Noisy Neighbours: Getting Formal?

Formal Action

I've tried all of this, I want to take formal action.

Your next step is to complain formally to your local authority and the most often used way is by complaining directly to your local authority Environmental Health Department about the noise you're experiencing.

Your Local Authority (Council) has a duty to perform an investigation when they receive complaints about noise from any form of location. So whether you live next door to a pub or club, a noisy family or neighbour, have noisy machinery/vehicles and equipment in the street, a factory or any form of business close by, your local authority are obliged to investigate fully.

Legislation is under sections 80 and 81 within the Environmental Protection Act of 1990 (as amended by the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993) and your Local Authority will have a responsibility to look into and deal with any noise sources that are considered to be a statutory nuisance.

Your Local Authority will have at its disposal different capabilities and resources in place that they can use to deal with and investigate neighbour and anti-social behaviour problems.

Look in your local telephone directory to find the number of your local authority (council) or have a look on the internet via a major search engine for their WWW address. You should be visited or contacted for more information and then be advised of your council's plan of action and policies in cases of complaints about noise.

Before any action is taken, the Local Authority has to inform your neighbour of what could happen (e.g. they could be recorded/monitored) if they continue to pose a nuisance to you - this is under legislation from the Human Rights Act 1998.

Contact your local authority's Environmental Health Department for more help and advice, or to start formal action.

Take your own action?

Taking your own action

If for whatever reason your Local Authority cannot intervene further on your behalf or you have reasons not to initially involve them, you are entitled to take and instigate your own action through the Magistrates court against your neighbour or the source of the noise nuisance.

You can complain under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 directly to the courts about a noise problem. You will need to convince without doubt, to the courts that the noise problem you are experiencing constitutes a statutory nuisance.

We would strongly advise you to take detailed and further professional advice before embarking on this option.

Noisy Neighbours Renting?

My neighbour rents their property

If you can get to see a copy of your neighbour's tenancy agreement it could be worth it.

It's possible there could be a clause within the contract/agreement for their tenancy that prohibits your noisy neighbour from making higher levels of noise in between certain hours (11pm - 7am for example) or something similar. So, in doing so they could be risking or breaking their tenancy agreement. You are not entitled to know about or see a copy of your neighbours tenancy agreement, but it is possible their landlord, especially a private landlord may divulge or show you this information. They may refuse however on the grounds that your neighbours privacy and confidentiality could be breached.

All different types of landlords - whether this is the council, the local housing association or private landlords have measures where they can instigate appropriate action against a tenant who is wilfully and regularly in breach of their tenancy agreement.

To find the registered owner of a property, check the Land Registry at landregisteronline.gov.uk from your computer and for a small fee you can get details online - don't pay another company to do this on your behalf!

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