'He can make as much noise as they want between 7am and 11pm

[Noiseandputty]

We have a new neighbour in our block of flats.
They have been very noisy and quite frankly antisocial and another neighbour has complained about them.
The landlord has spoken to them and asked them to be quieter but has ultimately said they have a complete right to make as much noise as they want between 7am and 11pm

Aibu to think that is bonkers? They can completely disrupt our life as long as its between 7am and 11pm?

Contact your council.

Mine are currently building a case against a neighbour. Neighbour plays really loud music on sunny days. I back on to them and their speakers are pointed at my garden.

On bank holiday Monday the music was mid day to about 11pm but it means I can't watch TV unless I have subtitles because even with windows closed the music is so loud it drowns the TV.

Also my bedroom is also at the side of the house facing the noisy neighbours.

They are council tenants and have already had letters from the council, next step is a fine and after that, if there is no improvement, they will go for eviction.

I have an app on my phone, I can record the noise and then pass it on to the council.

Obviously for the council it is better to have several recordings on different days to go to court.

Link to my local council noise page - the sample letter and the log might be useful.

www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/article/3293/Report-noise-nuisance.

sashh that's awful, why do they point the speakers towards your garden? Is it a spite thing?

Normal family noise is fine.
The odd bbq or party fine.

Music that makes the windows rattle, not fine.
We have to get the council on to the guy over the road as his music was so loud. This was during the day.

i dont understand why people are this inconsiderate - i just dont get it. i would hate to think i was upsetting someone else and this is what this is, you're disrupting someones life and upsetting them with the noise. its fucking stupid and unnecessary.

as other people have said they dont have the right to make as much noise as they want between 7am and 11pm. the landlord has misinterpreted the rules.

I live in Australia, though much law is based on UK. While specific laws address general and specific noises, e.g. pool pumps, the law is unequivocal in saying that any noise can be considered a nuisance, even within permitted times, e.g. someone who used a leaf blower all day every day, even within permitted hours.

A version of this, I'm sure applies in the UK.

You can, as pps have said, contact environmental health.

I wonder whether he says he can make as much noise as he likes during the day as there is a restriction on noise at night - some leases say you cannot make so much noise between 11pm and 7am that it can be heard outside the flat (so you don't disturb the neighbours).

That is to stop noise at night, not to allow him to make as much noise as he likes during the day.

Often a lease will say that you cannot do anything that could cause a nuisance or annoyance to the neighbours or words to that effect. If there is something on those lines then the Landlord can tell the tenant they are in breach of the lease and if they do not stop the noise the Landlord will forfeit the lease and they lose the flat.

maxthemartian

I'm not sure, it may be just because their garden backs on to mine (and next door neighbour) and they have it plugged in in the house.

They obviously do not care about anyone else, one of the other neighbours who backs on to mine works early morning so gets up at 4.30 and obviously she is impacted by it.

And she is so nice, I hardly hear anything from them except once a couple of very polite, "hello lady", "excuse me lady" when her daughter and friends had accidentally shot a nerf dart into my garden and a couple of squeals when the same little girl got a trampoline.

The way the houses are built is odd, the original council houses have huge long but narrow back gardens. I'm in a bungalow built more recently on what was allotments.

So our gardens are wider but much shorter and I have 3.5 that back on to mine, my next door neighbour whose home is at right angles to mine has 7-8 houses back on to the side of his garden.

Te good news about the speakers pointing this way is that because the bungalows are only rented to people with disabilities or elderly people then the noise can be interpreted as a hate crime.

I'm waiting for the council to deal with them, but I can always report it as a hate crime if it doesn't stop.

sashh what a bloody nightmare for you and all the neighbours. I cannot fathom what possesses people to be so unconcerned about the misery that they cause others.
Good luck with getting it sorted soon and hopefully not having your summer ruined by these inconsiderate twats.

You should google your local council and noise nuisance. I’ve got a complaint ongoing and the procedure is on the website. There has to be a statutory nuisance for court proceeding but they will apparently also deal with the landlord if he’s not dealing with a breach of the lease.

I've successfully reported daytime noise in the past. If it is causing a statutory nuisance then time of day doesn't matter. It was so loud from the flat below our windows were buzzing with the bass and floors vibrating.

