Neighbours son driving me mad!

[Cannotbearsedanymore]

When I mention this, it sounds mad - a kid just playing in his garden!

BUT it is all the time. I mean all day and night he is obsessed with his basket ball and is out in the garden bouncing it and banging it against the hoop constantly.

It is affecting my family big time and don't know what to do, We have communicated with them but no luck.
Please help - I don't know what to do - please be kind - mental health and neurodiversity here. But even the other neighbours are moaning about it next door to me is an elderly couple and over the road are older but even moan.
This hopefully shows you how loud it is as the neighbour is behind my house and people over the road out the front of my house here it constantly too.

It doesn't seem normal and I say obsessed as he is out there ALL the time in ALL weathers day and night playing. It is so noisy, more than you would ever think (high pitched ringing noise) to the point me and my family can't sit outside and enjoy this dry weather as the constant pounding of the ball is so loud and even when inside and the doors are shut you can still hear the thudding of it hitting the ground or the hoop making a racket.

Not only is it noisy but whenever his parents are out (quite often) he is playing music along with him playing basketball. He is an older teenager and I have mentioned a couple of times over the wall if he could please turn down the music or be a bit quieter. He has turned down the music a couple of times but an hour later back at it.

Even without the music the ball is driving me and my family insane. To the point it really is affecting my mental health and I can't focus and the pounding of the ball is genuinely doing my head in.

My husband works from home and it is distracting and when he finishes work all he wants to do is go outside and enjoy some fresh air and chill out but can't so it is driving him mad.

What makes it all the worse is my daughter is autistic and she is sensitive to noise so she is having to wear ear protectors all the time to block out this noise.

It is so unfair and not right is it ?

What do you mean at night too? What sort of times? He must have to sleep at some point surely?

The noise of a basketball is particularly horrible.

What did the teen’s parents say when you complained?

I’d contact the council next. ask their advice. It’s a noise nuisance. Ask how you can record the noise and make a formal complaint.

Sorry some of it may not make much sense. I am dyslexic.
I live in a cul-de-sac. The boy with the basketball is in a house behind my house (not in the cul-de-sac but an estate behind my property) but all those in the cul-de-sac which is out the front of my property and even those on his estate all say about it.

The teenager may be ND and basketball is his escape.
With parents not wanting children/teenagers out of site this will become more of the norm.
They probably bought the house so the child had a safe secure place to play.

All you can do is continue to ask and look at selling if it doesn't suit you. Don't file an official complaint with the council as you will need to declare neighbour disputes if you sell.

Have you tried headphones. Its summer holidays now. The lad is likely to be out way more.

Can you speak to his parents and ask him to limit him to an hour or so and then take a break?

Sorry clicked wrong vote. YANBU at all.

@Comedycook He is out there until midnight sometimes. Not all night but certainly all day and well into the night. Due to work and young children we go to bed about 10 so bouncing ball until midnight is night time for us.

@BellissimoGecko The parents have not said anything at all. They seem to just shut themselves indoors or go out and leave him to it.

There are such things as "silent" basketballs.
I doubt that they are actually silent but ask the parents please could he use one

Even if the child is neurodiverse, I still think the parents should have more consideration for their neighbours.

I would buy a silent/noiseless basketball and give it to him.

Don't follow this advice.

Contact the council and follow their advice.

You and your family also have a right to enjoy your property peacefully.

To be honest, I think your options are ear plugs, headphones, white noise etc or move.

The noise won't be above the legal maximum and highly unlikely the council will get involved. He's a bored teen bouncing a ball in his own garden. Hardly a crime.

I know if can be exhausting (I have a building site full of reversing, bleeping lorries and men hammering opposite me at the moment) but other people are allowed to live their lives too.

God someone will crack and go over
with a hat pin

When people live on estates there should be social contracts to minimise noise . I can understand OP being driven to distraction over this . Kids in their garden in daylight hours is fine . A repetitive loud noise all hours including the night is not .

Being neuro diverse does not excuse nuisance behaviour

So negotiation is needed here, his parents (and the boy) need to agree on time limits. Half an hour basket ball at a time, then an hour break, so on so forth, and finished by 9pm. And his music should be on headphones surely?? My teen is football obsessed and those are our rules to keep the peace with the neighbours.

@Cannotbearsedanymore there are day noise permitted levels and night noise permitted levels. try recording the noises and send to council. get the neighbours to do the same. the more complaints the more chance the council will investigate and do an asbo.

Surely the first step in sorting it is a conversation with the parents and a request for him to limit it to between certain hours and stop completely by x time. I doubt thecouncil will want to become involved if nobody has even asked the homeowner to reduce the noise.

On MN it provides absolution to every and any behaviour.

You or your DH need to speak to them Op, it's a horrible noise and they shouldn't be letting their DC play so much or so late. If they won't do anything then speak to the council.

Thank you for your comments and advice. I have spoken to the boy on a couple of occasions and I have mentioned it to the mum before, but she seems to not care and is just happy her boy is out the house. The parents either go out and leave him playing so don't care as they don't have to deal with the noise or they shut the door and turn tv up loud and try and block it out / just deal with it.

I don't want to cause ill feeling and from the parents attitude, I got more sense out of the boy, hence spoken to the boy a couple of times about keeping the noise down. I am worried if I keep asking he will get annoyed and retaliate - play music more and louder and completely ignore the asks.

I can relate to this! I have no issue with chatter, music, children running around the house and garden, etc, but we have a neighbour whose child is on a trampoline sometimes until 10pm. We’re not TV people and get up early so we’re often in bed early and the sound travels in an unbelievably strange way in the night. Fortunately it’s not all day and night but I might have a chat with them soon and I’ll start by telling them how much fun trampolines are and how much I loved them as a child and take it from there. I’m not saying it will work and it’s only started during the school hols. Do you know how any of your surrounding neighbours feel about this?

How old is he? I think basketball hoops and balls are anti-social. A few people had them here but the reaction they got from neighbours stopped them. Is there not a local park or teen hangout he can go to to practise his basketball? We live in a very rural area but still have at least two such places where children and teens go.

Perhaps you could suggest that and explain why to the boy?

The boy is a teenager I would say 16 ish. Yes there is a park literally 5 mins down the road and has everything for all ages.

The other neighbours all complain but for some reason come to us and moan and not go to the family direct. Most of the neighbours are older around here.

Selling up, ah yes great idea because everyone has a few £Ks knocking about that they can up sticks and buy on a whim. Why do so many people trot out this idea out on MN?
Council would be my first port of call after speaking to the parents, because on the off chance OP doesn't want to move, and why should she?

The situation needs to be resolved especially if it is affecting others, get the neighbours on board, if they are already moaning about it, it shouldn't be that difficult.
As far as a dispute if selling, well, if the teen is bouncing the ball as much as OP alledges, they will probably be doing it when people come to view so makes no difference there.