House selling and official complaints

Notthissticky · 2021-12-20T18:51:15+00:00

NNR - has any got experience of selling a house after making a formal complaint to the council about a neighbour? We're in an upstairs maisonnette and our downstairs neighbour slams her doors when our preschooler cries. We've tried to speak to her (she used the opportunity to insult our children) and in August we sent her a message telling her to stop. She stopped but a week ago started again. I now want to warn her that we'll log an official complaint if she doesn't stop, but I'm worried about the impact this will have when we try to sell our house. Can anyone share their experiences?

PhilCornwall1 · 21/12/2021 06:03

I reported our neighbours to the council when we owned our previous house and also did have a "bit of a confrontation" with them one Saturday night.

We just sold up and left. Was never any comeback on us.

Soontobe60 · 21/12/2021 06:10

TBH, I’d not make an official complain about this - they are more likely to complain about your crying toddler - which can be bloody annoying for the neighbours!

Crazycatlady83 · 21/12/2021 06:15

Is the neighbour a tenant of the council? What do you want the council to do if / when you make a complaint?

You must declare any complaints regarding neighbours to any purchaser. Failure to do so, may lead you into hot water if you sell and the purchaser has similar problems.

Forget the complaint, it won't solve anything. Just sell up as quickly as possible.

Porridgeislife · 21/12/2021 06:23

Don’t make a formal complaint. It’s not worth it as you legally have to declare it on sale & it rarely actually solves anything. It will take months for the council to do anything.

Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 12:49

@Soontobe60

TBH, I’d not make an official complain about this - they are more likely to complain about your crying toddler - which can be bloody annoying for the neighbours!

I'm sure it is bloody annoying. However, when all of this started back in March I actually asked the council if she would have grounds for complaint. The reply was she wouldn't, but we would.

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Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 12:51

@Crazycatlady83

Is the neighbour a tenant of the council? What do you want the council to do if / when you make a complaint?

You must declare any complaints regarding neighbours to any purchaser. Failure to do so, may lead you into hot water if you sell and the purchaser has similar problems.

Forget the complaint, it won't solve anything. Just sell up as quickly as possible.

Nope, we both own our homes. I'm hoping that she will wind her neck in a bit if the council writes to her to STFU.

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Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 12:52

@PhilCornwall1

I reported our neighbours to the council when we owned our previous house and also did have a "bit of a confrontation" with them one Saturday night.

We just sold up and left. Was never any comeback on us.

Were you not asked to declare any ongoing disputes when you sold? Did you just lie?

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Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 12:53

@Crazycatlady83 no desire to sell up, we've only been here 14 months

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WinterWeather1 · 21/12/2021 12:56

We had this. Complained to council about neighbours noise. When we mentioned it to the solicitor they said it was more about land/fence disputes than noise, so we didn't put it down on the forms. They have never come back to us and it has been over 3 years.

WinterWeather1 · 21/12/2021 12:58

But my neighbour was a council tenant. I wouldn't bother complaining if the neighbour owns their home. The council won't do anything to make them quiet.

Justkeeppedaling · 21/12/2021 12:58

Other than writing to her to ask her to stop, there's nothing that the Council could do that would make it worth the risk of not being able to sell the flat because of a previously reported complaint about a noisy neighbour, who may not even be noisy if the next family don't have a crying toddler.

How often does your child cry? I'd concentrate on avoiding the crying - though s/he'll probably grow out of that soon anyway.

Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 12:59

That's interesting @WinterWeather1! Might ask the solicitors we used when buying (FTB so have never sold a house) for some informal advice. Did complaining make any difference?

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loopyapp · 21/12/2021 13:00

So a few questions.. what flooring have you got? Does said toddler tantrm on the floor? How long honestly is your child crying??

Unfortunately one of downsides to having bought a property over someone else's is having to be a touch more considerate regarding noise.

Imagine living under someone else's crying child.. is she wrong for slamming doors.. probably is she right to be annoyed.. probably.

WinterWeather1 · 21/12/2021 13:03

It didn't really make a difference. She got a letter saying stop making noise but I think she only turned down her music marginally. But like I said, she was a council tenant so they had to do something. I highly doubt the council would do something to a private owner.
They will probably just recommend that you keep a diary of the noise.

