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How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

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Lisafuller
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How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Lisafuller » Sat, 26 Nov 2022 11:05 pm

I'm pretty exasperated. I live on the third floor in a very quiet estate, surrounded by nature. People here seldom do renovation as the units are all fairly pristine, but when they do, it's only for a couple weeks at most. About five months ago, our neighbors on the sixth floor started renovating. I'm not sure what exactly they're doing, but it seems like they're tearing down the whole block and rebuilding it from the sounds of things. Typically, renovation permits are issued for a month at most - they can be renewed, but this is subject to approval. They have since renewed their permit four times, and have just applied to have it renewed a fifth time which will make the renovation six months long and counting. The constant drilling, hacking, and banging that goes on every day from 9 to after 7 (at times) makes living at home during the day insufferable and is causing all of us to lose out on sleep. Is there anything that can be done?

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abbby
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by abbby » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:36 am

I feel you..the annoyance of all the drilling and non stop hacking. I think you would need to check on with the MCST to find out their renovation plans. Hacking and drilling should take about a week or two at most..unless they are changing out all the floor tiles as well.

I don't think there's much that can be done, even complaining to MCST won't help. Where I live, is an old apartment about 20 years old so every month, at least one neighbour is renovating so throughout my lease duration, there is almost non-stop renovations from the neighbours. It almost drove me crazy.
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NYY1
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by NYY1 » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 12:42 pm

I generally agree with the above. You can ask the MCST what they are doing but probably not much that can be done in the end as long as they are complying with permits, hours, etc.

Also, I would say a few weeks reno is hardly anything but five months seems excessive. I think to redo an entire unit is probably three months right now. The owner may have had an issue with a contractor and could be just as upset as you are.

Nevertheless, reno is an issue with older developments. Can be above you, below you, next to you nonstop. More likely if there are a lot of units turning over in the building but someone could have decided to just redo everything as well.

Hope it ends soon.

Lisafuller
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Lisafuller » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:24 pm

abbby wrote:
Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:36 am
I feel you..the annoyance of all the drilling and non stop hacking. I think you would need to check on with the MCST to find out their renovation plans. Hacking and drilling should take about a week or two at most..unless they are changing out all the floor tiles as well.

I don't think there's much that can be done, even complaining to MCST won't help. Where I live, is an old apartment about 20 years old so every month, at least one neighbour is renovating so throughout my lease duration, there is almost non-stop renovations from the neighbours. It almost drove me crazy.
My development is around 20 years old as well, so I can understand needing to do some minor repair work for wear and tear, but I can't imagine what they would be doing that would necessitate a six month long renovation. If you think about it, that's half of the year! Absolutely crazy, and so inconsiderate that they would think it's OK to inconvenience others for that long of a period.

Lisafuller
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Lisafuller » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:27 pm

NYY1 wrote:
Sun, 27 Nov 2022 12:42 pm
I generally agree with the above. You can ask the MCST what they are doing but probably not much that can be done in the end as long as they are complying with permits, hours, etc.

Also, I would say a few weeks reno is hardly anything but five months seems excessive. I think to redo an entire unit is probably three months right now. The owner may have had an issue with a contractor and could be just as upset as you are.

Nevertheless, reno is an issue with older developments. Can be above you, below you, next to you nonstop. More likely if there are a lot of units turning over in the building but someone could have decided to just redo everything as well.

Hope it ends soon.
I've called the management office nearly once a week since the end of the three month period. My husband is not as kind, and has screamed at both the management on the phone and the owner in person. Unfortunately, the owner seems to be foreign as he doesn't speak very good English, so there's definitely a communication barrier. What's so frustrating is that asking them to terminate the renovation would be unreasonable on our end, but at the same time, allowing them to continue is pretty unbearable, and in all honesty, it's very unreasonable of them to expect everyone else in the block to be OK with it.

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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by NYY1 » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:41 pm

Lisafuller wrote:
Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:27 pm
...
What's so frustrating is that asking them to terminate the renovation would be unreasonable on our end, but at the same time, allowing them to continue is pretty unbearable, and in all honesty, it's very unreasonable of them to expect everyone else in the block to be OK with it.
Unfortunately, all of the above is true, in which case there is no good solution.

Short of buying the owner out and leaving it half finished, it is what it is.

I know that doesn't ease the frustration and like I said, I hope it ends soon. Beyond 3 months does seem like something strange is going on.

Lisafuller
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Lisafuller » Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:43 pm

NYY1 wrote:
Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:41 pm
Lisafuller wrote:
Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:27 pm
...
What's so frustrating is that asking them to terminate the renovation would be unreasonable on our end, but at the same time, allowing them to continue is pretty unbearable, and in all honesty, it's very unreasonable of them to expect everyone else in the block to be OK with it.
Unfortunately, all of the above is true, in which case there is no good solution.

Short of buying the owner out and leaving it half finished, it is what it is.

I know that doesn't ease the frustration and like I said, I hope it ends soon. Beyond 3 months does seem like something strange is going on.
Is there some sort of governing body we can go to that's a step down from the police? We don't want to take things that far but this is really getting out of hand. Unfortunately, we live in a condo, so the HDB is not an option.

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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Swn4 » Mon, 28 Nov 2022 12:27 am

Some ways to report mentioned here.

https://www.noisyneighboursingapore.com ... gulations/


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Lisafuller
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Re: How to deal with nightmare neighbor's reno

Post by Lisafuller » Mon, 28 Nov 2022 9:29 pm

Swn4 wrote:
Mon, 28 Nov 2022 12:27 am
Some ways to report mentioned here.

https://www.noisyneighboursingapore.com ... gulations/


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Seems like the only way to report would be through the police... will have to look further into it.

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