By Allison Benson and Andrew Fairfield -
Snapshot
- From pets to parties and trees to fences, disputes with neighbours arise in many forms and are increasingly commonplace.
- Whether something is a genuine, actionable nuisance or a mere inconvenience is often unclear and depends on several factors, although some actions are considered settled nuisances.
- Following some simple steps in how you respond to a nuisance can mitigate the likelihood of it going to court or, if it does, ensure you are adequately prepared.
According to one of Australia’s biggest TV exports, neighbours ‘should be there for one another’ and ‘that’s when good neighbours become good friends’. Realistically, neighbours can be a nuisance. They live next door but they can also live rent-free in your head. Most of us have them and, as our urban environments build up, we are likely to have more in the future. Our increasing propensity to live in close quarters, such as in strata or community title schemes, exacerbates the potential for neighbourhood disputes. We are, supposedly, meant to love thy neighbour as thyself but what if their dog won’t stop barking? What if they have massive parties every weekend? Where such nuisances are more than a mere inconvenience there are steps, both legal and non-legal, to resolve them.
In this article we discuss what constitutes common law nuisance and outline the specifics of some common nuisances like second-hand smoke, light and noise intrusions from neighbouring properties. It must first be noted that criminal behaviour is its own situation and this article does not discuss nuisance as a criminal behaviour.
