Are you at your wits’ end with noisy neighbours?
Having a neighbour who makes lots of noise is no laughing matter. At best, noisy neighbours (or ‘noisey neighbors’ as the Americans sometimes call them!) can distract you from enjoying simple activities in your own home – watching TV, listening to music or reading a book can become a horrible experience.
At worst, excessive noise from neighbours can affect your sleep, preventing you getting a decent 8 hours, which in turn can be detrimental on all areas of your life.
Psychologically, experiencing excessive unwanted noise from neighbours can be destructive – it can make it difficult to relax and unwind, and it can make you irritable, nervous and stressed.
Being put through this kind of treatment in your own home is unacceptable.
Nuisance noise comes in many forms – heated arguments, bass-heavy stereo systems, loud TVs and music centres, DIY noise, furniture being moved around, smoke alarms, ball games, pet noises like dogs barking, door slamming and even just stamping around.
It can be difficult to know what types of noise constitute a nuisance, and we often have a very high tolerance for noise before we do anything about it – but the truth is, if the noise disturbs you, and is loud and sustained, then it is a nuisance, and you should not have to put up with it.
What can you do about noisy neighbours?
While creating loud noise is not an immediate criminal offence in the UK, it can become that way.
While escalating the situation to involve the authorities may seem desirable in the heat of the moment, it is best where possible to avoid that level of action, for the sake of neighbourhood relations, to avoid disputes with neighbours and to maintain social cohesion in general.
There are steps that can be taken prior to resorting to the law to get the peace and quiet you deserve in your own home.
Read on for solutions to tackling noisy neighbours.
