Who To Contact During a Neighbour Dispute
We would always reccomend informally conversing with your neighbour if you have a dispute with your neighboour, but if this doesn’t work out then there are a number of organisations who you can contact during a neighbour dispute.
Mediation
If informal steps aren’t having the desired effect, then mediation may be an effective next step. Mediation services differ depending on where in the country you resode:
- if you live in England and Wales, find a mediation provider in your area
- in Scotland, use the Scottish Mediation Network
- your council or housing association may provide a mediation service
(source: gov.uk)
Council / Local Authority
Your Council / Local Authority will be able to assist on a great deal of issues, these will include
- noise (including loud music and barking dogs)
- artificial light (except street lamps)
- dust, steam, smell or insects from business premises
- smoke, fumes or gases
- a build-up of rubbish that could harm health
- high hedges
Your council has a duty to investigate any statutory nuisance.
(Source: gov.uk)
Depending on the type of issue, it is worthwhile ensuring your concern is sent to the correct Council department. If it is a bar exceeding their license conditions then environmental health is likely to be less interested than the licensing team.
Police
The Police are not likely to get unlikely to get involved in neighbour disputes unless the issue is a criminal one.
A notable example would be if a parked car is blocking access to a highway.
Details on how to get in touch with all the UK police forces can be found here.
Courts
If informal conversations with your neighbour have not worked, then legal action may be an option. However such a course is expensive, uncertain, and time consuming. It really should be seen as the very last resort. You need to seek expert advice before considering or even threatening such a course of action.
It is possible to get free legal advice from legal advice clinics or Citizens Advice.