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Neighbour Noise Problems

Sound is essential to our daily lives, but noise is not - noise can be defined as unwanted sound. It is a source of irritation and stress for many people and can even damage our hearing if it is loud enough. Many of us are exposed to stressful levels of noise at home and at work.

What to do if you are affected by noise at your property:

Neighbourhood nuisance


Eg. Noise from TV / stereos, DIY, cars and car repairs, barking dogs, burglar alarms, banging doors and domestic appliances.

Industrial / Commercial Noise


Eg. Noise from construction sites, factories, pubs and clubs, ice cream chimes, loudspeakers in the street, takeaways and other businesses.

Neighbourhood nuisance

It is a fact of life that we all make noise. Whether talking to others, playing music, entertaining, driving in our cars or just going about our daily business. You should remember that no house is completely soundproof and everyone should expect some noise from the people around them. The reasons for you being disturbed could be due to:

  • Your neighbours behaving unreasonably
  • Your neighbours behaving normally but the insulation present in your house is not enough to cut out the sounds of everyday life
  • People's sensitivity to sound varies, what one person considers is quiet others may think is noisy and annoying

What you can do yourself

If you are being disturbed by noise from a neighbour, first consider approaching your neighbour and explaining politely that you are being troubled by noise. You may find this difficult, but often people are unaware that they are causing a problem and most will be glad to do what they can to reduce noise. If appropriate you could invite them in to your property to hear the level of noise for themselves. Often an immediate approach by the Council can lead to a breakdown in relations between neighbours, and whilst we try to avoid this in the way that we deal with complaints, it is often better to try to solve the problem between yourselves first. However, approach the matter carefully if you think your neighbour might react angrily to a complaint.

 

If the problem seems to be inadequate sound insulation there are a number of DIY solutions available to improve it and the Pollution Team can advise you where to find further information.

 

If your initial requests of your neighbour are snubbed or ignored write to them about the problem. Refer to your previous approach to them, anything they might have agreed to do and the effect the noise is having, on you and / or your family. Ask them again to stop making a noise nuisance.

 

Start to keep a record of the times you have spoken to your neighbours and copies of any letters you write. In addition, you should keep a diary of the dates and times the nuisance occurs, its duration and the effect it has on you. This will provide the first level of evidence in any subsequent legal action that may be needed. Be careful to make records as the events happen, not sometime later and try not to exaggerate. For example:

 

Date

Start Time

Finish Time

Type of Noise

Effect

27/1/02

12.05 am

01.30 am

loud music

Woke me up - couldn't sleep until 2.00 am

29/1/02

09.00 pm

12.30 am

hammering & banging

Could not hear television unless on full

 

Tell your neighbour every time a nuisance occurs. If the problem persists move on to making a formal complaint to your local council (where you pay your council tax). If the person causing the problem is a council tenant, the complaint should be initially made to the local Area Housing Office, if the property is privately owned you should contact the Pollution Team. If the property is rented by a housing association, we recommend that you contact the housing association first of all.

 

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Industrial / Commercial noise, Construction sites, Factories etc

First of all consider making an approach to the company creating the noise to explain the effect it is having on you. They may be unaware of the problems they are causing, and if approached in a reasonable manner will respond helpfully.

 

However, if the noise continues, or you do not feel confident in approaching the company, then contact the Pollution Team. Your complaint will be treated in the strictest confidence.

What we will do after receiving your complaint

Neighbourhood noise & Commercial/Industrial Noise

Normally, we will send you a letter enclosing an advice leaflets and diary sheet to keep a record of the problem. The diary is an important aid to the investigation and should detail the dates and times when you hear the noise and the effect it has on you. This will help us assess your particular problem and allow us to choose the best method of proceeding. We will also write to the person responsible for the noise advising them of the complaint, although we will not tell them the name of the person complaining.

 

This initial approach by us is often all that is needed to solve the problem.

 

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Investigation

When we visit, our officers have to assess how loud and unreasonable the noise is to the average person. Noise is a very subjective thing and what may be causing you extreme nuisance to you may hardly be noticed by someone else. We must, therefore, hear the noise for ourselves to decide whether or not a nuisance (called a statutory nuisance) within the strict meaning of the law exists.  Some of the things which would help us decide are:

 

How loud is the noise?

What times of the day does the noise occur?

How long does the noise last for?

What type of noise? Some noises are more annoying than others.

What is the nature of the area? What level of background noise?

How sensitive to noise is the complainer? Do they have tinnitus, for example?

 

This may well require us to set up equipment in your home to record the noise or we may visit you to hear the noise first hand.

 

The success of the Council's action will rely on you assisting in gathering evidence by keeping the diary log forms provided, allowing access and carefully following instructions in respect of noise monitoring devices. You must return any diary log forms supplied to you as soon as possible; for daily incidents this will be after one week and for less frequent incidents 2-3 weeks. If not returned within 4 weeks, the case will be closed on the assumption that the problem has ceased.

 

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Legal action

If the officers are able to witness / record the noise and are satisfied that it is a nuisance in legal terms they will serve a noise abatement notice on your neighbour under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 

 

Any continuance of the nuisance would then be an offence leading to the possible prosecution of the offender and / or seizure of any noise making equipment. On the rare occasions that a complaint does go this far then your evidence will be very important and you may well be called to give it at a hearing.

How long will it take?

Many complaints can be sorted out by first contact with the persons causing the problem. We aim to solve 9 out of 10 of these 'simpler' cases within 1 month..

 

Unfortunately not all cases are 'simple.' Sometimes it takes months to investigate all aspects of a noise problem in order to recommend the best solution.

 

There may be practical reasons why a company has to be allowed a longer period to complete the suggested work e.g. - a factory may have to have a silencer specially designed before it can be fitted.

 

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Anti-social Behaviour


Noise can be part of a more serious neighbour problem but the Pollution Team does not get involved in neighbourhood disputes and cannot resolve matters of anti-social behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse, swearing and threatening or abusive behaviour.  

 

For more information on anti-social behaviour, telephone 01329 236100 and ask for the Community Safety Team or e-mail antisocialbehaviour@fareham.gov.uk. Under the Housing Act 1996 social landlords can take action against tenants for anti-social behaviour. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 gives Councils the power to issue an anti-social behaviour order to anyone causing 'harrassment, alarm or distress'. Disobeying an order carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

 

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If the Council Cannot Help...

Our experience in dealing with these problems indicates that, if we have been unable to witness or record the noise ourselves after arranging three separate monitoring exercises it is unlikely that we will ever gain the evidence we require to take legal action on your behalf. In order to avoid any further delay we will normally write to you after the third monitoring exercise and advise you what alternative steps you might take. This does not mean that you do not have a problem, just that the investigation methods available to us are not suited to gaining the evidence needed to prove a case on your behalf.

 

You can take your own legal action under Section 82 of the Act and make a complaint direct to the Magistrates Court. You will need to produce evidence - particularly copies of any letters and diary log forms. The magistrate will listen to all your evidence and that of any other person(s) affected by the noise. The magistrate(s) will then decide whether, beyond all reasonable doubt, the noise problem amounts to a statutory nuisance.

 

If you need to get in touch with the Pollution Team, to make a complaint, seek further advice or to clarify any of this guidance, you can contact us on 01329 236100 or e-mail regulatory@fareham.gov.uk.

Further information

Further information can be found at the following websites: