Nightly noise AirBnb host neighbour

[Akiko1]

Has anyone had any successes fighting a noisy neighbour?
Our old terraced houses have very thin walls and wooden beam structure. We keep being woken up at night by our neighbour's AirBnb guests who are unaware of the problem. They arrive and vacate at all hours of the night, small children, jet lagged running up and down the stairs, suitcases being dragged and so on.
He himself does not work, usually awake at night and talking and laughing loudly on the phone at the small hours.
My daughter and I have to get up early for school and sometimes we only have four-five hours uninterrupted sleep.
I raised the question with him, but he refused to cooperate and asked me to turn to the the council. He and I know that the council will do nothing.
I am a single mother, my daughter is studying for her A levels, we need our sleep. I had heart palpitations after another sleepless night and was taken to the A&E.
Any advise, please?

Check with council if he owns it.

What makes you think the council won’t do anything?

Check with council if he owns it. Why would the council know? It's not the Land Registry.

Complaint to the council and to airbnb.

Councils are fighting airbnb at the moment so it may do some good.

Do you own the property or renting? Does the neighbour own the property or renting? Are you a freeholder or leaseholder?

Also how long has he been doing air bnb? And are you in England?

We both are owners and the houses are freehold.
I fear that the council won't interfere because the noise that comes from the house is not excessive like loud music or people having a party.

Planning permission is sometimes required to run a business from a residential property, and a bed and breakfast is a business. It very much depends on the size of the property, number of bedrooms and local laws. You might want to give your LA planners a call and enquire whether a property that size will require planning. If it is, and it has not been carried out for more than 4 years, the LA can issue an enforcement notice.

You also may have an action under something called private nuisance. Nuisance is a long established area of law where you can claim in relation to someone else doing something that adversely affects your property. This is obviously important for environmental issues such as noise and smell. You take civil proceedings for nuisance ("private nuisance") in the High Court or County Court.

An alternative approach is to follow the statutory nuisance procedure which involves going to the Magistrates Court. This is laid out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (sections 79 to 82). It is based on similar principles, but is supposed to enable people to get relatively quick relief through the most local court system. The EPA 1990 provides two routes: one for local authorities to act (often following complaints to them, though also on their own volition), and another which allows people to act directly, without involving the local authority However you can take action yourself, under section 82 EPA 1990. The essential step is to serve a notice on the perpetrator of the alleged nuisance requiring that it be abated within 21 days (3 days in the case of noise nuisance). If the nuisance continues, you then lay a complaint with the local Magistrates Court, which will issue a summons. The magistrates have power to order that the nuisance is abated and to pay compensation. If the nuisance is not abated, this is a criminal offence.

As far as I am aware, short term lets are permitted for three months a year in London. He lives in the house for the rest of the time but he is even louder at night than his guests are.

If you are unwilling to take a legal route, have soundproofing installed. It will be cheaper then moving.

Another question: is it legal to record the noise coming from the neighbour's and share it with the authorities?
I am also reluctant to go and knock on their door when the disturbance occurs for fear to be accused of harassment.

You might as well put in a call to the Environmental Health team at the Council and ask if they can help. My MIL has just done something similar for a persistently noisy neighbour and I think she has been sent some forms to record noise incidents in a bid to build evidence. I will check with her.

Report to the planning department as pp has said just in case.

Call environmental health. Record the noise and keep calling to report it and they may come and investigate.

Check at the Land Registry to see if he has a mortgage and then report him for an air b n b to the mortgage company. They have to consent to it and chances are he has not, so will get stopped from the air b n b by the mortgage company.