Dealing with Noisy Neighbours

Noise is a huge problem for a lot of people, especially those living in densely populated areas. The long time effects of noise can be serious due to the lack of sleep and stress involved.

Identifying the Source

The noise can be caused by things such as parties, conversations near party walls, or dogs barking. Spend some time to work out where the noise is coming from and document it, don’t just blame the neighbour you dont’ like. Once you are sure of the source of the noise, its level, and how often it occurs you can then try and solve it.

Talking to Neighbours

In many instances the neighbour may not have realised that you can hear them, or to the extent that it is potentially affecting you. Bringing the problem to the neighbour’s attention is likely to resolve it if approached correctly.

You should approach the issue calmly, even if you are very angry, after all you will probably be spending time living next to this person after this. You will need to try and persuade them to change their behaviour. In all instances however, you will need to ensure what you are asking is reasonable; asking for silence in a busy city centre is just not practical even if you are a light sleeper.

We would recommend having a look at our Conflict Resolution page to see whether the tips might be able to assist you.

Additional Measures

If the above is unsuccessful there are other measures you can take. It may also be that you are a night-worker and it is not reasonable to ask your neighbour to be quiet during the day.

It might be worth considering installating noise insulating or soundproofing in certain parts of your property. Such renovation can be expensive depending on the extent required, and professional help should be sought.

It may also be worth contacting your local Council to see what they can offer you in the way of support. You can find your respective council’s noise support page here:

https://www.gov.uk/report-noise-pollution-to-council

Depending on the issue you can contact different teams. a general option would be to contact the relevant Environmental Health team. This will not be a quick process though as they will need to invesitgate and unfortunately Council resources are slim.

A more specific option if the noise generated is by a licensed premises, such as a nightclub, bar, music venue would be to liaise with the licensing team. This is especially so if you suspect the premises may be exceeding their license conditons.