Resident Samsudin Mustapha, who is an accountant, said when one of them wanted to renovate his house last year, City Hall told the house-owner to obtain a written consent from his immediate neighbours.

“Now, my immediate neighbour proudly tells us that he has City Hall’s approval to renovate his house when none of us agreed to it either verbally or in writing,” he said yesterday.

His wife, Jamelah Jama- luddin, said when the neighbour told them of the renovation plan, they had doubted whether City Hall would approve it.

“The owner wanted to turn his double-storey semi-detached house into a three- storey building, erecting a tower-like structure at one portion of the property.

“It (the structure) stands out like a sore thumb in an otherwise pristine and exclusive area,” she said. Jamelah also expressed fears that as a result of the ‘tower’, the value of her property would depreciate.

She said she submitted a protest letter with the signatures of 15 residents to Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan. “The contractor even works on weekends, and my family has to put up with the incessant sounds of drilling and piling work,” she said.

Another resident, Annuar Mohamad, said such move by the neighbour goes beyond the spirit of a civil society when one should be considerate of others’ feelings.

He said the tower blocks the scenic view and the flow of wind. Worse, he said, whoever stays at the house once it is ready, will be able to look into the neighbouring compounds, intruding into others’ privacy.

City Hall could not be reached for comment yesterday.