Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven has always allowed his neighbors to walk through his yard as a shortcut. He now wants to build an extension onto his house, which will eliminate the shortcut. His neighbor says he is not allowed…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven lives in a development where the houses are situated fairly close together and everyone has windows that face each other’s yards. One day, he decides that he wants to install a swimming pool in his…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: In the last segment, we discussed a case where one neighbor purchases a home from a non-Jew. What if both neighbors bought their houses from non-Jews? How would that impact issues of hezek riya? Answer: If…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven has a pool in his backyard. His neighbor, John, is a non-Jew, who obviously has no reservations about being the cause of hezek riya. John is now selling his house to a Jew. The new…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Chaim is building a pool in his backyard. His neighbor has an existing window that faced his yard. Now that the swimming pool is being built, the window will overlook the pool.  Until now, when it…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven has a swimming pool in his backyard with a sufficient mechitzah to prevent his neighbors from seeing in. One of his neighbors wants to build another floor onto his house. If he puts in a…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven needed a variance for a construction project. His neighbor, Shimon, claimed that he would be negatively impacted by that variance. He went to the zoning board and tried to stop it but the board ruled…

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: A shul is attempting to build in a residential neighborhood and needs a variance in order to be built the way it wants. The neighbors won’t try to stop the shul from being built, of course,…