Legal and Property Advice from the Professionals
This week the Property Poser experts dispute the old adage that good fences make good neighbours, as they assist a reader with a query about whether she can erect a fence between two adjoining properties without the other party’s consent. The reader alleges that her neighbour built an illegal one-metre high retaining wall on her side of the divide, and it is assumed that it is her intention … [Read more...]
This week the Property Poser experts assist a reader whose neighbour’s stormwater runs across his property. The reader does not indicate if the neighbour did anything to divert the water onto his property or whether it just appears to be the natural flow of the water. He would like to know what his neighbour’s obligations are and whether the National Building Regulations and Standards … [Read more...]
Whenever people live in close proximity to one another, it seems that possibilities for conflict abound. This week the Property Poser panel considers the contentious issue of neighbours overstepping their boundaries. A reader writes that her neighbour planted a hedge on her own side of a shared boundary wall but that, over time, the hedge grew and covered the whole wall, including the … [Read more...]
The Property Poser panel is often asked to deal with the sensitive issue of boundary walls between neighbours. This week one of our readers shares her distress over the state of the vibacrete wall that divides her property from her neighbours’. Some of the panels are broken or missing but the neighbours are not in a financial position to make any kind of repairs to the wall. The … [Read more...]
This week the Property Poser panel helps a reader who is at his wits’ end with noisy neighbours. He writes that the owner of the next-door property rents it out to eight students, who often hold loud parties until the early hours. He has had meetings with the owner, who has undertaken to do something about the noise. However, instead of improving the situation, it has worsened. The … [Read more...]
With all the rain that has fallen across the country recently, it is not surprising to hear from a reader who complains about the manner in which his neighbour diverts stormwater runoff. He writes that his neighbour has made numerous holes in their shared boundary wall, diverting stormwater to the reader's side. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the properties are on an incline, with … [Read more...]
Our question this week is from a reader who is having problems with an invasive tree on his neighbour's property. He erected the boundary wall between the properties and his neighbour raised it at a later stage. The offending tree was already there and the neighbour removed some of the overhanging branches to allow the reader to move his caravan in and out of his property without causing … [Read more...]
Our panel has received an e-mail from a frustrated reader who has been experiencing endless problems with a noisy neighbour in the security complex in which she resides. She has also attached an extract of the conduct rules applicable to her complex. In her letter, she states that she has taken the issue up with the chairman of the body corporate, but no action appears to have been taken … [Read more...]
Our panel has received an e-mail from a frustrated reader who has been experiencing endless problems with a noisy neighbour in the security complex in which she resides. She has also attached an extract of the conduct rules applicable to her complex. In her letter, she states that she has taken the issue up with the chairman of the body corporate, but no action appears to have been taken … [Read more...]
This week’s reader question comes from a lady who bought a flat for investments purposes some two years ago. When she recently inspected it, she realised that there was water damage in the bathroom. The paint on the walls was flaking and the ceiling was completely bare. A plumber concluded that the water was coming from the apartment above hers and she proceeded to inform the managing … [Read more...]
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