Is there a management company or superior landlord you can raise a complaint to? Or do you jointly own the freehold with other tenants? It is just another angle you could take.

X

@sash

I hope you get this sorted quickly. It took time with my local Council but they did a good job in the end.

I am going through this at the moment but I am the landlord stuck in the middle. Have you and the other neighbor talked to the tenant? I would make a complaint to the Council - Enviromental Noise. They will then send out recording equipment to your property to take a recording of the noise, if they deem it anti social then you will have the proof there and can then take it to the landlord who may be able to evict them (I say may because its a long and drawn out process). Can you contact your local PCSO who may be able to help as well go round and speak to them?

I can hear my neighbours getting clothes out of their wardrobe. As they don’t change their clothes at multiples times during the night doesn’t fuss me that much.

@OliviaStabler They can fine a landlord who does not deal with noise that is deemed a 'nuisance'

You wouldn't happen to have a link to that, would you? I'd find it incredibly useful. Thanks.

OliviaStabler

Thank you. That's what I'm hoping for.

Last summer I didn't report it until September when they told the council it was a one off and the only party they had had for 2 years.

@MunchausensLovelyHorse

You wouldn't happen to have a link to that, would you? I'd find it incredibly useful. Thanks.

Sorry I don't have a link as this was my own personal experience but here is a bit of info that might help:

Legislation

The Environmental Protection Act (1990) makes it compulsory that any noise that is believed to be a statutory nuisance is dealt with accordingly. The Act requires that for an investigation to take place, the noise must be caused by the neighbour’s unreasonable actions. If the noise is a result of poor sound insulation then the council may be unable to take action against the noise-maker.

The Noise Act (1996) also enables the local authority to deal with excessive noise and anti-social behaviour. This legislation makes it possible for the council to remove equipment that is causing continuous noise or nuisance after being issued with a warrant from the magistrates’ court. Fines for statutory noise that is affecting neighbouring residents can also be imposed.

After a formal complaint has been put forward to the local authority, then an Environmental Health Officer would be sent to the property to investigate the problem and how best to deal with it. They may measure the level of noise as part of their investigation. However, there is no defined level at which noise is considered a "statutory nuisance".

A local authority does not have to issue an abatement notice immediately after deciding that the noise is a statutory nuisance. They are entitled to a period of seven days to speak to the neighbour and try to resolve the problem, before issuing a notice of abatement. If after seven days of attempting to deal with the problem nothing has been resolved and the noise continues, then the local authority is obliged to issue an abatement notice.

Thank you @OliviaStabler for responding.

Thanks all.
I'm going to speak to the other tenant.

Just for the record this was the email I got from the letting agency with details removed to protect the innocent.

'I have spoken to X who complained about the noise/music being played throughout the day. I have spoken to the tenant and he has apologised and informed me he will keep the noise to a minimum. He does have the right to make as much noise as he would like to between the hours of 7am and 11pm. If you have other issues to add then yes please give me a call this afternoon to discuss. It’s better to make sure they understand the rules rather than letting them get away with being a nuisance.'

I think the response is awful tbh
So basically I can go home and behave as loud as I want between 7am and 11pm without consequence and have the letting agencies approval...

I would also complain about the letting agency response. Or go around to their office with the recording and ask them if they think that is acceptable.

Incidentally, I wonder how the law on provocation as a defence works if you were to take some form of direct action (stop speakers working, or other things to stop noise)?

The landlord is wrong. People cannot behave in an antisocial manner just because it is between those hours.
Complain to the council.

No ,he's wrong saying that. A REASONABLE amount of noise is permitted between 7am and 11pm,but no one can make a ridiculous amount of noise between those times and expect to get away with it indefinitely.

Dinoraw

Was it just that 1 evening /night that your ndn had a bbq, or had it been a regular occurance before you wrote him the letter complaining ?

@brilliant
Very regular occourance. Reported to environmental health last year for it going on past 2am, nothing come of it. Dp went over a few times past 11pm to ask them to turn it down for dd to go to sleep, apparently he got aggressive to him then too. So enough is enough. He came over, threw his weight, realised we knew his situation and shat himself when we told him we would go to his landlord. Not a peep since.