NOT SO NEIGHBOURLY? Resolving disputes best for your peace of mind
· Toronto Sun
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Fed up with a neighbour over an issue that has been plaguing your peace of mind?
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For many people, it could be excessively loud music played outdoors, heavy smoke wafting from a barbecue across a backyard, a broken fence that needs some TLC, or a dying tree that has caused damage to your property.
If you want to resolve the problem you are having, address the issue early and respectfully with your neighbour instead of letting it fester into animosity, says Nainesh Kotak, a Toronto disability and personal injury lawyer.
“Don’t allow six months or so of resentment to build up before you say something,” he says. “I think start respectfully, explain the problem rather than accusing the person. Often, you may realize that the person doesn’t realize what they are doing is affecting you.”
He cautions that not everyone may be receptive to addressing the issue at hand due to personality issues or being too stubborn.
Complaints to city
If it can’t be resolved, Kotak says there are remedies available at the municipal level that govern noise levels and property standards.
In Toronto, neighbours can contact 311 to file a by-law complaint and have the city deal with it.
“Document the problem,” Kotak says. “Write down and record dates and times the issues happened, (and) photographs if necessary.”
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He adds that all emails and other correspondence should be saved as well.
“I’m not talking about surveilling your neighbour and putting a camera on them because that might be the issue in the first place.”
Retaliating against your problem neighbour is probably not the best way to resolve the current issue, he says.
“Don’t turn someone else’s bad behaviour ultimately into your problem,” Kotak says. “Over time, people will stop fighting about the fence, the tree or the barbecue and they’re actually fighting about each other.
“I think retaliation is generally not a good idea.”
Murders are extreme responses
Two recent court cases in Toronto illustrate how a small problem between neighbours can blow up into something more serious and end tragically.
In June, Toronto resident Khoa Tran was found guilty of second-degree murder following a dispute over barbecue fumes with his neighbour, filmmaker Reeyaz Habib, at their Liberty Village condo complex.
Habib’s decomposing remains was found by a garbage collection worker inside his condo complex’s trash compactor.
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Also that month, Christopher Wood pleaded guilty to murder after he admitted stabbing Etop “Jon” Ituen 42 times because of gospel music being played from the victim’s balcony in the city’s east end.
Ituen died of multiple stab wounds to his head and neck in the rear yard of a Coxwell Ave. building. Both the victim and Wood lived across the street from each olegalther in supportive housing for people with mental disabilities.
Legal avenues to solve issue
While those are extreme, violent events, Kotak says there are legal avenues to address problem neighbours, one of which is a private nuisance civil lawsuit. If a person unreasonably interferes with another’s enjoyment of their residence, filing a claim is an option.
“It doesn’t guarantee perfection …,” he says. “But if it is significant enough to substantially interfere with your enjoyment, there could be an action and damages (awarded).”
Lawsuits can also be filed for negligence against a neighbour if water runoff or a renovation damages your home.
In some cases, Kotak says police can be involved and lay a criminal harassment charge if a person fears for their safety from a troublesome resident who may have hurled threats over a long-simmering dispute.
“We do have circumstances where you’re dealing with somebody who may not be as rational as ourselves,” he says.
Neutral third party option
One possible solution to help solve an issue would be to have a neutral third party — possible a long-time area resident or fellow neighbour — who has no interest in the matter but could offer advice on how to end the dispute.
“If they have a good relationship, at least a good speaking relationship with the neighbour causing the problem, I would suggest yes, it might be a good resource to have that mediated,” Kotak says.
But if the issue involves complaints from multiple residents for a problem neighbour, the city can step in, especially if it involves a by-law infraction.
However, if the issue cannot be resolved, there is a risk the problem festers and escalates for months or even years, and those who have complained may no longer have a good relationship with the residents next door.
And in some cases, that could include individuals or families deciding to move out of the neighbourhood so they no longer have to deal with the anxiety or frustration that comes with a unresolved dispute.
“I think some people do resolve it by selling (their home) because, at the end of the day, they want their peace of mind,” Kotak says. “Selling is not the easiest thing. You could take a financial loss, you uproot your family, and have to look for another place.
“That unfortunately is what sometimes happens.”