FOOL'S EYE VIEW
Dealing with Noisy Neighbours

By Jane Mack (TMFJane)
October 23, 2002

Following on from Monday's article about how a neighbour from hell could affect the sale of your home, let's look at the courses of action you can take without you having to fork out for legal expenses.

It goes without saying that anything that involves violence or threatening behaviour is a matter for the police but, if you are affected by smoke, smell or noise nuisance from neighbours (or, indeed, nearby industry), you can ask your local authority to take action under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). Their Environmental Health Officers have a range of powers to deal with anything that constitutes a 'statutory nuisance' and, in fact, have a legal duty to investigate any formal complaints from members of the public that come under their remit.

Let's say you've got a neighbour who likes to play really loud music at three in the morning. (Noise is the biggest single cause of complaint about neighbours). You've tried talking to him nicely and, if the service is available to you, you've even tried the mediation route, all to no avail. What can your Environmental Health Officer do for you?

Assuming there is a problem, the EHO has the power to serve a Noise Abatement Notice which, if breached, could result in court action leading to fines of up to £5,000 with a further fine of up to £500 for each day on which the offence continues afterwards. Some local authorities, though not many, have also adopted the powers introduced by the 1996 Noise Act, which enables them to seize the noise-making equipment (such as TV or Hi Fi) and impose on-the-spot fines of £100.

The EHO must satisfy himself that a real problem exists so, while any record you've kept of the 'nuisance' being caused by your neighbour will help, he is not going to take action unless he's got evidence of his own. The question they usually ask themselves is: "If I lived here, would I find this level of noise at this time of night unacceptable?" If the answer is yes, then the neighbour will be issued with the Noise Abatement Order and further action can obviously be taken if it's breached.

There's another law that has been introduced in the last few years which local authorities and, in fact, the police can use too. It's the Anti-Social Behaviour Order which is enshrined in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. This gives local authorities the power to deal with anti-social people who are terrorising, not just you, but entire neighbourhoods. Magistrates are given a great deal of discretion over what they can put into an ASBO as they can be tailor-made to whomever it applies to.

It can ban them from talking to their neighbours, put them under a curfew notice and even stop them cooking smelly food. Breaching an order carries a maximum five-year prison sentence so, if that doesn't stop your neighbour from causing trouble, I don't know what will!

Only in extreme cases will Noise Abatement Orders and ASBO's be ignored so when you come to sell your house and get asked that vital question on your pre-sale questionnaire: have you ever had any problems with your neighbours, you can answer that you have in the past but that it has been resolved.

On Friday we'll tackle courses of action you can take yourself, if you don't get much joy from your local EHO. In the meantime, there's a good collection of leaflets here which may help.

For more articles on property visit our Homeowning Centre.

This article was originally published in November 2001.