Should we pursue noise complaints before selling our flat?

[Starlingshoes123]

Hello, looking for some advice.

We live in a flat below a council tenant neighbour, we own our flat. We have the lower levels so we have full ownership of the garden. She often plays incredibly loud music and our next door neighbour has filed noise complaints against her, we previously didn’t mind. We fell out for a stupid reason 6 months ago, she slammed the door at 4am for 2 weeks so I did a noise complaint and a few weeks later one about her music.

We’ve come into some money so decided it’s finally time to move to a bigger place. I’m conscious we have these two noise complaints on record, alongside a police report when she verbally abused me in the shared hallway. Obviously I realise that’s all stupid now but we didn’t expect to be selling right now.

The current situation is she’s clearly got some kind of comms from the council re the music, as she is taking the stance of ‘how dare us/ our kids make noise in the garden if she’s not allowed to make noise.’ Which presents itself as every time we spend time in the garden, she opens her window and scream’s expletives at us and our young children, eg ‘your f*ing children should be in a cage.’ Pretty unpleasant stuff. She then blares music at full volume, with speakers pointing out of the window at us in the garden. This has happened 4-5 times in the last 7 days. She’s completely unhinged it seems, my kids are 3 and 5 so they are not quiet but they are not hugely loud and we aren’t in the garden that much due to school and other plans.

The council noise man called me last week to explain they will send a random person round every few days to try and catch the music in action.

My husband thinks we should just ignore it, say the music has stopped and ask if they can cancel our previous complaint. I think we could easily lay a trap of the kids playing in the garden, and invite the noise guy round to catch her in action, with a view that I’d rather get the noise complaint resolved before we are under offer and it comes up. Additionally I’m sure it’s in our lease that we have a legal right to enjoy our garden, and we could go down that avenue too. Let alone the constant verbal abuse at two small children.

Any advice?? My husband thinks I just want her to be punished as I have a strong sense of justice and it wouldn’t benefit us to follow it up but I think it’s an open case that we could potentially resolve. He thinks we can say we don’t have a complaint but I think it’s so tied in with next doors complaint that it will still exist on file and we will have to declare. What to do!

you are required to declare it, you can’t cancel it so I’d try and get her moved on so you can justify it.

Thanks for replying! I appreciate we have to declare it, but was hoping it would be flogged as a ‘past issue’ rather than active.

I’m assuming it would be impossible to have her moved on as she’s been there for decades.

Out of my area of knowledge. I would however expect that if you and the other neighbour complain enough then she could be, or should be considered for it.

re your sale, I fear it’s too soon for it to be archived. So work with what you have and manage that to help you move forward.

If I was buying and a recent complaint was declared I would immediately get my solicitor to enquire whether it was ongoing. You will cause yourself legal problems if you lie, so I’d try and pursue the current complaint and potentially she’d be moved. I think selling right now will be quite challenging as buyers will be put off at the legal stage

Sorry to say but it will not matter if the complaint is still technically open.

You will need to disclose. However it might not mean your flat is unsellable. If it’s desirable, low overheads, and in an area with high rents then you may be fine regardless.

getting social housing tenants evicted is very difficult and an inevitably lengthy process.

We had this many years ago but it was a private tenant and they eventually moved on and we got sold without declaring as they were gone.
How old is that council tenant neighbour?
Is she noisy even when your children are not in the garden? Just thinking viewings from potential buyers could be tricky if they can hear her.
I would be inclined to not log the noise anymore and not declare it on your estate agent forms otherwise buyers will be put off and you will never sell. She may well improve her behaviour with the person who buys from you too. Agree council tenants are very hard to evict.

"I would be inclined to not log the noise anymore and not declare it on your estate agent forms"

That would be a whole world of legal pain for the op. Its almost certain the buyer would find out, later after purchase. Its then almost certain they would succeed in a compensation claim against the op. Very risky not to declare.

The op needs to push it toward having the tenant removed, now that they have started - and market the flat afterwards.

OP, rather random but would your funds allow you to offer on the upstairs flat and own the full property? Could you then do that up and sell both flats, or convert into one property?
Who owns the freehold?

I don’t think it would make any difference if it was labelled as a past issue. If I was a potential buyer, I would think that neighbour was likely to be noisy again once the person who had complained had moved away.

Exactly this.

Even a 'resolved issue' that was recent with noise, and other neighbors complaining too, you're going to get caught out regardless. Honesty is absolutely necessary here.

Be prepared that your flat will be extremely difficult to sell.

Speaking from the buyer side - we are viewing at the moment and a declared dispute would make us ask questions, but a properly resolved one with a paper trail would worry me far less than one still rumbling. And if she screams at the kids every time you use the garden, viewings will be awkward anyway, buyers notice more than sellers think. I would keep the complaint going until it is closed, then declare it as dealt with. A neigbour like that will still be there for the next owner, which is exactly what the buyer's solicitor will ask about.

If she starts being verbally abusive, get the Police on 999 every time.

If you want to sell soon, I'd just stop any action against her, complaints etc. We made loads of complaints about neighbour noise at our last property, but didn't mention it on the forms. The council never did anything about it so it doesn't count in my opinion.

I had a complaint involving a neighbours dog which got to the point that I had to take action - and it worked, Police, Dog Warden, Health Visitor and Social Services were called in and the message was well and truly understood.

My the time I sold they were long gone but I did say that a complaint had been made about previous neighbours

So the buyer will know there was a noise complaint but you’ll tell them it’s resolved. Then they will move in and realise you have blatantly lied about the fact it has stopped. You are opening yourself up to legal action from the buyer by doing fhat, Not a wise move.

This is so out of order

Love that idea but the freeholder said no x

Unless the underlying complaint is actually resolved ie she has actually stopped playing loud music and shouting at you in the garden, the dispute will not actually be resolved just because the council might close their file. If you were to suggest otherwise in your responses to questions from a buyer you would be in as much legal hot water as not declaring it and if they move in and she’s blasting loud music it will be clear it isn’t resolved. And once declared to the buyer, I would be asking for the correspondence with the council if I was the buyer. So unless you can actually resolve the underlying issue there is unlikely to be a way to minimise this or suggest it isn’t ongoing.

That is what I suspected thanks!

When I decided I wanted to sell my flat I stopped complaining about my neighbour and started putting up with it. I listed all the complaints in my sales documentation, and I don't think the woman buying it even read them tbh. I was quite nervous, but I wanted to be honest for all involved.

I would record her shouting expletives at you and your children everytime and then call police, tell them she is terrorising and abusive to your children and they are afraid going out in the garden. Get an incident number from police and encourage your other neighbour to report each and every time she gets abused or deliberately plays loud music. Yes it might be a lengthy process but until this is resolved you won’t be able to sell.

Your uninformed opinion is quite wrong.

I think you nearly have this resolved! The council are offering to come over, let them. I would also video her and call the police. This is harassment. They will take it seriously

I would make sure to call the non emergency police every time she is being abusive, this will help with your evidence to give to the council. I would put cameras that record noise in your back garden so you can prove your children are not making too much noice and capture her screaming at you all from her window. You owning your property (apparently from what I read on Reddit) is taken more seriously than a tenant of theirs and you have another neighbour complaining as well. This isn’t just a noise complaint she is being abusive and trying to scare your children from using your garden. I’m sure being abusive towards your children will hold more weight than being noisy!

yes - the buyer could do an FOI request and obtain the requests - unlikely but possible.