Quarter of NL residents have issues with their neighbors

A quarter of Netherlands residents have issues with their neighbors, ranging from loud children or pets, to smelly barbecues, to parking spot disputes and unattractive hedges, according to a survey by Kadasterdata.nl among 1,010 Dutch tenants and homeowners, RTL Nieuws reports.

"A healthy neighborly relationship consists of good contact and clear agreements," Peter Abrahamse of Kadasterdata.nl, a platform with all kinds of data about living in the Netherlands, said to the broadcaster. "If this bond is there, a fence of a few centimeters over the property boundary is no reason for conflict." But if this is lacking, problems arise.

13 percent of Netherlands residents said that they'd have moved somewhere else if they knew in advance who their neighbors were. And 16 percent have actually moved because of their neighbors.

Younger people more often have issues with their neighbors than older ones, Abrahamse noted. "This may be because they make less contact with their neighbors," he said. "Where new residents used to come to introduce themselves, I see that happening a lot less nowadays. A shame, because if you know each other, you are more likely to drop by to discuss something before it becomes a loaded topic."