CTTT: There Must Be Somewhere Outta Here?

It’s been a year since our neighbours in our two lot duplex built a fence on common property which we look onto from four of the six rooms in our apartment. (They also went ambush style into the common property roof and put in insulation, but that's for another post.)

The fence has caused us loss of light and a darkened outlook (it is a dark brown brushwood fence), it has taken away our common property tropical garden palm view (the neighbours assumed this into their side of the fence and left us staring point blank at a fence) and it has lessened the value of our property, in our eyes and in the eyes of two real estate agents who have assessed it.

After we asked the neighbours to remove it and they refused, we put an application into the CTTT. The Adjudicator ruled a 6 month compliance period in which the neighbours need to take the fence if they can’t get our consent prior to keep it. The deadline was early May 2011.

We hear nothing from the neighbours until a day before the final compliance date, when we receive an Interim Order from the CTTT put in by our neighbours, saying that an extension has been granted to our neighbours because they have been busy with work and had a baby and we were not contactable for discussions for 3 months of the 6 month compliance period. (not true)

What the….? Aren’t Interim Orders reserved for urgent matters? Does this mean CTTT has set precedence for all people with work and family commitments to be able to get extensions on orders placed on them?

And too busy to take a fence down? It would have taken the neighbours around the same amount of time to put in an Interim Order to the CTTT and they found the time to do that.

We put in a submission against the Interim Order stating many good reasons why indeed the fence needs to come down in accordance with the original order but the CTTT sent us a 2 sentence letter back saying an extension has been granted for an additional 3 months. No reasons stated.

And it gets weirder. We then get an order from the CTTT put in by the neighbours as to why the fence should stay! So the CTTT ruled it must go, then extended the period of time it could stay, and are now allowing the opportunity for it to stay?

Here we are beside ourselves putting in yet another document to the CTTT, now having to defend this fence from becoming a by-law. We have stated all the reasons to the CTTT in our latest document, as we have earlier, as to why the illegal fence cannot remain in its position on common property.

We would appreciate any advice on this matter. One of this neighbouring couple is a powerful lawyer and the other has real estate experience.  We are shocked that the CTTT rulings have been so inconsistent and concerned that our neighbours know how to manipulate the law and will eventually find a way to make this illegal fence stay.

Can we seek a CTTT hearing? Can we request for the CTTT Adjudicator to visit our strata to view the injuries the fence causes us?  Experts, what would you do?