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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To just want a peaceful life?!

35 replies

SpiderStan · 26/06/2020 18:11

Me and DP moved into our house in August last year. Lovely 3-bed house in a quiet cul-de-sac in a nice little village, we searched a while to find this home.

3 weeks into lockdown (in April) a new family moved in next door. We quickly learnt that this couple (and teenage daughter) are the proud owners of a big barky dog, and two Subaru's with noisy exhausts. The husband goes to work every morning in his one and the wife uses hers throughout the day (to run errands I'm guessing), and when they fires either car up it vibrates throughout our entire house. Unlucky for us, we picked the bedroom at the front of the house (right above their driveway) to be the babys room, and I see this being a problem in the future (I am currently 5 months pregnant). No matter which room we choose, the noise vibrates throughout the whole house and can be heard from the back garden too. It's so annoying. They are nice enough people, but their cars are ridiculous.

OP posts:
Original poster
SpiderStan · 26/06/2020 18:12

To add, the big barky dog is only an issue for the first 5 minutes of me or DP entering our garden. The dog goes mental for a few minutes before being shushed by the husband, wife or daughter.

OP posts:
DDiva · 26/06/2020 18:50

That sounds awfull but as a a positive you'll be amazed what slot of babies sleep through......

Original poster
SpiderStan · 26/06/2020 18:54

@DDiva

That sounds awfull but as a a positive you'll be amazed what slot of babies sleep through......
I've heard this, but even I don't sleep through it and my bedroom is at the back of the house.
OP posts:
Lou573 · 26/06/2020 19:01

Honestly, both mine sleep through the smoke alarm, barking dogs & all sorts of noise. It’s annoying of course but the baby sleeping won’t be an issue.

magicmallow · 26/06/2020 19:04

i second what others say - babies sleep well through noise. if it grows up with it it will get used to it. there's not a lot you can do really!

sahbear · 26/06/2020 19:45

Noisy cars, and a dog that they stop barking. It could be a lot worse. And the cars won't wake a baby or young child.

recycledbottle · 26/06/2020 19:49

Is there something wrong with the exhausts of both cars?

DisobedientHamster · 26/06/2020 19:51

YABU. It won't effect the baby.

Florencenotflo · 26/06/2020 19:53

That is annoying, but I bet your baby won't even notice. Mine have both slept through us hoovering next to them etc since they were born. DH is on call for his job and has a pager/alerter that goes off at all hours. It is so loud!! But both of mine slept through it going off, DH banging around getting dressed and getting downstairs and out the door (slamming the door usually as he's in a hurry). Neither of them bat an eyelid. There isn't much your neighbours will do anyway, they aren't likely to get rid of the dog or cars.

BlueyBee · 26/06/2020 19:56

I am amazed that it wakes you in other areas of the house. Our neighbour fires up his massive Harley Davidson outside our bedroom window every morning, and whilst we can hear it, it doesn’t make the house vibrate!

If they’re nice people otherwise, have you tried mentioning it to them?

rainygarden · 26/06/2020 20:00

I guess this will cost but triple glazing? I live in central London but not a peep gets through the closed windows.

Mangofandangoo · 26/06/2020 20:00

When your baby is newborn and naps make sure you make noise - it really helps to get them used to sleeping with other noises and in turn this will help at night - a friend of mine crept around during every nap and now her daughter wakes up at a pin drop

Sorry about the neighbours - that sounds frustrating

AntiHop · 26/06/2020 20:06

I know exactly what you mean about the exhaust echoing around the house. I don't think there's anything you can do about it though.

riotlady · 26/06/2020 20:10

I can’t honestly believe that they have two cars with such ridiculous exhausts that they make your house vibrate. I think you might be a touch over sensitive.

Ecologynut · 26/06/2020 20:12

Call 101 police non emergency number and put a complaint in about the excessive noise of the cars, it would be worth printing off the following information:-

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/97/made

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986
Avoidance of excessive noise.
97. No motor vehicle shall be used on a road in such manner as to cause any excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the driver.

Also you can use some of the information from part of a letter I sent to my next door neighbour previously:-

"We do not wish to prevent you or your family from enjoying your home as we hope you do not wish us to be unhappy. Unfortunately, I have reached a point where it is no longer acceptable to us.

  1. The act of antisocial behaviour is defined in law as; (See section 3 for further guidance)
    a) conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person,
    b) conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises, or
    c) conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person.

