New govt unit with enforcement powers part of proposed laws to resolve severe neighbour disputes

A new government unit will be given powers to investigate and order individuals to stop making noise that disturbs their neighbours, under proposed laws to better address severe disputes.

The authorities on Aug 12 set out calibrated powers that the Community Relations Unit (CRU) will get to resolve serious neighbourly disputes related to noise or hoarding under the Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill, which will be introduced in Parliament later in 2024.

Besides giving warnings or abatement orders, CRU officers will be able to issue a direction requiring neighbours to go for mediation, or install noise sensors in homes to collect data on the direction, timing and intensity of noise after obtaining consent from residents in the affected units.

The CRU will step in only after neighbours have failed to resolve disputes among themselves, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Ministry of Law and Ministry of National Development (MND) in a joint statement.

The ministries said noise sensors will address the current gap, in which sound recordings made by complainants are often not useful in determining the volume of the sound as playback can be distorted.

Noise sensors can also be deployed in common areas such as corridors, said the ministries, adding that the sensors are an option for parties to prove their case – not a requirement – and will not be installed if complainants do not give consent.

To safeguard privacy, the data gathered will be transmitted in real time to Singapore-based servers with strict access controls for processing only, while raw recordings will not be stored, the ministries said.

Besides piloting the CRU, the Bill will make two other broad changes to the Community Dispute Management Framework to provide a wider range of options for the minority of cases that cannot be resolved by the community.

Under the framework – introduced in 2014 to manage quarrels between neighbours – warring parties are encouraged to try to settle their problems through mediation before they file a claim with the tribunal, which will adjudicate on the matter.

The first broad change aims to encourage greater use of community mediation to resolve neighbour disputes at an early stage, while the second will grant the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) enhanced powers to resolve cases brought before it more quickly and effectively.

The CDRT remains an avenue of last resort for severe disputes that cannot be resolved by mediation or the CRU, said the ministries, adding that neighbours will generally be required to go for mediation first before filing a claim with the court.

The CDRT’s new powers will include issuing interim orders to provide quick relief, as well as mandatory treatment orders for those believed to be causing disturbances due to a mental health condition.

Stressing that the Bill aims to facilitate harmonious living, the ministries said: “These enhancements will strengthen, not replace, the ability of the community to come together early and resolve their differences as good neighbours.”

New unit to be piloted in Tampines

The CRU – announced in 2023 – will be piloted for a year in one or two towns, starting with Tampines, which has an average caseload compared with other towns.

A pilot site with an average caseload is necessary to ensure that findings from the pilot will be more representative of the national picture, said the ministries.

Following the pilot, the authorities will assess whether and how the unit can be scaled up islandwide.

The CRU will be made up of officers with experience in law enforcement and basic mediation, and who have passed strict background checks. They will be supported by auxiliary police officers.

Both groups of officers will be required to identify themselves in the course of duty.

Their identities can also be verified via this MND webpage.

The community relations officers will be able to take statements from residents involved in severe disputes, and others who can help with investigations.

They will be given powers to enter a place of residence to gather evidence with consent of the owner or occupier of the unit, or approval from the director-general of community relations.

CRU officers can get involved parties to attend mediation, and issue advisories, warnings or abatement orders that require the resident to take reasonable steps to stop the noise nuisance.

Failing to comply with a mediation direction will draw a fine of up to $1,500. Those who do not follow an abatement order will be fined up to $10,000 for a first offence, while repeat offenders will face a fine of up to $20,000, three months’ jail or both.

With authorisation from the director-general and after sufficient warnings, officers will be able to require removal of the object that causes nuisance.

The authorities also intend to allow the Housing Board to consider compulsory acquisition of flats as a deterrent and “the absolute last resort for severe, recalcitrant nuisance-making”.

This measure will be considered only when all other levers have failed, and acquisition is needed to protect the interests of other residents, the ministries said, adding that this will be similar to how HDB can consider compulsory acquisition of flats for those convicted of throwing killer litter under the Penal Code.

Under the proposed Bill, as a last resort to tackle severe in-unit hoarding, the CRU can apply for a CDRT order to declutter a residential unit, after the court is satisfied that the hoarding has “caused unreasonable interference” to neighbours and the hoarder has not complied with an initial order to declutter.

The ministries had in 2023 conducted a public consultation, which garnered more than 300 responses, and focus group discussions.

Most respondents said they expect the Government to exercise its authority to intervene in severe cases of neighbour disputes, the ministries noted.

“There was strong support for powers to allow the Government to intervene in severe cases of neighbour disputes involving noise,” they said, adding that respondents generally felt these powers should be used appropriately and proportionately.

