Noisy neighbours

[Borderreiver]

Having had 3 hours sleep per night since the new neighbours moved in I am getting desperate. A sound system belts out about 13 hours per day and is audible throughout my home. The neighbours aren't the reasonable sort. The police don't touch this sort of case. Environmental Health and the letting agents don't want to know. If this isn't resolved and anything gets put in writing I could lose 20% of the value of the property if I am forced to sell (that is the whammy for owner-occupiers who complain about their neighbours). With Christmas?New Year upon us I cannot see them calming down anytime soon. I am nearly deranged with lack of sleep and worry. Does anyone have any helpful advice on this one?

[tufty7]

Some people are just scum,

The environmental team should be interested in this , if not call the Police and tell them there will be a breach of the peace if they don't stop,

As for the letting agents , they would be interested if the windows were put through ............

They must sleep in the day , So whack up your sound and give as good as you get, Buy yourself some dance music with plenty of bass to vibrate the place and go out shopping, two wrongs don't make a right but for your sanity you need to get help to stop this , lets hope santa brings you some ear defenders..... but you dont have to put up with this ........

[mrs_overall]

Environmental health should be involved.
Keep a diary of every incident and see if you can tape the noise.
I used to have noisy neighbours (5 teenagers, all with their own stereos and mixing machines). When they were particularly bad I would wait until they were asleep then get my daugter to practice (badly) her violin against the bedroom wall. On the odd occasion I would gather up every radio/ghetto blaster in the house, place them against the bedroom wall, have Radio 3 playing full belt and then go out for a few hours. It worked for me.

[Borderreiver]

Thanks for the suggestions.
What I didn't put in the original post is that I have recently had treatment for cancer (so not feeling very robust) and my husband has just had a diagnosis that he is going blind so we are generally not feeling strong and up for it. In the capital local police (the ones who failed to investigate Robert Napper leaving him free to kill again and again) will not investigate domestic noise; environmental health let us down badly with by "forgetting" to issue a noise abatement notice and letting agents take the money and do as little as possible for their money. If I sound down and cynical it is because of bitter experience. But the ear defenders sound like a good idea and I will be investigating.

[danchip]

just keep ringing the council and police, the council will eventually do something or even go and speak to your local councillor/MP a letter from them often gets the ball moving that bit faster

[Sgt.Rock]

Contact the Environmental Health Department at your local council. They should send you a "diary" to log the incidences of noise aftyer a week or two you must return the diary to them and they should send someone to investigate/monitor the noise nuisance.
If a noise nuisance is proved, the council should issuse the offenders with a noise abatement notice.

Good luck.

[voltr4m4x]

Yes, Sgt. Rock's advice is strictly correct. I realise it must be enormously difficult for you to continue with this "fight" against such inconsiderate people as you describe. But I would imagine that with your health problems you do receive visits from a Health Visitor from the Social Services Department,. who could possibly contact the Environmental Health Department on your behalf if you find you cannot make the journey to the local council offices yourself to collect the diary. Alternatively, you might find it helpful to contact your local councillor who should also be obliged to work on your behalf. After all, that is what he/she has been elected to do. I, too, wish you Good Luck !

[Borderreiver]

I appreciate all the suggestions and am keeping a noise diary. Our local council operates a very strange system. It will only accept that nuisance has occurred if their officers witness it, and getting one out is like locating MI5. Their main focus is council estates and nOT owner occupiers. Other authorities will knock on doors there and then or even confiscate equipment immediately. Ours won't. It will onley ever send letters that arrive days after the event. They require 4 WITNESSED events before they will consider a noise abatement notice! I thank people for pointing out what SHOULD be done to help noise sufferers but a big part of my problem is that is just not how it works in my area. I will be approaching a local councillor and my GP too. I will bear the MP in mind too. Thanks for that.

[voltr4m4x]

Yes, do not give up hope... Continue to pursue the matter either through your elected MP or local councillor. It matters not that you are an owner-occupier, the fact remains that you are citizens of the UK and as such you are rightly entitled to fair and honest treatment.

[Borderreiver]

Call me an old cynic but "should" and "entitlement" actually mean very little in what I (a slef-confessed ancient cynic) see as a couldn't care less society. But that's another story. Old and tired I may be but I am not stupid and I do have ideas and I don't want to upset these slobs any further. So I have found a way to bring the noise nuisance and the existence of noise pollution services to their attention (I know env health is useless but they don't!). Did it by making them look as if they might be victims of it. Don't know if it is coincidence but we had peace and quiet last night and notched up a proper sleep quotient. Will keep you kind supporters posted.

[Pimpernel]

Hi Borderreiver,

I had the same problem as you when I was living in Paris. I was the owner-occupier of a small flat, the neighbours (tenants) were very noisy, and I couldn't get their landlords or the police to do anything about it! I've moved to the UK and now I'm going to sell...

I have the same problem where I rent in Bristol. I live in a house which the landlord rents on a room basis. For the first 3 months, it was fine, one of my housemates worked shifts and came back from work after midnight, but you didn't hear her.
Now, for nearly 4 months, I've been living with 2 guys who are on benefits, i.e. they stay in bed till 12noon, and as a result, the noise is noisy till 11pm, midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, 3:40am...
I get up at 5:40am to go to work so I am very tired, and I'm afraid of losing my job (and I won't get benefits!).
I've complained to the landlord, but he isn't really bothered (he doesn't answer the phone when I ring him up, and only answers every other email, and then only after a fortnight!). Now, on weekdays, it's noisy till 11pm, then the men go to the pub, and they still wake me up when they come back at 1am, 2am etc. At the weekend, it's noisy well after midnight, so it's difficult for me to get up early in order to do the supermarket run, do the laundry, and look for a new houseshare.
Next step is a recorded delivery, but I'm waiting till I've found a new houseshare (will give the notice at the last minute as a landlady let me down 3 months ago): the first time I complained, one of the tenants acted quite menacingly towards me, and also I'd rather have those belongings that I care for in safe storage.

Good luck to you, it's so difficult to find civilised neighbours, especially in cheap locations.

[Borderreiver]

How my heart aches for you. I really do know what it is like to live in an area where the authorities allegedly there to protect your interests just don't. A few years ago the police and environmental health kicked a problem between them -each saying it was the other's call (domestic violence was involved as well as other nuisance) and a small child was really damaged witnessing his mother being knocked about with no one in authority being prepared to intervene.

We do not live in a particularly cheap or run down area - housing costs above the national average for rental or sales. The problem is that there are many large properties that have been turned into flats and we have more than our fair share of short term tenants. As a rule they stay for no more than a year or so and have no commitment to the area or other residents and just carry on as they please. A residents' association was founded here when following an arson incident people realised they had no idea how many lived in the house never mind who they were and it shocked the longer term residents to the core.
You must obviously do everything you can to protect your own interests (as you know the "authorities" won't) even if that means being a bit sneaky. My leaflet drop was part of the same mind-set.
Good luck and hope you find something peaceful soon.

[123everton]

Make a building regs enquiry about the neighbouring property, it may fall foul for it's lack of noise insulation, smoke alarms, room usage and occupancy level etc.
My heartfelt sympathys, there's not a lot you can do with filth like that (unless you're adept at violence and intimadation) arson sounds like a sensible answer. Burn the b@stards out! ;-)