There are a lot of ways that your neighbor can impact your quality of life. Maybe they refuse to maintain their property, bringing your property value down. Maybe they built a fence that is so tall it breaks local regulations and makes you feel enclosed in your own yard. Maybe they don’t agree with you on where the boundaries are, and they think that your land actually belongs to them.
One less common but still frustrating issue you can have with your neighbor is known as light trespass. Essentially, this just means that they have installed lights that are so bright that the light enters your home. This can ruin the atmosphere in your yard, it can keep you up at night and it can make you feel like even your own home isn’t the relaxing place you always wanted it to be.
This can happen with any lighting, but it’s often a real issue with security lighting. Maybe someone broke into your neighbor’s car in their dark driveway, so they put up a huge light over the car to deter future attempts. It works, but that light that they mounted on the side of their house shines right into your bedroom window. They don’t notice — their bedroom is on the other side of the house — but you feel like you can barely get to sleep, even in the middle of the night.
The reality is that we have to learn to live with our neighbors, and that’s not always easy. If you end up involved in a dispute, be sure you understand your legal options.
