Q. I have endured living with noisy neighbours for almost six months now, but following a party at the weekend this has really tipped me over the edge. I really need to take some kind of action to resolve the issue. What if anything can be done about this kind of disturbance?
A. Sadly, you are not alone. Noise nuisance issues are not an uncommon part of owning a property. In the first instance I would always suggest that it’s advisable to try to resolve the problem face to face with your neighbour. If that fails then try talking to their landlord before taking any other action. Make them aware of the issue and try to reach an agreement. However, if that possibility fails, you may have little option but to tackle the issue head on by contacting your local council’s Environmental Health team. They will be able to investigate your concerns and use equipment to measure the noise being emitted. In the case of parties, an out of hours patrol officer will attempt, where it is safe to do so, to visit the premises complained of and speak to the person responsible for the party. If the party is not a nuisance they will give advice on ways of reducing the noise e.g. shutting windows, turning down the bass volume. If they believe the party is a noise nuisance, and is likely to continue being so, then they should serve an abatement notice. If the noise nuisance does not stop within the compliance time specified on the notice then it will be forwarded to the legal section for prosecution. They may also consider the option of equipment seizure where the nuisance is severe. This information will then form the basis of the evidence which the local authority can use to issue a notice to prevent the nuisance. Your neighbours will need to comply with the terms of a council notice, or otherwise they may face being prosecuted. I know this all sounds a little extreme but if things are as bad as you say then it leaves you with no other choice than to take some serious action to resolve the matter.