Extending mediation to more disputes

The use of mediation to resolve disputes will still remain a priority, to ensure neighbours reach an amicable resolution.

Around 80 per cent of voluntary mediation cases at the Community Mediation Centre are successfully settled, with parties able to come to a mutual compromise, the ministries said.

However, despite its effectiveness, many parties in dispute are unwilling to attempt mediation.

Less than 30 per cent of the total cases registered at the Community Mediation Centre proceed to mediation, as one party would be unwilling to participate in mediation.

To extend the benefits of mediation to more disputes, the Bill will give agencies such as the CRU and the Community Mediation Centre powers to direct disputing parties to attend mediation sessions.

It will also allow parties to register their mediation settlement agreement as a CDRT order, which will allow quicker and simpler legal recourse in the event that the terms of the deal are breached.

Enhanced powers of CDRT for quicker resolutions

Neighbours should attempt mediation before filing a CDRT claim, as any adjudicatory outcome will inevitably result in a winner and a loser, said the ministries.

“This is not the best way to resolve a dispute between neighbours who are likely to have to continue living alongside each other after court proceedings are over,” added the ministries.

The public consultation exercise showed that while some members of the public were concerned that CDRT proceedings can damage neighbourly relations and may not address the root course of disputes, they believed such proceedings may be necessary in serious cases.

Broad enhancements to powers and processes of the CDRT will be made, which include strengthened measures to encourage landlords to take early action when their tenants engage in acts of nuisance.

A neighbour who is being unreasonably disturbed can serve a notice on the landlord, requiring the landlord to get the tenant to stop.

The CDRT will also be able to award costs to compensate a person for the time, work and expenses incurred in pursuing the claim.

An additional set of costs can be awarded against a party who, for instance, refuses to participate in mediation.

Noise sensors in homes part of proposed laws to help resolve severe neighbour noise disputes

Noise sensors might soon be deployed in homes as part of efforts to resolve severe noise disputes between neighbours, if legislative changes to laws governing community disputes are tabled in Parliament and passed.

The use of these sensors is part of a suite of amendments to the Community Disputes Resolution Act that the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) hopes to table in Parliament by the end of 2024.

The sensors, which will be installed in homes after obtaining consent from residents affected by noise disputes, will monitor and determine the source and intensity of the disturbances.

The proposed laws will also give powers to a new government unit, called the Community Relations Unit (CRU), to investigate such disputes and issue abatement orders that require individuals to stop making noise that disturbs their neighbours.

Officers from the CRU will be able to install noise sensors in homes to collect data on the direction, timing and intensity of noise.

The sensors may also be deployed in common areas such as corridors with permission from the town council. A notice will be put up to inform residents about the device, and the duration for which it will be deployed.

The data from these devices will be a source of “objective evidence” and help officers validate noise complaints, said the Government in a statement on Aug 12.

It pointed out that sound recordings provided by complainants are “often not useful” for determining volume as these can be distorted or a source of noise itself.

The proposed changes to the law were announced by MCCY, the Ministry of Law and Ministry of National Development in a joint statement.

If passed, the new laws will help the authorities better address severe noise disputes, said the Municipal Services Office’s senior director for operations Yap Yeow Chern.

Mr Yap pointed out that in some severe cases, residents would try to evade the authorities and avoid making noise when officers go over to investigate.

The sensors will help complainants prove their case, he added.

In the first half of 2024, the Housing Board received 2,160 noise-related feedback cases per month on average.

Mr Yap said about 10 per cent of noise disputes between neighbours cannot be resolved through mediation, and of these cases, only a portion would require a noise sensor installed.

The ministries stressed that efforts would be taken to safeguard privacy. They said data gathered will be transmitted in real time to Singapore-based servers, and there will be strict access controls for processing. Raw recordings will not be stored.

This process would also be automated, which means that no one would be able to listen to the content of the recording, including private conversations.

“We will deploy the noise sensors as a confirmatory tool, not as a discovery tool,” said Mr Yap.

“This will help us after our initial investigations have narrowed down roughly which unit the noise is coming from.”

In their statement, the ministries also cited some past cases in which noise sensors would have come in useful.

One case involved complaints about persistent banging noises. But the noise would stop each time officers visited the unit, only to resume after they left.

The ministries pointed out that the authorities were unable to take action as there was a lack of evidence.

In another case, a resident complained about excessive noise from the neighbour living in the unit above, and admitted that he had retaliated by hitting the ceiling. Other neighbours said the noise stemmed from the original complainant’s unit.

The use of noise sensors in this case would be able to verify the true source of the disturbance and refute any allegations.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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