What can I do about my extremely troublesome neighbour?

Q.- I live in a small development of row houses. My neighbour has become very troublesome. He is verbally abusive when we meet and he slanders me by untrue comments on our internet and he even emails these comments to members of the community where I lived before moving here.

He also has what I must call a “very aggressive” fig tree planted next to our separation wall. This tree drops figs and the rotting figs attract rats, which he refuses to deal with. I am a woman of more than 80 years old and I need advice on how to deal with this situation.

A.- To make defamatory comments by email or Internet is an offence, set out in Article 205 of the Criminal Code. You can bring charges against your neighbour, but this will involve a lawyer, expenses and visits to court.

Your troublesome neighbour could even be punished by a prison sentence and a small fine. As to the fig tree, you are entitled to cut any part of it that overhangs your own garden. My own advice is to do your best to ignore him.

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