Hello and welcome back. If you have come this far, it is because you are tired of the neighbour upstairs who plays loud music, or the neighbour next door who takes out the rubbish after hours. The one who disturbs your sleep in the middle of the night or the one who can't pick up his pet's droppings or who won't stop barking. We have all been in the same situation at some point, but do you know what to do with noisy and annoying neighbours? What rights do you have and what does the law protect you?
Here are some tips on what you can do
To begin with, you should know that in Spain there is the Horizontal Property Law. Article 7.2 states that "The owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the building activities prohibited in the bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities".
From Meridional TeamWe, specialists in the management of homeowners' associations, will help you to solve these problems and act without having to argue with your neighbours.
If you want to know what to do, read on and we will give you some suggestions and steps to follow.
What we are going to see in this article:
- How should you deal with noisy neighbours?
- How do you tell your neighbour that he is noisy or annoying?
- Steps to follow
- Talk to your neighbour:
- Bring it to the attention of the homeowners' association
- Bring it to the attention of the authorities
- Legal action
- Conclusion
How should you deal with noisy neighbours?
In general, coexistence within a community of owners is usually peaceful and stable, but it is also true that at some point this tranquillity is interrupted by the arrival of a new neighbour, or suddenly one of our neighbours changes their habits or schedules.
People are more likely to have disputes with their neighbours than with anyone else, and of those disputes the most common cause is noise. Noisy neighbours can make many people's homes uninhabitable. There is the possibility of going to court, but this should be a last resort.
But how do you tell your neighbour that he is noisy or annoying?
We have to bear in mind that before deciding what to do about noisy and annoying neighbours (We must understand that if we live in a community of neighbours, it also means being tolerant, albeit within certain limits, if we live in a community of neighbours.
If you decide to take action and talk to him, it must be because he really is a recurrent nuisance neighbour, and not just an isolated case.
It is a complicated situation, and we probably don't know how to tell a neighbour that he is annoying, or the activity or behaviour he is doing. With a little willpower we can change the behaviour. Probably if the time comes to talk to him, it is because we can't stand it any longer and it is probably affecting our health and has sometimes caused us anxiety.
If the noise or nuisance is isolated and occasional, all we have to do is be patient and wait for it to cease, at other times we may be the ones who are annoying. But in the opposite case, if it is recurrent and frequent, we will tell you how to act.
Here are the steps you can take if you have problems with noisy and annoying neighbours
1. Talk to your neighbour:
In most cases the easiest thing to do is to go directly to the neighbour causing the nuisance or noise, and try in a polite and friendly manner to ask them to cease the activity causing the nuisance.
You should also bear in mind that, depending on the character of the neighbour, who may not be very respectful, it is best to be accompanied by other neighbours who can act as witnesses.
2. Bring it to the attention of the homeowners' association:
If after trying to talk to your neighbour and everything is still the same, you should talk to the president of the community of owners, involving him and putting him on record of what is happening so that he can intervene.
In general, the president and the neighbours affected by the nuisance will seek advice and the intervention of the administrator of the property, who will contact the person causing the noise or nuisance and ask them to cease the noise or nuisance in a friendly manner.
At Southern Team he have intervened in toSome These have been resolved, without going further than a mere friendly request".
Domingo Ariza, Manager Meridional Team
If, after attempts at contact and friendly requests, the problem persists. A formal requirement will be drawn up, signed by the president of the community, to the neighbour causing the nuisance. This will indicate the community rules, if there are any, and failing that, the current regulations on community coexistence.
What if all of the above doesn't work either?
The next step to follow is:
3. Bring it to the attention of the authorities:
First of all, you can go to your local town hall and file a complaint against the neighbour, indicating and proving all the facts that have led to the complaint (days, times, cause of the nuisance). Once the complaint has been filed, the local police will be asked to appear on the scene (but probably when they do appear is not the right time).
It would be advisable to call them while the noise or nuisance is occurring, so that they can verify in situ the damage it is causing. They can even intervene and draw up a report (which will help us in the event that we have to take legal action against the neighbour).
Sepending on the type of town in which we live, the competences in this type of conflict lie with the Local Police or Civil Guard..
- Even with the intervention of the authorities, it doesn't stop bothering -
What can we do?
Finally, if all this does not work, the next step would be to take legal action.
4. Legal action
Therefore, if you have tried every possible, amicable and formal way, individually and together with the community, to resolve the conflict with your neighbour and you do not get the rest and peace that your home should provide, you have no choice but to file a lawsuit. If you live in a community of owners, first of all, an extraordinary meeting must be convened, in which the filing of a lawsuit against the problematic neighbour is authorised. If the tenant of the flat or premises is not the owner of the property, the lawsuit will also be directed against the owner.
Before proceeding to sue, you must bear in mind, and this is very important, that for any judicial process it is necessary to be able to prove the facts that are being sued for and that are produced on a recurring basis. Therefore, all the steps we have discussed in the previous points must be well recorded (summons, photos, video recordings, everything that allows us to prove it).
Even if you know from the beginning that, with the previous steps mentioned in this article, the annoying neighbour will not give in and you know in advance that you will have to go to court, it is very important to carry them out, even if it slows down the whole process. But in this way it will be possible to prove that you have acted in good faith and made all the previous friendly and formal requests. This will help us to give weight and more guarantee of success to the claim in our favour or in favour of the community of owners.
Conclusion
In short, noise and annoying activities that can be suffered constantly, and even affect our physical and mental health, there is no other option than to file a complaint with the competent authorities and as a last resort a lawsuit against the annoying neighbour, either individually or through the community of owners if there is one, following the indications that we have explained in this article.
We must remind you that the aim of these tips is to resolve the conflict or conflicts between neighbours that may exist. In no case should we let ourselves be carried away by the nervous or stressful situation caused by the nuisance and act without thinking. It is therefore important that you follow each of the steps we have indicated, otherwise you could cause more problems than solutions.
We hope you find the legal advice, tips and guidance we have given you helpful.
In any case, since Meridional Team We know the problems caused by everything related to neighbourhood coexistence within any community of owners, so we recommend the services of a property administrator, who are knowledgeable about all the procedures to follow and the resolution of neighbourhood conflicts and can help you solve any problems that may arise, whether they are caused by annoying neighbours or other situations that may arise within a community of owners.
As we said at the beginning Meridional Team we are specialists in community management and we will always try to help you in the most effective and efficient way, and with the best possible solution.
We encourage you to contact us with any problems or concerns you may have regarding your community and how we can help you, we will be happy to assist you.
In addition, we offer other services designed specifically for homeowners, which can help you with your day-to-day life.
You can contact us by phone 951834399,
or by e-mail: welcome@meridionalteam.com
And if you have found what we have told you helpful or interesting, please share it with others, as I'm sure there will be someone who can help you.
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