AIBU to ask neighbours to stop using noisy machines late at night?

[MinesaBottle]

Upstairs neighbours have started a fresh juice business. In their flat. I am pleased for them but not so pleased about the noise from the (bloody huge - ive seen it) juicer and what I think is an ice machine. Last night they were still at it after 1am and the place was vibrating. We live in a purpose built maisonette so it's just us downstairs and them upstairs, though as its a terrace I assume the sound carries a bit next door too. When she was talking about starting up I assumed she meant she'd be hiring premises for the noisy stuff!

They don't seem to even start their activity till late afternoon and I don't mind it too much in the day, but after about 10pm is taking the piss. They are nice people and I don't want to antagonise them, how can I tell them they're being annoying?

This has been a shit summer, first appendicitis, then DSS' mate overstaying his welcome, now the neighbours running small s ale industrial processes in the middle of the night!!!

Are they renting?

No, they own, as do we - share of freehold.

I'd contact environmental health. There are rules about machinery noise.

Even though you can't hear it in the street? You can in the back garden though. I'd rather talk to them first, but I can't understand why anyone would think this is ok in a fucking residential building! They use their kitchen too, aren't there hygiene standards that have to be met?

You don't have to hear it in the street. I think it's enough that it is loud enough to disturb you at an unsociable hour.

I would speak to them. If that doesn't work, contact the Environmental Health office.

I'm not positive about the ins and outs of this but surely if they're dealing with a food product from home, they have to have their premises inspected, and have food Health and Hygiene certificates don't they?

A maisonette doesn't sound like the right place at all for doing this, particularly if its operating into the small hours.

Also, doesn't a residential home have to have permission for running a business from?

Environmental health springs to mind for me OP. I know you don't want to antagonise them....but they are doing exactly that to you.....and the health aspect of providing food to the wider public without the proper practices in place, would be a cause for concern.

I know you need a licence to prepare, distribute etc foodstuffs. No idea if they have one. They do have a nice professional looking website though...

They might have to get planning to run a business from their home, especially if it is having an impact.

ask your local council.

YANBU

Arse, I just checked Scores on the Doors and they have a rating (5 star!) so they have obviously been checked by the council, but not regarding noise. I imagine if anyone did ask what the neighbours thought they just said we were ok with it

just tell them, politely. The nicest people can actually be extremely dumb and it may simply never have occurred to them that you can hear the racket.

if no joy, then you can get complaining, but with luck they can be injected with common sense.

Call Environmental Health next time it starts up after 8pm. They'll help you, it's what they're for.

if you know them well enough could you ask one of them to come into your flat and turn the juicer on. so one of them can hear what you hear. they may not realise.

its a bit odd to have a juicing business in their home.

It's on lots of deeds (I know it's on mine) that I'm not allowed to run a business from my home - in my case it's very strict, in others it's that you're not allowed to run one that affects the neighbours (eg. cars coming and going, or juicer noise!)

Have a chat with them first, but there's almost certainly something else you can do.

I'll talk to them, they may not realise it. It is odd to have such a business in your home, when I think of businesses that can be run from home I would think of things like officey/computer stuff or childminding for example, not bloody juicing! She's charging enough for the stuff so surely she can afford to rent premises?

Just tell them that it's very very noisy and you need to agree times when they'll use the machines and times when they won't.

I don't think they'll realise how bad it is if they're in the room itself.

It's not unusual to run a catering business form the home. Cake makers do it. People with catering vans prepare things at home. Their kitchen will have been checked and they will have met the relevant standards etc.
However, this is not the issue here, it is the noise of their equipment. I would go and ask them to come and hear how loud it is in your house. They may have absolutely no idea how intrusive it is.

1am?

YANBU

I can't believe anyone would think it was OK to run large machines like that in the small hours of the morning in a residential building.

Bonkers!

It is utterly unreasonable to run noisy machines until 1am. If you are running a business from your home, you should make sure it doesn't impact on your neighbours' home life.

For example, my neighbour is a hairdresser, with a salon in her home. Obviously there is no noisy machinery, but she does have clients coming and going all day, but this has never caused us any problems at all - she and her clients are very careful about parking so they don't cause any obstructions.

I would have a word with them, and ask for some reasonable rules - for example, no machine noise after 7pm - and if they can't or won't cooperate, then go straight to Environmental health. It might be worth inviting them into your flat whilst the juicer and ice machine are running, so they can hear for themselves how unpleasantly noisy it is.

With all the other apps that are available nowadays, I wonder if there is one for measuring noise - so you could keep a record of what time the noise happens, and how loud it is.