Nuisance neighbour: What can I do about noisy dogs, blocking of path and aggressive behaviour?

I live in a small estate where there’s an active residents’ association. One of the residents blocks access to the footpath by parking both cars on the pavement, one a large SUV. They keep a large recreation vehicle in their driveway. While pedestrians could walk in single file on the footpath, it’s barely possible due to the small trees and hedging growing over their waist-high boundary wall. They have been unco-operative when asked to maintain the vegetation so that people can pass without having to walk out on to the road.

Residents who live opposite find it difficult to exit their driveways. When approached about moving their car they have been quite aggressive. When asked to make a voluntary contribution to the residents’ association who look after the maintenance of the greens, etc, their response is that it’s a waste of money.

They also keep four or five dogs which they let out into their garden several times a day, often after 10pm, and their constant barking can be heard all over the estate. Do we have a right to clear the vegetation on their property to restore access to the footpath?

The several issues you have outlined are:

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(a) Parking vehicles on the footpath.

(b) Obstructing exits from driveways.

(c) Overgrowth of hedge and its obstruction of the public footpath.

(d) Parking of large recreation vehicle in driveway.

(e) Several dogs creating a nuisance.

(f) Refusing to make voluntary contribution to the residents’ association.

(g) Aggression when requested to move car.

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You refer to a residents’ association, but not to an owners’ management company, so I assume that the road, which includes the footpath you refer to, is in the charge of the local authority, ie it is a public road.

In relation to (a), it is illegal to park a vehicle, wholly or partially, on the public footpath. This is provided for in section 36 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997.

In relation to (b), if a driveway exit is obstructed, the parked vehicle which caused the obstruction, irrespective of which side of the road it is parked on, is parked illegally. This is also provided for in section 36 the regulations, which states, “A vehicle shall not be parked in any place, position or manner that will result in the vehicle obstructing an entrance or an exit for vehicles to or from a premises, save with the consent of the occupier of such premises.”

The Control of Dogs Act 1986 provides for the making of a complaint to the District Court in relation to nuisance caused by barking dogs

Issues (a) and (b) are matters for the Garda. You should record times and frequencies and photograph instances of obstruction.

In relation to (c), I do not believe you have a right to clear the vegetation referred to. The part of the vegetation extending beyond the outer face of the boundary wall is obstructing part of the public footpath over which the public has a right to pass, and is a matter for your local authority’s roads department.

In relation to (d), the Exempted Development section of the 2001 Planning and Development Regulations 2001 states that a caravan or camper van cannot be stored within the curtilage of a house for more than nine months in any one year. This issue would be a matter for your local authority’s planning department if this restriction is being breached.

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In relation to (e), sections 107-108 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 provides for the local authority (or EPA for activities requiring a licence) to serve notice on a person in charge of a premises from which there is noise emissions. Section 108 of this Act provides for the EPA, local authority or any person to go to the District Court for an order to cease the noise emissions. The Control of Dogs Act 1986 also provides for the making of a complaint to the District Court in relation to nuisance caused by barking dogs and provides for the court to limit the number of dogs kept on a premises.

The more recorded evidence you, your neighbours and residents’ association have in relation to the issues outlined, the more likely you will have success in achieving satisfactory outcomes

In relation to (f), as the contribution to the residents’ association is voluntary, there is little that can be done about refusal other than approaches and persuasion by the association. The circulation by the association to all residents, including your neighbour, of an account of income and expenditure and details of maintenance and improvements carried out over specific time periods should help in countering the apparently dismissive “waste of money” comment.

In relation to (g), dates of incidents of aggression and the words used should be recorded to assist in determining the level of aggression, and as evidence of your neighbour’s negative response to the parking issue.

In progressing your complaints, you, or preferably you and your affected neighbours, should consult your residents’ association. You state that it is an active association, therefore it should make a final appeal to the offending neighbour to co-operate and resolve the issues outlined. If he refuses or fails to co-operate within a reasonable time, the residents’ association should then make a complaint to the Garda in relation to issues (a), (b) and (g) and provide the recorded evidence.

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In relation to issues (c) and (d), the residents’ association should engage with the relevant local authority departments as indicated and provide recorded evidence. Issue (e) is in a nuisance category. Local authorities’ policies in relation to nuisance complaints vary. Your association should first engage with your local authority. It may investigate and/or advise on the process and, as recommended by the EPA’s national protocol for dealing with noise complaints, it may be able to provide you with a range of relevant documents, including a standard noise-log sheet, a standard section 107 notice template to make a formal complaint, and other relevant documents. You are also entitled to apply to the District Court for an order to cease or limit the nuisance.

The more recorded evidence you, your affected neighbours and residents’ association have in relation to the issues outlined, the more likely you will have success in achieving satisfactory outcomes when dealing with the statutory bodies referred to.

Patrick Shine is a chartered geomatics surveyor, a chartered civil engineer, and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

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