PeachMelba78 · 21/12/2021 13:03

Our old neighbour used to bang a broom on the ceiling whenever we walked in the room above her kitchen. We tried to speak to her, and had the police have a quiet word which stopped the rudeness when we passed her door. Mostly she disliked us. New owner became aware of it at the viewing but as we had checked that structurally it was all fine he was happy to go for it. Not heard anything from him since, and so happy to be away from her!

Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 13:03

@Justkeeppedaling

Other than writing to her to ask her to stop, there's nothing that the Council could do that would make it worth the risk of not being able to sell the flat because of a previously reported complaint about a noisy neighbour, who may not even be noisy if the next family don't have a crying toddler.

How often does your child cry? I'd concentrate on avoiding the crying - though s/he'll probably grow out of that soon anyway.

He's three so he tantrums regularly and does this at antisocial hours too. We do what we can to limit it but we do need to parent him properly. We also have the world's fastest teething baby who cries a lot. TBH though, it's not on us to change. We're not being deliberately antisocial, she is. Do you always recommend people change their behaviour to stop them being bullied?!

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PeachMelba78 · 21/12/2021 13:04

Sorry the room above her bedroom (which was our kitchen)

PeachMelba78 · 21/12/2021 13:06

OP I would move, I doubt it will improve. My children both have additional needs, we didn’t allow them to run or jump in the downstairs of our flat, we all lived in stress and fear. Now we are away with fab neighbours who understand when our son has a meltdown that we are doing our best to calm him.

Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 13:07

@loopyapp

So a few questions.. what flooring have you got? Does said toddler tantrm on the floor? How long honestly is your child crying??

Unfortunately one of downsides to having bought a property over someone else's is having to be a touch more considerate regarding noise.

Imagine living under someone else's crying child.. is she wrong for slamming doors.. probably is she right to be annoyed.. probably.

I am not going to answer these questions. It doesn't matter as we're not doing anything wrong, it's normal family life. It's also not what I asked about.

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Original poster

Notthissticky · 21/12/2021 13:09

@PeachMelba78

OP I would move, I doubt it will improve. My children both have additional needs, we didn’t allow them to run or jump in the downstairs of our flat, we all lived in stress and fear. Now we are away with fab neighbours who understand when our son has a meltdown that we are doing our best to calm him.

I am inclined to agree. We try to stop toddlebeast running and jumping but he's not stupid and worked out that stamping on the floor winds mummy up no end. So glad you've got kind neighbours now!

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PeachMelba78 · 21/12/2021 13:19

@Notthissticky we were there for 9 years, the last 5/6 were bad and Covid made it worse. Your mental health and your children’s mental health are paramount. My kids took a long time to feel ok after we moved. We used to shut everyone out of the kitchen between 9pm - 7am and she still banged as soon as we went in. She shouted at us in shared areas, sent nasty letters and bitched to other neighbours about us (who sympathised with us but didn’t say anything to her).
I used to tiptoe round me home and rush past her door whenever I left the house. I feel so free and relaxed now, and I feel bad about how my kids were affected. My sympathies are with you.

dontblamemee · 21/12/2021 13:23

I used to work as an antisocial behaviour officer. You are right that a crying child does not count as a noise nuisance/antisocial behaviour but intentionally slamming doors, playing loud music, hoovering in the middle of the night etc does.
It's such a tricky situation, especially as you both own your properties and there is no threat of sanctions/eviction. Although is there a management company you could talk to? I assume if it's flats you are leasehold?
Has your neighbour made any direct complaints to you regarding the crying?
To be honest I'd be wary about making a formal complaint, it'll most likely escalate the situation and potentially make it harder for you to sell.

Halloaten · 21/12/2021 13:24

I wouldn't want to live under you

CheshireChat · 21/12/2021 13:29

Actually, if you're not doing everything you can to stop him from making a racket at antisocial hours, then I get why she'd be annoyed. You do what you can to get him to be quiet ASAP.

And if you let him tantrum at length so you can "parent properly " during the day as well... honestly, she will be annoyed.

Invisiblewoman1 · 21/12/2021 13:31

I’ve been a ground floor flat owner in this situation and it is unbareable! The children upstairs were 4 and 6 and parents had absolutely no control over them and would let them bang on the floor to cry it out. You have no idea how much louder this is from downstairs. It is awful. If your neighbour only makes noise when your children cry and make noise then I would focus on reducing the noise your children make. If the neighbour makes noise all the time regardless then totally different,

I didn’t make any officially complaints as I knew I didn’t want to stay forever and didn’t want to have to declare it when i found a buyer