When common sense is in scarce supply – John Green, professional arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator discusses what is likely to go sideways between bodies corporate and owners
Common sense is supposed to be, like its name suggests, common. The implication is that everybody has a quota of similar sensible thinking influencing their decision making and behavior, and if used, the result will be perceived and accepted as “sensible” by everyone involved.
But what happens when common sense is a rarity? When it’s an endangered attribute that very few share?
It’s when a common sense view of what is sensible is NOT shared that John Green is asked to get involved.
The challenges of apartment block living
As more and more of us move into apartments we find ourselves (surprise, surprise – gasp!) having to live more closely to our neighbours than we’ve ever been used to.
According to John, the ensuing challenges are not unique. They are the same regardless of whether the apartment block is in Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch. Top of the complaint list are misunderstandings about what constitutes disruptive and unreasonable noise, debates about car parks (availability and use), disagreements about taste and discussions over pets.
At least part of the struggle people have adapting to close quarter living is down to its newness. New Zealand does not have a history of apartment dwelling. We’ve been a quarter acre pavlova paradise, at least in mythology, if not in fact, for a long, long time. Each person, or family, had their own house, on their own piece of dirt. That dirt was his country. That home was his castle and he could do whatever he liked within its walls. In and on his own place he was king – answerable to no one. He could paint the exterior walls lolly-pink. He could play the worst songs ever loud at 3 o’clock in the morning, and decide to fire up the electric drill he got for Father’s Day – just when you put the baby down for a mid-morning nap.