Neighbour Issues, Part 1 (Recorded Webinar)

Lawyer Anil Aggarwal and Constable Jason Doucette answer common questions about noise, dogs, smoke, difficult neighbours, privacy and reputation, and when to involve the police. For British Columbia, Canada. Current to April 2025. Show notes at https://www.peopleslawschool.ca/webin...


Noise
4:50 What you can do about a neighbour who blasts their music at a high volume throughout the day.
9:40 What you can do about excessive party noise after 11 pm and the best way to approach a neighbour in advance.
13:00 What to do if you live next to a music venue and the noise from the venue is loud and runs late into the night.

Dogs
15:35 What you can do if your neighbour’s dog barks all day long.
18:50 What you can do if your neighbour lets their dog off leash and it tears up your yard and poops on your property.
22:10 What you can do if your neighbour has an aggressive dog and you’re scared that it will hurt someone.

Smoke
23:50 What you can do if your neighbour chain smokes on their deck all day long and the smoke ruins your outside time and enters your house through open windows.

Menacing neighbours
26:35 What you can do if you have a neighbour with mental health or addiction issues who knocks on your door late at night and you feel unsafe and sometimes harassed.
29:00 What you can do to protect your safety and the safety of others if you have a belligerent rental neighbour who drinks and smokes heavily and engages in activities that could harm others, like cooking with a propane tank and possibly driving under the influence.

Privacy and reputation
31:20 Whether it’s legal for your neighbour to film you using their phone when you’re outside on your property or in your home, and whether your neighbour can point their security camera at your home or have part of your home in the footage.
35:30 What you can do if someone in your community posts illegitimate complaints and defamatory comments about you in a public forum.

Police
38:00 What you can do if you hear yelling and loud noises next door and suspect domestic and family violence.
40:05 What you can do if you suspect that there are drug trafficking activities occurring in your neighborhood.
41:35 When it’s appropriate to contact the police about neighbour issues.

Live questions
43:40 When your neighbour’s right to enjoy their property outweighs your right to enjoy your property.
45:20 Recommendations for apps to measure the decibel level of noise.
46:35 Whether bylaws and fines relating to dogs off leash are ever enforced.
47:40 What you can do about drones flying over your property.
48:40 Whether you need photographic proof of a neighbour smoking.
50:20 Whether you can draft a demand letter yourself or need a lawyer to do so.
51:30 Whether there is a way for you to find out why there is a police presence in your mobile home park.
54:30 What you can do if your upstairs strata neighbour, who you think might be racist, is purposely making noise and stomping their feet to bother you.