Noisy neighbours dont know what to do

Crisp_£_note

Hi just wanted to let you know you're not alone, I am still having similar problems with my neighbour (posted on here a while back about the issues, due to other commitments and feeling guilty I didnt get round to doing anything but enough is enough now and even earplugs dont work anymore! I am now at last at the end of how much I can take of it and this morning broke down in tears after yet another sleepless night, the worst so far! Decided it has to stop. Our property is privately rented from family but we lrgitimately have help from the council for housing benefit etc as low income so we cant move easily.

I am feeling tired and have another bad headache due to sleep depravation thanks to the neighbours TV yet again (7 nights in a row this time), it really is getting worse than ever especialy last night! Can't even go to bed early and get away from it grrrrr. Really don't know what to do anymore.Was so frustrated after last night I cried this morning! Feel so ill Going to sleep in the caravan on the driveway tonight !

Knocking on the wall doesnt help as she is profoundly hard of hearing makes no difference. She is also unaproachable, not that I would go round knocking on her door late at night anyway incase I scared her she is a housebound old lady.We feel it is not right to ask her carers for help, her brother who lives the other side of her is also unaproachable and has threatened us in the past to a point we had community police out but surprise surprise they took her side and nothing got done about our complaint ! We have put up with it since we moved in 7 years ago (nothing but accusations from her about us, all false or simple to accomodate her wishes if she had only spoken to us). We are done with giving her respect, do we have a right to live in peace in our own home? Do we have a right to enjoy our home too? We have been amicable in the past and asked her if she would at least turn it down after 9 or 10pm but she refuses to saying she cant! I have suggested (even offered to purchase her ) some wireless headphones so she can listen to it as loud as she likes without disturbing anyone else, but she won't entertain the idea. She chooses the loudest setting and the noisiest programs to watch and doesn't give a hoot what time she watches them day or night!

I have been reluctant so far to contact the council as didn't want to make more trouble getting them involved but as of today really am struggling to cope with it. Is it really too much to ask someone to turn the TV down during the adverts (when the volume increases on the channel) her last response to this was NO because she can't reach the remote fast enough before the program returns! Then again lower the sound permenantly after a certain time at night (say 9pm or 10pm)? We dont often go to bed as early as 9pm but it would at least give us chance to catch up on some sleep every week. I couldn't even do that last night and lo and behold she sat up until 3am this morning (so just as I thought we would have peace at just after 1am it went on and on and on) I moved into our spare room but could still hear it in there (not as bad but still enough to disturb sleep) and thats on the opposite side of the bungalow not the adjacent wall. Some days its as if she has 2 TV's blaring in her small bungalow, one either end!

If we go to council we will get trouble from her brother banging on our door and shouting over fence threatening behaviour, we stay away from them as they both as bad as each other. Had thought of asking for a meeting with local community PC to see what he can suggest or do but again that will stir up trouble and they would probably side with her again!

We called police for an issue with brother getting involved with some other dispute with her a few years ago, they just told us to stay indoors and we got a call from local community PC a few days later who wanted to come round and have a word, but PC went to neighbour first even though it was us who called police and us who were being threatend! I so wish we could move sometimes (or she would but know theres no chance of that.

When we first moved in according to her we replaced some nasty neighbours so I think in her twisted head she thinks anyone who lives here is the same and therefore treats us as such. In the past she has threatened us with the RSPCA as she thinks we treat our dogs cruelly (we dont, and the comunity police have confirmed this to her and reassured us we have no worries here). She breaks the fence and expects us to pay for it (we have had to replace the whole thing twice in 7 years as we dont want our dogs getting into her or other adjacent gardens. Yet the fence on her side is her property as per the plans I got but she refuses to pay for them pleading poverty, yet she can afford other unnecesary luxuries and building workAnything that goes on in the neighbourhood (not just our street) gets blamed on us, especialy fireworks, Bonfires, BBQ's and garden parties! We dont have any other than the ocasional family BBQ which is now located in the garage to prevent the smoke wafting over her fence!

We would really like to get something done amicably but we can't see this is ever going to happen, not after 7 + years. I hate stirring up problems and respect other people and am reluctant to start any more trouble as just want a quiet life (no pun intended) am very nervouse to take this further as we really dont want or need the intimidating agro from her or her brother. Perhaps thats the problem we have put up with it for so long and backed down when she said no!

One night last bank holiday weekend we had similar and it was so bad the party in the house at the top of our road finished it's party in the early hours before her TV had gone off!

Enough is enough so am now going to take action and speak to the council and a the local community police's anti social behaviour team, as this is anti social. If the brother comes threatening or she starts at us we will just go to the police.

pug_in_a_bed

dontone wrote: »

Doesn't make any difference Toots, if you own or not. My mam owns her house, and still made a pest of herself until it was sorted.

