SINGAPORE, Aug 13 — A dedicated team with enforcement powers will be set up as part of a proposed law to tackle severe cases of neighbour disputes, which will also grant the Housing and Development Board (HDB) the authority to take over a flat as a “last resort”.

The flat acquisition may be used against recalcitrant offenders and in instances where all other methods at resolving the dispute have failed.

The proposed measures — part of the Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill that will be tabled later this year — were detailed in a press release issued on Monday (Aug 12) by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of National Development (MND).

Before this, the three ministries had gathered feedback on existing measures in dealing with community disputes from more than 300 members of the public and had held focus group discussions with more than 200 stakeholders.

The ministries said in the press release that the enhanced measures would “strengthen” and “not replace” the ability of the community to resolve their differences.

Why it matters

In 2019, HDB received an average of 400 noise complaints a month — but this number increased to 3,200 in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, representatives from the three ministries said at a media briefing last year.

Although the number dropped to 2,300 a month in 2022, this remains a cause for concern for the authorities.

Public consultations conducted by the ministries show that most people expect the Government to “exercise greater authority to intervene” and provide relief to neighbours in severe cases.

This includes those involving neighbours who intentionally use noise to cause distress to their neighbours, and where attempts at resolution have been unsuccessful.

Today, about 80 per cent of cases where neighbours voluntarily underwent mediation were successfully settled.

Despite the effectiveness of mediation, however, less than 30 per cent of the disputes registered with the Community Mediation Centre proceed to mediation because one party did not wish to take part.

New ‘community relations’ unit

A team called the Community Relations Unit (CRU) will be set up to address severe cases of noise-related neighbour disputes, and will be given regulatory powers to investigate, deter and stop neighbour noise nuisance. The unit can:

Take statements from the neighbours concerned and others who can help with the investigation

Enter a place of residence to gather evidence, with the consent of the owner, occupier, or with approval from the director-general of community relations

Issue a mediation direction to require the neighbours concerned to attend mediation

Issue advisories, warnings or abatement orders that require the individual to take reasonable steps to stop the noise nuisance

Require the removal of objects that cause a nuisance, after sufficient warning and with authorisation from the director-general

However, the unit will step in only after neighbours’ attempts to resolve the matter among themselves have failed.

Its team will comprise officers who have experience in law enforcement and basic mediation, and have passed strict background checks. They will be required to identify themselves in the course of duty, and members of the public can also verify their identity via an MND webpage.

The pilot will run for a year initially in the HDB estates of one or two towns, starting with Tampines.

Additionally, this unit will be empowered to deploy noise sensors — to collect evidence on the direction, timing and intensity of the noise.

This addresses the current gap where sound recordings made by complainants are often not useful for the purposes of determining the volume or source of noise.

To safeguard resident privacy, the ministries said that the raw recordings of the noise will not be stored, and officers from the unit will not be able to listen to them.

The noise sensors will be deployed only with the consent of the owner or occupier of the affected units.

Lastly, to address severe hoarding within public housing units, the CRU can apply for an order to declutter the residence, in cases where the hoarder has not complied with an order to declutter.

This, the ministries stressed, is like the measure for HDB to compulsorily acquire a unit — which will only be done as a last resort premised on public interest.

Enhancing powers of tribunal

The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal, which is the avenue of last resort for complainants after mediation and earlier failed interventions, will have new powers to make certain orders to facilitate quicker and more effective resolution of cases.

These include:

  • Requiring neighbours to go for mediation before filing a claim with the tribunal
  • Issuing interim orders on an expedited basis, such as removing an obstruction from the common corridor or to stop making excessive noise
  • Requiring landlords to put up a compliance bond when their tenants cause nuisance, which would allow the landlord to terminate the tenancy without incurring liability
  • Ordering a person to undergo mandatory assessment or treatment, or both, if there is reason to believe that the person suffers from a mental health condition that is contributing to the acts of nuisance
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The Bill will also empower agencies to direct disputing parties to attend mediation at the Community Mediation Centre. — TODAY