Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary. You want it to be your peaceful retreat from the world and a place where you can relax and unwind. But for some people, home can feel more like a nightmare when they have loud, obnoxious, and downright discourteous neighbors.
When bad neighbors take away the quiet enjoyment of your property, you may wonder if you have legal rights. Thankfully, you do, but it’s not always easy to put a stop to their behavior. Just as you are entitled to enjoying your property, they are always entitled to enjoy theirs—and sometimes they do so in a way that their neighbors don’t enjoy or appreciate.
What Is and Isn’t Considered a Nuisance?
A neighbor listening to music that is audible by neighbors during daytime hours isn’t considered a nuisance. In order to be considered a nuisance, an action must both interfere with your ability to live peacefully and enjoy your property while also being unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful.
That include a constantly barking dog, loud music that plays nonstop, and frequent loud late-night parties. It can also include illegal and unsafe activities such as prostitution, drug sales, or the accumulation of excessive garbage that can pose a health hazard to neighbors.
The Difference Between Temporary and Permanent Nuisances
A permanent nuisance is defined as a single act that causes permanent injury or damages. It is something that cannot be fixed by expending money or time. Permanent nuisances also must result from a permanent construction which is “injurious as installed” and not one that could become so over time or through its usage. Taking legal action for a permanent nuisance must happen shortly after the damages occur, as that’s when the statute of limitations begins.
A temporary nuisance is defined as a temporary interference with the use and enjoyment of a property. Compared to a permanent nuisance, a temporary nuisance is one that is fixable. It also may involve damages that can vary over time.
Can You Sue Your Neighbor for Creating a Nuisance?
Yes, but only if the nuisance has infringed on your right to quiet enjoyment of your property or has caused you or someone in your family to suffer injuries or damages. Getting compensation for a temporary or permanent nuisance created by a neighbor isn’t always straightforward, and it’s important to have an experienced Tennessee civil lawyer on your side from day one of the process.
In addition, suing a neighbor can make an already stressful living situation even more tenuous. Having a lawyer who understands the sensitive nature of neighbor disputes and nuisance-related lawsuits can make the process easier and give you peace of mind as they work towards giving you peace at home, too.
Our Aggressive and Experienced Legal Team Wants to Help
We focus on assisting people throughout East Tennessee with aggressive and results oriented litigation on a wide variety of legal matters, including personal injury lawsuits, DUI arrests, contract violations, property line disputes, and more. If your sense of security and peace have been shattered because of a nuisance created by a neighbor, we want to help.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll review the facts of what happened, determine what type of nuisance occurred or is currently taking place, and work hard to help you resolve issue and be compensated for your damages.
