SINGAPORE: A resident recently took to an online forum to share the antics of a “petty nuisance neighbour,” who was reported to do things such as leave a container of rotten food out and spray pesticide towards his neighbour’s door.
The stressed-out resident shared that he and his wife are now looking for a new home. “What to do with petty nuisance neighbour playing mind games with us?” This was the question a fed-up resident posted to a Singaporean online forum, Reddit, on Tuesday (Jan 2).
“It’s a rental block with units facing each other,” the post read. “His house is in front of ours. (We) had reported him for his hoarding along the corridor as our clothes got stuck on his items a few times while walking past and it’s hard to even push a bicycle past his items.”
The writer shared that though he tried to be understanding, the neighbour has not changed his behaviour. I know in these kinds of living environments, we should practice tolerance and I did sit on it and spoke to him nicely before but to no avail,” he said. “Lots of excuses from him about keeping his things.”
According to the post, despite the Town Council already getting involved, the neighbour reverted to his ways. “Recently, (the) Town Council finally removed his things along the corridor,” the resident wrote. “He managed to get some of it back to put back along the corridor.”
To make matters worse, the problematic neighbour has allegedly resorted to other antics. “Now every morning, he puts out a container of rotten food to make the corridor smell so that I can’t open my doors for some air,” the post read.
“Every evening, when he comes back from his ice-cream selling job, he will spray pesticide towards our door from his home. All these every single day without fail. (The) Town Council can’t do much as usual and (the) CDRT is the last resort.”
The distressed resident turned to Singaporeans to ask for advice on the matter. “Does anyone know any other steps to take?” he asked before adding, “Before anyone comments ‘Get a new house,’ yes, my wife and I are looking in the market for one now. But we’ll still be here awhile.”
Filing neighbour dispute claims
According to the Singapore Courts government website, The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) “hear disputes under the Community Disputes Resolution Act (CDRA) between neighbours involving acts of unreasonable interference with the enjoyment or use of places of residence.”
However, the government urges people first to understand what cases are eligible for the claim and to understand the possible outcomes of such a claim before filing one.
What to do with petty nuisance neighbour playing mind games with us?
byu/Raftel88 insingapore