would become the means to address the issue by pursuing legal steps.
One of the advantages of working with a skilled and experienced managing agent, is that they will be able to provide the best advice and action to address issues within the complex.
Author: Coastal Property Group
