Dear Nthabi
My neighbour is building a house right next to mine and the builders are always there and making lots of noise. They start early in the morning and finish late at night, even on weekends.
Can I do anything about this, as my family is struggling to sleep?
We are also worried the neighbour is going to build over on to our land.
Read more | ‘I’m not in his will’ – Nthabi answers your legal questions
Nthabi says
The starting point is to try to speak to your neighbour and see if you can reach an agreement that will give you the silence you want and allow your neighbour to continue to build.
It’s important to be aware that the rules of court now require that before a matter is brought to court, the parties must try and mediate in an attempt to settle the matter out of court. This means you need to get someone who can act as a mediator and attempt to assist you and your neighbour to reach an amicable solution.
If this fails, you can get an attorney who will send a letter of demand to your neighbour and request they stop with the noise and also building on your side of the land.
If the neighbour still refuses to stop, the attorney can bring a court application to interdict the neighbour from continuing with building until the court hears the matter.
Nthabiseng Monareng holds LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Nthabi has more than 10 years’ experience in the legal field, specialising in family law. She’s written books on family law and is a family mediator.
