Wars between neighbors have been started over this and civilizations have perished. Whose responsibility is it to maintain communal spaces after all? Is it the government, your “Neighborhood Watch” or the owners themselves? There are many ways to approach this delicate subject and find a solution to this problem. Solving it would require consideration for how your country works and does things, but also where you stand on the matter. Residential management is not an easy thing, but the good news is there are things you can personally do to make it such.
Government and Municipalities
Governments and municipalities have a huge say in who maintains common spaces. Parks, the spaces around buildings and houses, and others often lie within the government’s remit to fix and take proper care for. Yet, this may not always be the case as there are different governments who do things differently.  Yet, a simple fact remains unchanged – your local government will have the biggest say in how your communal spaces are maintained – at least those areas that are visible to the public. To sort out those micro spaces, though, such as your fence with your neighbor, you might need to find a more personal approach.
After all, the government can’t really take care of everything so people should also work together to manage the space that, for better or for worse, is common in some sense. Blocks of flats have a similar issue where some people may get too cozy using communal parts, for example. This is an area where the local government can definitely help with, but overall, you are much better off talking with your neighbors and sorting out the issue.
Hiring a Professional Company for Help
One way to really address the issue with common spaces is to just outsource the work to third-parties. It may sound like surrendering, but it really isn’t. What you are doing here is to simply make sure that you let independent mediators sort out any issues. For example, a professional company can help with:
- Enforcing any mandatory fees neighbors have agreed upon
- Observe quiet hour regulations and keeping communal spaces clean
- Secure specialists who are willing to carry out repair work
If you have particularly rowdy neighbors, for example, you will certainly appreciate using a third-party company which has the experience and background knowledge to make such individuals more compliant with what you want to be nicer and livable spaces. People are reluctant to respond to neighbors, but they might just promise not to litter or encumber common spaces if there is a good chance a third-party would use them for something that could have been easily averted.
Taking Care of It Yourself
Common spaces aren’t just the spaces between your apartments or houses. An entire street or the space around your building may be subject to the same logic. If the spaces around your building are littered and heavily so, the best way to counteract that is to simply spend some time of your day to clean up. It may sound like a futile and endless battle, and it is, but the truth is, you will feel much better about yourself and the spaces around your building if you spent some time cleaning up. At least the end result would be much nicer.
In a way, keeping common and public spaces clean is a bit like looking for the latest online casinos. You are sure that someone can do it for you, but since it impacts you as well, you wouldn’t mind putting in all the hard work to make sure you are getting the best possible experience out of it. Cleaning litter and garbage is definitely not ideal, but if your area lacks proper government interference, there is no reason for you to live in a mess. Instead, you can inspire people to follow your example and intervene so that everyone can live up in a nicer and cleaner space.
Having Trouble with Local Authorities? Petitions Work!
If you are sure that an issue with your communal spaces is caused by the government or local authorities, there is an easy way to sort this out. Just make petitions, organize your neighbors and act strongly. A class-action suit is what most politicians will try to avoid at all costs, so showing strength and that you can sort an issue quickly may actually scare local authorities into action. As it turns out, taking care of common and public space is a pretty straightforward process even if the government fails to act.
