Beef with your neighbour? Here are your rights in Canada, according to a lawyer
CTV
If you have beef with your neighbour and you feel it's gone too far, what should you do? A personal injury lawyer has some advice.
A B.C. woman sued her downstairs neighbour over noise complaints. In another case, an Ontario woman was charged with assault for spraying her neighbour with a water gun, which she said was accidental.
Both cases underscore how tensions between residents can boil over and lead to a trial or charges.
If you have beef with your neighbour and you feel it's gone too far, what should you do? A personal injury lawyer has some advice.
There are different types of neighbour disputes, including noise complaints, issues with a dog, overgrowth of trees, drainage causing damage to property and fencing issues.
If you have serious disputes with your neighbour, you can review local bylaws and rights concerning property and personal privacy, or contact municipal officials, lawyers, police or other authorities, says Rajiv Haté, senior lawyer at Kotak Personal Injury Law in Mississauga, Ont.
"You know, however, whether that's necessary is always the question," Haté said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
Haté recommends residents avoid fights from escalating by communicating with each other first and letting cooler heads prevail.
