Please can anyone tell me ......

maytaurus

Please can anyone tell me if a neighbor being able to hear people talking to one another or laughing, or being able to hear a TV on normal volume next door is classed as noise nuisance?

nickj_2

if it's annoying you , then yes it is noise nuisance , but if it's just at normal levels then it shows you have extremely thin walls, presumably your nieghbours must be able to hear you talking/ tv etc ,
are you walls solid- or are they plasterboard ? if they are plasterboard this can be removed and filled with noise absorbing material and then re-boarded , it depends how much money you want to spend , consult your nieghbours , they may be willing to go halves if they find it a nuisance
there's plenty of info herehttp://www.soundservice.co.uk/wall_sound_proofing_Help.htm

pledgeX

If during appropriate hours and they're not shouting, then I'd say that was just bad luck as you have poor insulation in the walls.

If the noise was being caused at stupid o clock then I think it might be worth having a word, but if they're just talking at normal volume and don't have the tv on loud, then again that's just bad luck. You can't expect someone else to spend every evening whispering as you have thin walls.

If however, they are shouting and playing things at a rediculous volume then yes, i'd probably class that as noise nuisance.

phill99

It depends on how loud it is. Noise is measured in decibels and if it is over a certain level on the decibel scale, it would be classed as a nuisance. However, 'normal' level voices etc are unlikely to be very loud and therefore not a nuisance.

mrs_baggins

i work at LA and deal with noise nuisance problems daily. Your council may be different but as far as we are concerned if its normal household noise it would not be classed as a statutory nuisance for which action can be taken. By 'normal' i mean everyday living noises such as talking, telephones, having washing machine on at normal times etc. If the TV or music is at an 'everyday' level then as some one else said its just an extremely poorly noise insulation problem. They also can prob hear you laughing talking etc.as long as the noise isnt obviously loud there is not a lot you can do I'm afraid

maytaurus

Thanks for all your replies

I was asking because .....
We live in a very quiet neighbourhood and it is usually silent at night time, you don’t often hear much after 11 ish, so any sound made, can be heard
I have been verbally abused (with disgusting language) several times in the past by a next door neighbour; who has on these occasions said ... that he can hear us chatting/ laughing when we have had family here (never more than 6/8 people)
That we have been making too much noise ... laughing whilst playing monopoly,
That he can hear our TV,
That he can hear my son talking to people on the internet
On most of these occasions there has been a family member in bed asleep
This person hasn't been around for about 18 mths, his wife and 2 children have, but not him
Several times in the past few weeks he has been there when they have not, so I'm not sure what's happening, whether he is now going to be there permanently/with a family/on his own?
I heard someone outside shouting my sons name
I went to the front door to see who it could be and ask why they were shouting up to the window ...and a mans voice spoke to me
I couldn’t see who it was or where the voice was coming from at first because it was dark and the porch light had come on
Then a torch shone in my face and it was the male from next door

He said ‘can you tell your son to shut the f*** up?’
I said ‘I beg your pardon, that’s lovely language isn’t it?’
He then came out with a mass of swear words, all of which I can’t even remember but included ‘go and f*** yourself and ended with ‘you f****** s**** tw**’
I presume he could hear my son talking on the computer in his bedroom??
When he was living there, I never said or did anything about him doing things like cutting his grass with a petrol mower at 6.30 am, burning rubbish in an incinerator (especially when I and other neighbours have had washing on the line), having a dog fenced in a 6 ft sq with fence panels barking at all hours, annoying ... yes, but surely we have to accept being able to hear these things sometimes ....
I know some might say that I should ignore him, but my health is not good at the moment and I have recently had 2 heart attacks.
My heart was pounding,my head was banging and I was awake all night thinking about it
Just because we are lucky enough to live in a quiet place, surely doesn't mean that it has to be silent after 11pm every night ... I do hope not as I really can't say that we will make no sound at all

I just hope that he will go away again!
Forgot to say our walls are brick

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

mrs_baggins

sounds like a nice person! if he complained to anyone I doubt very much if any action at all would be even taken but I guess he is the type that doesnt complain just makes your life a misery. If he is a tennant you could always speak to the ASBO team at your local council. Cutting grass at 6.30 am isnt neighbour friendly but from what you say you dont want to rock the boat and I understand that but at the same time you are doing nothing wrong.

Natividad

maytaurus wrote: »

He said ‘can you tell your son to shut the f*** up?’
I said ‘I beg your pardon, that’s lovely language isn’t it?’
He then came out with a mass of swear words, all of which I can’t even remember but included ‘go and f*** yourself and ended with ‘you f****** s**** tw**’

To me, it appears that he is not the kind of person you can reason with. He has however displayed a public order offence which he can be arrested for.

This may not be a course of action you wish to take.

Alternatively, you could contact the police and request to see your community beat manager or PCSO. You can request that they speak to your neighbour on your behalf. Or you can request that the police act as a mediator and you talk to him. This is something PCSO's are very good at!

If I was you, I would keep a diary of EVERYTHING! If this neighbour makes a complaint against you then you can bring out this diary which outlines all the issues with times and dates.

Innys

You think you've got problems.

The guy who lives across the road has fitted an exhaust to his Impreza the size of dustbin. Everyone can hear him coming and going from three streets away and it doesn't help that when he starts it at 8:00 in the morning, he leaves it running for 5 minutes. He does the same when he returns at 7:00 in the evening. Weekend lie ins are a pipe dream.

I changed my double glazing to see that would help but it made no difference.

I spoke to the Council and they aren't interested. I don't know why I bother paying my Council Tax.

maytaurus

Thanks for your replies
I honestly don't mind any of the noise people make living their lives doing ordinary things at any time,
I just don't understand people being foul mouthed and causing upset when there is no need for it.

docmatt

Go to your council website and find out the maximum Db allowed before it becomes too loud.

Buy one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/digital-sound-level-meter-46362

and write down the readings at the loud times and if they are higher than what is acceptable then get the council in with all their high tech stuff and take it from there...