Article by: Joshua Barlow
With Covid-19, South Africans are spending more and more time at home. With the financial, health and social consequences of lockdown, it’s no wonder why many are on edge. Having difficult neighbours only makes the experience worse.
The Protection from Harassment Act 17 of 2011 (“the Act”), provides relief to those enduring harassment from their neighbours (or anyone else). However, it might not always be clear whether your neighbour is garden variety difficult, or engaging in harassment as per the Act.
Generally speaking, if your neighbour does anything which causes harm, or creates a reasonable belief that harm may be caused, to you or your family you are being harassed and will able to apply for a protection order against them. The Act empowers victims of harassment to apply for a protection order against the perpetrator. To protect you and your family, the court has a wide discretion when making the order.
If you believe that you, or your family, are victims of harassment, our firm is able to assist you with obtaining a protection order against them. Good fences and protection against harassment makes good neighbours.
