People can be affected by noise from residential or commercial properties in their neighbourhood. These disturbances include loud music, TV, karaoke, excessive DIY noise and dog barking.
- Your local council investigate these types of complaints and, if they become satisfied that noise levels are unreasonable, they issue noise abatement notices to the people responsible. If the warning is ignored and further reports are made, further action can be taken.
- The maximum penalty for non-compliance with these notices is £5,000 on domestic premises and £20,000 on industrial, trade or business premises.
- In severe cases, councils can also seize and permanently keep equipment responsible for causing noise nuisance. Applications can also be made to the courts for anti-social behaviour orders on people causing persistent and aggravating noise.
Consider your neighbours
- Keep noise at a reasonable level.
- Warn neighbours in advance if you will be holding a noisy event (e.g. an indoor/outdoor party or barbecue) and keeping noise audible outside to a minimum.
- When carrying out DIY work, being mindful of when and how often noisy tools are used and plan work so that excessive noise is not made during anti-social hours.
How to report it?
You should contact your local council if someone is causing noise nuisance. Keep a log of occurances, the cause of the noise (eg. loud music) and if you know - the property/company it is coming from.
Find out more
You can find more information and guidance about noise nuisance on the Directgov website.