  2. Our local Council and the Police further add to the definition as antisocial behaviour as;
    a) rowdy, noisy behaviour in otherwise quiet neighbourhoods
    b) night time noise from houses or gardens, especially between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am
    c) threatening, drunken or "yobbish" behaviour
    d) dealing or buying drugs on the street
    e) litter and fly-tipping rubbish
    f) neighbour disputes

  3. Which in definition makes this type of behaviour a statutory nuisance following legal guidance under;
    a) The Housing Act 1996 and Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Both tackle and refer to anti-social behaviour including excessive noise).
    b) Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
    c) The Noise Act 1996.
    d) The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 - Part 1 (Providing powers to local authorities, landlords and law enforcement to tackle unreasonable noise that amounts to anti-social behaviour).
    e) Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

The Noise Act 1996 means that the local authority must take steps to investigate any complaints of noise at night time. As can be seen from (Section 1a,b,c) and evidence to be found within various statutory law (section 3), noise disturbance is not only regulated to night hours between 11:00pm and 7:00 am, but it applies to noise/shouting that is classed as anti-social behaviour at any time day or night (Section 1a,b,c). "

I have a full copy of my letter I posted through my neighbours letterbox if you wanted to PM me, so you could use it as a template. For me it actually worked ;)

DisobedientHamster · 26/06/2020 20:24

I wonder how well that will work when you go to sell the house and you have to disclose you went to the fecking police about a couple of cars!
Fucking batshit!

Ecologynut · 26/06/2020 20:33

@DisobedientHamster

I wonder how well that will work when you go to sell the house and you have to disclose you went to the fecking police about a couple of cars! Fucking batshit!
Absolutely no difference than being tempted not to mention the noisy neighbours to prospecting buyers, hoping that the neighbours are quiet during potential buyer viewings. which could equally lead to a new owner takes legal action against you.

At least if the current owner deals with the current situation it will no longer be a problem. See people like you are the dam problem in the first place. At least now where I live my other neighbours have thanked me for taking action and my problem neighbour has now decided to move on.

DisobedientHamster · 26/06/2020 20:37

At least if the current owner deals with the current situation it will no longer be a problem. See people like you are the dam problem in the first place. At least now where I live my other neighbours have thanked me for taking action and my problem neighbour has now decided to move on.

For not running to the bloody cops over a pair of cars taking off in the morning and a dog they shush? Yeah, okay, I think I can live with that Hmm Grin.

AIMD · 26/06/2020 20:44

I hate unnecessarily noisy cars!!! Someone near us has a clio and I assume they have added some piece of crap to the exhaust to make it especially nosey....or maybe it’s a special one that came out the factory noisy. Either way it bugs the shit out of me when he leaves for work at 5am. Luckily he lives around the corner so I only hear it as he drives past. My friend lives next door though and it disrupts her a lot.

I just don’t get it?

Ecologynut · 26/06/2020 20:56

@DisobedientHamster

At least if the current owner deals with the current situation it will no longer be a problem. See people like you are the dam problem in the first place. At least now where I live my other neighbours have thanked me for taking action and my problem neighbour has now decided to move on.

For not running to the bloody cops over a pair of cars taking off in the morning and a dog they shush? Yeah, okay, I think I can live with that Hmm Grin.

You can give a person knowledge, but you can’t make them think. So, I won’t try to explain further to you as I realise that people only understand from their level of perception and class. Wink
Leaannb · 26/06/2020 20:57

What exactly are you expecting them to.do? Not drive their cars?

whatisheupto · 26/06/2020 21:04

YANBU. That sounds very, very annoying, sympathies from me.

PumbaasCucumbas · 26/06/2020 22:12

We have similar with ours, and if their dog barks at us aggressively it’s apparently our fault too. However, after being bullied by joined on neighbours when our first baby was little, we’ve worked really hard to stay friendly with them as the aggro is so much worse

snowybean · 26/06/2020 22:16

My neighbours' cars used to shake the house. I realised it was because the sash windows would vibrate. I added a small bit of cushioning (a qmall piece of cardboard) between the panes and it was sorted.

redwoodmazza · 27/06/2020 08:40

I go for a walk about 06:00 most mornings. It's great as there's hardly anyone walking about.

BUT what it is with people and noisy cars????

One house I walk past has 2 cars on the driveway. The owner of one comes out of the house, starts up his car [very loud engine!!!] and then returns to the house leaving it running on the driveway. Horrible deep base booming!!!! I feel so sorry for the neighbours. Then, further on in my walk, the same car pulls up outside our local shop while he goes in to buy something, and still leaves his very noisy car engine running! So he annoys yet another lot of people!!!

The second car on that driveway is also very noisy. I can recognise it by the engine noise when it drives past my house.

Along another road there are a couple of vans - and the drivers of those start them up and then leave them chugging over [loudly] on their driveways, while they return inside their houses. I would hate to be living by that.

What is this about? Surely once the vehicle has started up, they can just drive away??? I secretly hope that they get their vehicles nicked by an opportunist thief! Maybe me!!! LOL