Logan Williams is a free-lance writer who works from home.  His friends know him as a good-natured guy who loves extreme sports and salsa dancing.  As hard as he plays, he works even harder.  As a writer, he is usually constricted in meeting his deadlines for his work.  His neighbour owns a Chihuahua who barks all day long until he returns home from work. Logan brings this to his neighbour’s attention but to no avail.  He decides to take matters into his own hands and return the favour.  He begins mowing the lawn early in the morning at 6am having the knowledge that his neighbour sleeps until 8am before leaving for work at 9am. Logan's relationship with his neighbour over the next few months becomes so toxic that both parties end up calling the by-law office and the police.  Logan hears about our service from a friend who has recently gone through a mediation process with his neighbour and he decides to call Community Justice Initiatives.  Mediation is initiated and the mediators meet with both parties individually to gain from their perspective what the issues of conflict are.  Mediators then meet with the parties together for mediation.  Both parties are given an opportunity to voice their issues and concerns.  Both parties listen to each other and are able to gain an understanding of what is occurring between them.  The neighbour acknowledges understanding Logan's necessity for a few hours of quiet during the day in order to write his articles.  He agrees to take his Chihuahua to obedience school and find a dog walker. Logan apologizes for his attitude and promises to stop mowing the lawn at 6am and he also volunteers to walk the dog once in awhile.

"At first it seemed like we were not making progress because both of us were in fighting mode, trying to overpower one another.  Once the barriers came down, we were able to communicate in honesty and understood each other’s positions.  With some compromise from both sides, we walked away satisfied with our relationship. The mediators were able to assist us to a productive outcome!"

Logan, Mediation Client

What We Do

Housing Mediation Service is a confidential mediation process which allows participants to meet together with two neutral third party mediators.  The participants work towards understanding what the issues are, what they want to achieve as an outcome by collaboratively working on an agreement between them.  They may also work towards repairing and restoring their harmed relationships.  Typical issues that can be addressed:  noise, property boundaries, personal differences, parking complaints, snow removal, landlord/tenant, etc.

Why Choose Housing Mediation Service