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Question Title: Noisy neighbours
| Question: 412 |
| A rather noisy group of young people have just moved into the flat above one of my tenants. It's a converted flat in a three storey Victorian property and the sound insulation is not very good. My tenant is a single woman living on her own and she is finding the situation increasingly intolerable. She is a good tenant and I don't want to lose her. What can either she or I do to improve the situation?
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| Answer: |
Firstly, consider talking to the persons responsible for the noise and point out the problem. You may find they are unaware that they are disturbing anyone. The problem is not always one of inconsiderate behaviour, as even properties that have reasonably good sound insulation may not cope with noise from powerful modern equipment. When informal action is not possible or fails, you can resolve the problem by taking formal action. The most common route involves complaining to your local authority about the noise problem. Local authorities have a duty to investigate complaints from premises and vehicles, machinery or equipment in the street. Under sections 80 and 81 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, (as amended by the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993), local authorities have a duty to deal with any noise which they consider to be a statutory nuisance. If you want to make a complaint about noise, you should contact your local authority, usually the environmental health department; the number will be in your local telephone directory.
If they visit or witness the noise and are satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists, they must take immediate action. If the noise is intermittent, they may ask you to keep details of the noise in the form of a diary, or leave equipment to record it. Sometimes they will measure the noise as part of their investigation into a complaint. Unfortunately, there is no set level at which noise becomes a statutory nuisance.
Also, all landlords have powers to take action against tenants who are breaching their tenancy agreement. You should try and identify either the landlord or his agent and ask them to take action against their tenants. A Land Registry search, which only costs £2, will identify the owner of the property. Their website address is www.landreg.gov.uk
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References:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Handbook |
Chapter 11 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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