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We've had a noise pollution letter from the council!!!

472 replies

Stillmonday · 17/04/2020 11:26

We aren't big DIYers but February my husband fitted us a new kitchen, it took a whole month inbetween work and he always stopped any noise at 6pm.
Now we are doing some decking in the garden whilst on lockdown. Some sawing, sanding & banging again stops at 6pm.
A letter has just arrived warning us of noise pollution and excessive hammering, banging & use of power tools.

Our neighbour was really annoyed when we had our kitchen, they even recorded the noise it made one day but I tried to explain it was a one off and that's what happens when a new kitchen is being fitted.

Now we are quite shocked to receive the letter but don't know where we stand. Are we allowed to finish the decking or shall we not bother?!

OP posts:
sleepingpup · 19/04/2020 08:53

Most of the posters on here banging on about unfashionable decking and rats are not trying to give good advice, just take a pop.

MsMiaWallace · 19/04/2020 09:11

OP as said previously by @TonyChestnut who was spot on.

The council are duty bound to respond to noise complaints hence the letter.

Your doing nothing wrong. Your neighbours have a low tolerance.
If your sincere then no court will ever prosecute you for the noise.

Alsohuman · 19/04/2020 10:08

Your neighbours have a low tolerance

How do you know that? You can’t hear the noise.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

MsMiaWallace · 19/04/2020 10:22

They obviously have a low tolerance if you read what OP has put on previous posts.

lynney88 · 19/04/2020 10:30

All of those saying how inconsiderate the OP is, I hope you've gagged all of your children and not allowed them to enter the garden.........

Bringringbring12 · 19/04/2020 10:34

Yes
Because a child is exactly the same as adults installing decking or building an extension. Exactly the same.

Annaram1 · 19/04/2020 10:37

Last summer my neighbour decided to make his own long garden fence. Every day all I could hear from my garden was sawing and then hammering, all day long, As I always sit in the garden if the weather is good, and it was, the constant all day long work was very wearing for me. It took him a month to make it. So I sympathise with your neighbours. Give DIY a rest. As for the state of your neighbours house Stillmonday, that is not your business.

AnneOfCloves · 19/04/2020 11:10

The issue isn’t whether you have a legal right to do DIY, it’s about tolerance.

Noise clearly distressed your neighbours. In normal circumstances they are able to go out to the park or shops or see friends to avoid DIY noise. Currently they’re unable to escape it.

Talk to them, advise them when the noisy bits will be, try work around their needs as best you can. Being in a feud with the neighbours is horrible in the long term. It’s worth a bit of flexibility to prevent it.

Myfriendanxiety · 19/04/2020 11:14

I’m surprised by most of the responses on here!

I would say go for it- it’s your house, you are entitled to make it look nice and do DIY projects as you wish, provided you are stopping at a reasonable time in the evenings.

Yes it’s probably annoying for the neighbours, but if they really want to live somewhere silent they shouldn’t have bought a house with neighbours. Building noise is expected- we’ve been living next door to a house renovation for over a year now. Nothing I can do about it, they bought the house and are entitled to knock it about as much as they wish.

user5464 · 19/04/2020 12:20

The trouble seems to be "What kind of relationship can you develop with your neighbour?"

The letter of the law is one thing and certainly needs to be adhered to as it has been decided that this is "reasonable" for the whole community.

However, you have neighbours with a certain set of needs. These may or may not be similar to yours so it is up to you to decide how much you want to respect them as people and try to meet their wishes and keep the peace between you.

I certainly thought when my neighbour started complaining about me that I should get quieter both inside and outside the house and park somewhere different. I made some real changes and was careful to follow the letter of the law, and also take his needs into consideration.

In the end this meant that I couldn't close a drawer in my bedroom after dark without him banging on the wall. His every compliant seemed to add up to one thing in the end - he wanted me to evaporate. I avoided the gardens front and back, I moved the TV, I started using subtitles. He is a lawyer and very aggressive and petty about every tiny thing - really tiny and unreasonable.

I had a chat with his then GF who, when she heard and saw the changes I had made was sympathetic. But her sympathy was ineffective in helping him.

My situation clearly went too far "the other way". He needed someone to tell him what is reasonable. I now think I should have kindly and patiently stuck to the legal boundaries and been robust with that. I was being bullied and he scared me. I didn't seem to be able to stand my ground with him.

I have a friendly relationship with my other neighbour and we are much more able to be fluid with how we live alongside each other. They sometimes make noise late at night, I don't mind. We share bins so that I don't have to keep 3 different wheelie bins too. I make very little rubbish. We both put them out on the right day so they are always emptied.

The police told me not to talk or interact with the chap next door, and despite his having undoubtedly caused criminal damage and aggressively overstepped the law a couple of times with me and my visitors, they just want to get people to live peaceably and are very reluctant to do anything. The harassment laws are all but useless in this situation. He has also shown similar behaviour to others.

It has been years now and a horrid journey.

If you do indeed live "next door to complainers" as someone said above, I would certainly suggest that you take some measures to keep the peace with a bottle of wine, and arranging times to work to minimise discord. I would also not do any sort of "bending over backwards" or "digging your heels in" because both tactics will leave you angry or depressed or both (in the longer term) and you will spend hours of your life talking about all this.

