Nuisance Neighbours

[Wilkinson]

Hello,

We're being driven mad by noisy neighbours, we've tried approaching them without success and now want the managing letting agent to do something, realistically what can they do and how long would it take?

The adjoining property is not anything to do with the agent or our landlord.

pleeeease help

[MrShed]

There may be a clause in their tenancy to prevent this kind of nuisance. however probably the best thing to do would be to report them to your local authorities(cant remember relevant ones, is it police?). You can also easily find out from the land registry who owns the property, so send the owner a letter. I believe I read somewhere that the landlord can be made responsible for the behaviour of a tenant. What kind of noise? Is it like loud late music or something? And out of interest is it a student let :) ?

[Patois]

1. Keep a log of the noisy occurrances - this is helpful evidence. Times, dates, duration, what sort of noise, who witnessed and how it affected you.
It also may show a pattern that can be monitored.
2. Contact the Environmental Health Dept of your local authority - they should look at the evidence you have and see if they can help.

3. Alternatively you can take action yourself under s82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Evidence gained in 1. above will be important.
The local authority should be able to tell you how to start, Citizens Advice should be able to give you some pointers.

Finally - normal domestic noise is not easy to monitor or legislate against - if it is raised voices or kids running up and down stairs and a door slamming occasionally - then action is more difficult.
It maybe that the house or flat is badly built and has poor sound insulation - which is more difficult and costly to remedy.

Land registry is a good idea - it is cheap and you will find out who the owner is which is a start.

Good luck

[oaktree]

Hello,

We're being driven mad by noisy neighbours, we've tried approaching them without success and now want the managing letting agent to do something, realistically what can they do and how long would it take?

The adjoining property is not anything to do with the agent or our landlord.

pleeeease helpWhose managing agent? you say that the property is nothing to do with the agent or your landlord so which agent are you referring to in the first paragraph?

If the property is let, the letting agent for that property should contact the tenant and let the occupiers know there have been complaints about noise and ask them to keep it down. If it persists there is not a lot else they can do other than give notice to the tenant (if they are in an agreement where notice could be given) should the landlord agree to do so (he/she will lose money as a result so unlikely)

Logging the times/dates of noisy activity will help your case, speak to your local council they may have a 'Noisy Neighbour ' pack that will give you all the advice and direction you should need

[MrShed]

But oaktree, in the case of the landlord not doing anything to prevent the disturbance, can the landlord not be held, at least partially, responsible? And so maybe they would do something. I am not sure this is the case, but thought it was.

And I believe he was referring to the agent of the neighbouring property, not his own :)

[deandevy]

Get in touch with the Environment Department in the Local Authority. They will monitor the noise and take the appropriate action.

[MrWoof]

Everyone seems to be assuming that the neighbour is a tenant. Go to the Land Registry website www.landreg.gov.uk/ (http://www.landreg.gov.uk/) and look up the address, cost £2.50. This will show the name and home address of the owner. Do what Patois has said and if the property is tenanted, complain to the owner as well.

[MrShed]

Everyone seems to be assuming that the neighbour is a tenant.

Not assuming....the OP basically stated this in his post.

[MrWoof]

The adjoining property is not anything to do with the agent or our landlord.Er....where???

[MrShed]

Hello,

We're being driven mad by noisy neighbours, we've tried approaching them without success and now want the managing letting agent to do something, realistically what can they do and how long would it take?




There.....I would say that combined with the quote youve just put implies that his agent is not looking after the property, and so he wants the MANAGING letting agent(of that property) to deal with it.

Could be read differently however, thats how I read it.

[oaktree]

But oaktree, in the case of the landlord not doing anything to prevent the disturbance, can the landlord not be held, at least partially, responsible? And so maybe they would do something. I am not sure this is the case, but thought it was.

And I believe he was referring to the agent of the neighbouring property, not his own :)depends whether:

a) the property is rented or not - despite other replies it is not clear from the original post; and

b) if it is, whether the landlord and agent were switched on enough to draft the tenancy opting out of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 :D

c)as I said, theres not much landlord or agent can do apart from threaten the noisy tenants (if thats what they are) with notice if they don't cease, and only then if it is possible, within the terms of the tenancy agreement, to do so.

The Police, local authority, EP etc have much more power in these circumstances than either the landlord or agent and are best armed to deal with such situations. The day I'm made to wear a blue serge uniform and funny pointy hat is the day I'll pack it all in ;)

[dazalock]

Mr Shed, I dont think the law you refer to made it into the statute books, It certainly got quashed in NI and Im pretty sure it did in England and Wales, there is a thread on it by Paul_F (all of you read this - it could be awfull), which did decend into a bicker about spelling and grammer, init.

[MrShed]

OH yes thats where I read it dazalock....of course. Getting confused! Thanks.

[Wilkinson]

Many thanks for all your replies, sorry if my terminology confused you.

The property we live in is fully managed by a letting agent and it's what they can realistically be expected to do is my question. Would it be down to them to approach the council/police or would it be a tenant’s responsibility? Is there a 'normal' way of going about conplaining?

The noisy neighbour may be tenants or owners but unfortunately I don't know at this point.

regards

Wilkinson

[MrShed]

Ah ok in that case I have obviously been totally confused lol!

I would say it is your responsibility, not really got anything to do with the agent!

Your first port of call would be to contact environmental health as someone said above, and tell them.

It also would not be a bad idea to contact the land registry to find out the owner of the property. It does SOUND, without totally stereotyping, that they are tenants. What kind of noise is causing the problem?

[Wilkinson]

Hi Mr Shed,

Everyday they are in we get subjected to random banging (e.g. doors and other objects slamming against the wall), loud voices (they do not seem capable of conversation without shouting), screaming children (and we mean SCREAMING, from 5am to midnight) and stamping feet. They also have guests round frequently who behave in the same way and all this is exacerbated by the fact that they have hard wood flooring. Other incidents include 2 cricket balls flying into our garden (proper hard ones) and, today, a half finished yoghurt pot thrown towards a workman who was doing some work for us.

regards