“A person who suffers interference with the enjoyment of his land or property due to the actions of another person can sue the wrongdoer to put an end to the interference (in the form of an injunction) and to also claim damages against that wrongdoer. The interference can be in various forms including noise, sight, smell, vibration, fumes, smoke, ashes, dust, debris or physical invasion or obstruction. The interference must be a result of a continuing state of affairs rather than a one-off incident”.
Most of us have been working from home since the outbreak of the pandemic. And not every one of us has the comfort of working from home. Many of us love to go to work, to be away from home so that they can focus on the work and forget about the never ending house chores. When we are being confined to our home, we are losing our focus, our ‘time away’ from house chores i.e cooking, washing, mopping, taking care of our kids and many more. These lead us to a more stressful state than before. We have no friend to talk to, we do not have our ‘time out’ alone. Worse if our partner is not supporting and helping you to face this situation together.
Living in an urban area, we are surrounded by neighbours on the left, right, in front, above and below. We shared the same piece of cemented concrete which is not sound proof wherein during this time we will get to know our neighbours behaviours more than before. You are lucky if your neighbours are considerate person but you are in a trouble when you have a ‘nasty’ one.
Every human being has different habits. Some are morning person, some are night owl. Some need quiet time in the morning, some need quiet time at night. If you love to hear to loud sound and you know that your level of loudness is ‘not normal’, do install sound absorbing foam and make sure your wall is not vibrating and caused panic to your neighbour. When your ceiling is too thin where you can hear your neighbours walking, installing the foam may help (haven’t tried yet).
What if you have a neighbour who loves carpentry during the wee hours? When you are having your deep sleep and suddenly you are force to wake up by the drilling sound like your dentist is drilling your teeth? It can cause you a sudden headache and sleepless night. It will ruin your day. Imagine this situation continues for days and months and years until one day you had enough. What are you going to do? Starts building a case against your neighbour, this is the question that you need to ask yourself – “whether the interference amounts to a nuisance? – the ‘acts complained as constituting the nuisance, such as voice, smells or vibration, will usually be lawful acts which only become wrongful from the circumstances under which they are performed, such as time, place, extent or the manner of performance. In organised society everyone must put up with a certain amount of discomfort and annoyance caused by the neighbours… No precise or universal formula is possible, but a useful test is what is reasonable according to ordinary usages of mankind living in a particular society.” Further reading can look up this case – Au Kean Hoe v Persatuan Penduduk D’villa Equestrian [2015] 4 MLJ 204 FC
Is it normal to carry out carpentry works in your apartment during day and wee hours everyday? Every Joint Management Body has its own House Rules which strictly ruled that no drilling or knocking activities are allowed during the weekend and after 5p.m. everyday. Check your House Rules.
If you are facing this situation, you may record all the noises that he made. You will end up with many recording files in your phone. Upload it to your Google Drive. Save the date and time. Then get a lawyer friend or ask your friend to refer you to a lawyer. Consult the lawyer. The lawyer will inform you that you can sue your neighbour for private nuisance. Before instructing your lawyer to proceed, have some courtesy to let your neighbour knows that what he is doing is wrong (even though your neighbour does not practice courtesy and respect your life with his nuisances. Its up to you). Your silence does not mean that you conceded to his nuisance and disrespectful action. If your neighbour can complaint about other neighbours’ behaviour, so do you. Know your rights and don’t allow yourself to be bullied by this type of people who love to suppress other and act as if they own the whole building. We pay the same maintenance charges and sinking fund so we should share and live in a harmony environment and respect each other’s privacy.
