Manage Noise Nuisance

When does noise become a nuisance?

What is noise nuisance?

Noise is part of everyday life in a densely populated environment, but it can become a nuisance when the level and frequency make an unreasonable invasion on your right to peace and quiet.

Noise nuisance can range from playing loud music or listening to the television at unreasonable levels, to shouting or slamming doors loudly and inconsiderate use of electrical appliances. Removing flooring such as carpets or installing wooden/laminate flooring could result in excessive noise to neighbouring properties.

It is one of the most common complaints made to landlords and local authorities. We will investigate noise nuisance complaints and take action if we find the noise is statutory and not the result of everyday living.

What is everyday noise? 

The quality of sound insulation has changed over the years and in older properties or properties built using certain building methods, you can often hear your neighbours more than you want to. Examples such as footsteps, talking, dropping objects or children playing are everyday noise and there will be little that we can do about it. You may have to learn to live with that noise. Legally, they are entitled to go about their life creating normal amounts of noise without having to worry about how it affects you.

Today we do not always know our neighbours. This also means that they do not know us. They may not know you work shift work or have been up all night with dependents, or are unwell. If you are constantly disturbed you may want to discuss this with them and come up with an agreement that you can both manage. (See what can I do if I am experiencing noise nuisance).

Here are some tips for you to follow if you feel that you would like to deal with a relatively small incident of anti-social behaviour yourself.

• Ask yourself if you are being reasonable
• Go to the person calmly and explain the problems you are experiencing
• Don’t shout or be abusive. Never discuss it with your neighbour if you are angry as this won’t help matters.

What is Statutory Noise Nuisance?

Local Authorities have a duty to deal with statutory noise and where applicable we will work in partnership with them when dealing with the most serious cases.

When assessing the potential for statutory nuisance the Environmental Services Officer from the Local Authority will need to base their judgement on a number of factors.

These include:

• How loud the noise is and how long it lasts
• How intrusive it is
• How frequent the intrusion is
• The area you live in
• Whether it is a one-off or continuing problem
• The time of day
• Whether it is deliberate or not
• What steps the alleged perpetrator has taken to avoid or reduce the nuisance
• The activity causing the noise nuisance

Ultimately, a statutory nuisance is a matter to be decided by the Local Authority. The Environmental Officers will exclude matters which present themselves as irritations or annoyances. The noise must therefore be excessive and unreasonable.

How will ISHA deal with your ASB complaint?

We will take your anti-social behaviour complaint seriously and we will assess if there is a case of anti-social behaviour or it is a case of everyday noise.

To assess what action we will take our Housing Expert will talk to everybody named in your complaint; if you do not wish to be named we will treat your complaint confidentially. However, it may be harder to solve the problem if we cannot use all the options we have available such as mediation.

You will be asked to keep a diary sheet of incidents to support your concerns, either using our form [86Kb, PDF]. If there is a set pattern a member of our staff may visit you to witness the noise.

If you live on an estate or flat they may ask if others are affected by the noise and in some cases ask them to keep a diary of events too.

After reviewing your case we will look at the possible action that we can take. After taking this action we will review what else we can do. In some cases after we have fully investigated your case but feel we cannot take further action, usually because it is not a statutory nuisance, we will close your case.

If you are unhappy with this, you may wish to consider taking your own action.

You and your neighbour may be asked to attend mediation. Should your concerns need to be taken to court; the judge will look favourably on your case if mediation has been tried.

If the noise continues and there is evidence that the noise is excessive, persistent and intrusive, a warning letter will be sent advising of possible legal action.

If the noise nuisance persists we can serve a Notice of Seeking Possession this is the first stage of legal action to take possession of a property. Eviction is the last resort; every effort will be made to support you and your neighbours in your homes.

What is mediation?

We recognise that people have different lifestyles and although someone’s behaviour may not be a statutory nuisance it can still be annoying to others. In these cases ISHA will offer mediation.

Mediation is an effective way of resolving disputes without the need to go to court. It involves an independent third party - a mediator - who helps both sides come to an agreement. Mediation is a flexible process that can be used to settle disputes in a whole range of situations.

Normally there is no charge to individuals for this service.

Tips to help you reduce your everyday noise

Remember if you can hear your neighbours, it is likely they can also hear you. A certain amount of noise is unavoidable when you live close by and you may not be aware that you are disturbing your neighbours. Here are some tips that can help you reduce your noise.

These include:

• If your neighbour's noise is causing you a nuisance, speak to them first as they may not know that their noise is affecting you.
• Let your neighbours know beforehand if you will be doing something noisy like DIY or holding a party that is likely to go on late. If people know it is going to happen, they are likely to be more tolerant.
• Don’t do DIY early in the morning especially over the weekend.
• Talk to your family and other people you live with and ask them to be aware of their neighbours and avoid things like shouting, slamming doors, children jumping around and heavy footfall.
• Don’t have frequent parties or late night noisy gatherings at your home.
• Don’t turn the sound up too much on televisions, pc, or tablets. Keep musical equipment volume down especially between 11pm and 7am. Wear headphones if necessary.
• Ask visitors to be aware of neighbours and not to cause a disturbance when entering and leaving.
• If you have a main entrance door make sure that you close it carefully and don’t slam it, especially at night time.
• Use stands for speakers and keep the bass low. Keep audio equipment away from walls shared with neighbours.
• If you own a dog, don’t leave it alone for a long time. Don’t let it bark, particularly at night. Remember some of our homes do not allow pets. Where we do, you need permission and this can be withdrawn if your pet is causing a nuisance.
• If you have people living underneath you, make sure hallways, stairs and floors are covered with a good quality underlay. This helps reduce noise. Carpets absorb more noise. Remember, if you have people living underneath you, laminate flooring will create a lot of noise. For this reason you need to ask our permission before you install it.
• Fit rubber or cork pads under chairs and tables to prevent them scraping noisily.
• Avoid walking in high heels as again this is very noisy.
• Be understanding if someone complains about the noise your household is making and listen to their point of view without getting angry. If you feel it would be appropriate consider mediation.