It can happen to anyone, our neighbours move out and their replacements decide to throw wild mid-week parties, let their kids run riot or play heavy-metal at 3.00am. Its most residents worst nightmare.

So what can you do to, to help restore peace and quiet in your home and community?

  1. Try talking to them – Pop round with a cuppa and let them know that whilst you’re all for a wild night, perhaps mid-week isn’t the best time to do it. A lot of the time neighbours won’t even realise that they’re causing a disturbance.
  2.  Don’t go round mid-party, wait until it’s over and you’ve all had chance to calm down. Often, going in all guns blazing demanding the noise be stopped will only inflame the situation.
  3. If you can’t solve the noise dispute informally, you can try using a mediation service. Often formalising the situation can help neighbours to realise that their noise is more than just a bit annoying.
  4. If the property causing the noise is rented, you can try talking to the landlord. Most tenancy agreements state that the tenants must not cause anti-social behaviour or excessive noise to neighbouring properties.
  5. If the noise is classed as a statutory nuisance (for example, barking dogs or loud music) then you can report it to the Council who will then investigate and can take action such as sending warning letters to neighbours. The Council can also provide diary sheets so you can log any noise, equipment to record the noise or suggest using an app on your smartphone such as The Noise App
  6. If you think the noise is being caused by anti-social behaviour then you can report it in a number of ways to your Safer Neighbourhood Team or local Police.
  7. You could also let your local Councillor know. In some areas there may already be plans in place to help combat anti-social behaviour such as partnerships between the Council and Police teams.
  8. As a last resort, you could take your neighbours to court and take legal action against them. This process can be costly and may involve legal fees and court fees and should only be used in extreme circumstances where other attempts to resolve the noise have failed.