Your actions will also shape how your neighbours will deal with the next opportunity. Until you try a few approaches out you won't really know how flexible or rigid you are going to have to be with each other.

You do of course need to repair your house according to your own standards and you have the right to do so. The question is how?

I wish you calm, peace and good luck!

LittleFoxKit · 19/04/2020 12:36

But I think part the issue is noise is going to happen.

Of the two houses that back onto mine, which are probably at most 20m back door to back door we have one neighbour who's been out chopping wood, using power tools late into the evenings, which is frustrating but livable. Our other neighbour sits outside and smokes cannabis non stop if its dry or the weather's even slightly nice, meaning we cant open any our our down stairs or upstairs windows as it absolutely stinks the house out.
I would 100% prefer building noise within reasonable hours then not being able to open my own windows due to the smell..
So I think long as OP is being reasonable about the noise levels then they are better off just trying to get it done, I agree with suggestions of trying to get it done within agreed hours so if neighbours want to sit outside during the day they are able, but if I'm honest I would sit outside even with the construction noise if it wasnt persistent drilling/deafening power tools. And I'm VERY noise sensitive at the best of times.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/04/2020 13:03

Because a child is exactly the same as adults installing decking or building an extension. Exactly the same.

If you don’t have children the noise is just as irritating!

missb10 · 19/04/2020 14:59

Irritating to your neighbours I know, because on Saturdays somebody down the road has a power tool which they use all day (only Saturdays though, they must be out at work the rest of the time even now). We also have noise from people testing their motorbike, a dog that barks most of the time and the landlord from two doors away drilling and hammering away fixing the house every day. However, just doing the decking doesn't seem to be unreasonable to me. People are always out in fine weather updating their gardens. Could you offer to do their garden so they won't be so jealous, if that is what is the cause?

BigBlueEyes19 · 19/04/2020 15:17

You should talk to your neighbors and ask when your DYI noises would bothet them the least. My neighbors always decide to do something super loud and noise when I put my toddler for midday nap! Omg O hate it and I wish they would be more considerate. People have personal reasons for quite and peace during the day. Who cares what the law says.

KatherineJaneway · 19/04/2020 15:32

Yep. The letter just shows the council has received a complaint. Not that the complaint is valid.

Probably going to sound a bit Spock like but sending a letter when the person has done nothing wrong is illogical.

MsMiaWallace · 19/04/2020 19:30

Normally the council would do a visit but I assume letter is due to colvid restrictions

Vivianebrookskoviak · 23/04/2020 14:55

Well we have a similar problem. At the moment the next door neighbour's relative(who practically stood on their doorstep the other week, I don't think he understands social distancing so I'll bet he's been out there chatting to the neighbour)is using a pneumatic drill in the garden. It seems even in a lockdown that doesn't stop people,in fact I think it makes some people worse. I'm in the front bedroom at the furthest point away and I can still hear it rattling through the house.
I'm very noise sensitive myself and to be honest this isnt the first time they've used a pneumatic drill out there and a drill echoing through the house and we've had to endure it with no choice but then that lot are a law unto themselves and utterly stupid and aren't obeying the lockdown as well on top of that. OP, I'm not surprised. You're subjecting your neighbour to the noise with no escape from it. Plus to have told him the kitchen was a one off, looks like you lied. You coulda at least left it until after lockdown. To be doing noisy DIY during a lockdown shows a lack of regard and selfishness towards your neighbours. As a poster said somewhere else, using power tools during a lockdown is incredibly inconsiderate.
Oh and the state of the neighbours house is irrelevant.
The council may or may not do anything further but OP,you shouldn't have been doing the decking and or noisy DIY during a lockdown.

Beetherial · 11/05/2020 20:09

My neighbours were great to begin with but since the lockdown have build a shed for their two sons who are 19 and autistic so they can sit outside and play loud music for hours on end and aren't in the house. The shed is beside my living room window and I can barely hear my TV over it. Eight hours on Saturday. And I totally get they need space, my husband is on the spectrum too so it's not that I'm ignorant about this but the effect it's having on both of us working from home and with my husband being on the spectrum too it's getting to be a real issue. And how do you approach something like that without sounding like a twat?

PuttingoutthefirewithGasoline · 11/05/2020 20:15

Wow I've not read the thread but, I had the most horrendous noise issues for years and I had to fight to even get their attention.

I can only say please think about months of noise for your neighbours.... Maybe it doesn't seem bad to you but to them they have had noise and professionally it wouldn't take that long to install a kitchen

PuttingoutthefirewithGasoline · 11/05/2020 20:18

Everyones one has a right to enjoy their own space in peace.

No matter how ill or anything anyone else is...

Maybelatte · 11/05/2020 20:44

Power tools are really fucking annoying tbf as are hammers. I’d say the noise is second to obnoxious blaring music, it’s enough to induce a headache that’s for sure.

Fair enough, people need work doing sometimes so the kitchen was clearly disliked but tolerated by the neighbours. Now you’ve started decking when everyone is stuck at home so they can’t even escape the noise. Don’t blame them for complaining tbh.

ChillOutChick · 11/05/2020 21:14

Of course you are allowed to improve your home as long as it's within the correct times of the day. Loads of people do it. Yes it's annoying but 🤷‍♀️

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