Just mentioned that we own as moving is a lesser option than if I rented ps i love the toots

Boots888

pug_in_a_bed wrote: »

Hello, I don't know where to turn.

I live in a house split into two flats. My neighbours upstairs are crackers. More or less every weekend I suffer from their loud music, dreadful loud bassy dance music.

Its been going on intermittently for around a year. It came to a head 2 weeks ago, arrived home from holiday in a cab at midnight to music blaring out into the street. Spent 30 mins banging on the door and throwing stones at the window, so when they finally opened it, bladdered, I lost my temper.

Found out while I was away it was going on through the day etc, really bad - my dad was in and out for my pets so heard it. A few neighbours called their landlord and received pretty much the same response I got.

It carried on off and on through the night, called the police for the first time ever 9.30am. Police said they had no powers but could knock. I was out when they came,returned home to find all they did was shut the windows so the rest of the street couldn't hear.

Following weekend, same again, police too busy (weekend, fair enough). Contacted their landlord who said there was nothing he could do and told me where to go.

Last weekend on Sunday no music but drunken singing till 2.30am which kept me awake. I was sick as a dog last weekend so didn't knock. I'm a bit reluctant to knock at night as I feel a bit more vulnerable, although I'm not afraid of them.

I'm keeping a log for env.health but they said there is little they can do as its not constant and is often at night when no one can come and listen.

I have put up with it for a long time, as there would be periods of weeks without a peep. When I first moved in invited them down as it was my birthday and had 4 mates over. They came down absolutely spannered and one of them swung off my light fitting! We made our bedtime excuses pretty sharpish and put it down to weekend enthusiasm. Didn't try that again in a hurry again!

Started this again this evening at 6.30pm, I knocked, asked them to turn it down a bit and that would be fine. They haven't.

I know I am oversensitive to it now and I'm on edge waiting for the noise to begin every night. It can be really random, one week people arrived home from work with them at 5.30am for a knees up.
Often it will begin early sat afternoon and go on till all hours. Its definately got worse in the last 8-9 weeks.

Another week,they did very vigorous hoovering at 5am!

I invited him in last week to hear how loud it was, he agreed but was bladdered as it was his birthday.

So far,besides this I wrote a letter explaining how I was glad they were my neighbours etc. but they needed to have more respect re: noise and keep it down to a reasonable hour at a reasonable level.

I even got a friend to write one in polish (they're from poland).

I think they think that, because I didn't complain previously unless it was 150% awful, that I am now being unreasonable, when previously I let it go.

I measure it at the moment when I can' hear the tv, I've tried recording it on the mobile but it won't pick it up.

I also think because I am a lady they ignore me; my bil lived here previous and they always shut up when he asked, it was also infrequent.

They work very hard which I appreciate it, but play hard as well. They were generally very friendly and apologetic but forget very quickly.

I was a housing officer and dealt with noise all the time, but as a housing assoc. we would automatically investigate, issue a notice etc and evict if necessary but private landlords aren't all as helpful.

Every time I knock now I am recording it on my phone and taking five minutes so I don't lose my temper.

They know I have been to env.health because the bloody letter had the subject line 'complaint noise nuisance' visible through the address window!

I got my bil to come round before to see if he thought the current noise was unreasonable and if I was being oversensitive. Sods law they turned it down whilst he was here!

OH works away and comes down twice a month to stay so most of the time am on my own.

Sorry for the vent, I feel low tonight as I can see another sleepless weekend ahead.

All I can say is I feel so sorry for you.
I had a similar problem with anti-social behaviour and neither the police not the council/housing association did anything about it.

I would go through the complaints proceedures but wouldn't hold out much hope. Drove me up the wall. Over a period of years spanning 2 properties I had problems that really upset me. I had to leave the country. Granted I was able to, but my health suffured so much and nobody with any power did anything about it - so I moved abroad.

England is rife with anti-social behaviour, rudeness and bullying. It's endemic in the country throughout and with hindsight I still can't see how I could have managed to end up living a normal, peaceful life - I seriously think I'd have ended up fatally hurting myself or someone else should I have had to stay in that situation.

I cannot understand why the authorities don't do more, sooner to tackle the problem - which is happening far to often, to so many people.

dancing_star

if you have the landlord's phone number then phone him EVERY time the tenants make a load of noise. Tell him that each time his tenants disturb your peace, you'll disturb his. Good luck

thistledome

Boots888 wrote: »

England is rife with anti-social behaviour, rudeness and bullying. It's endemic in the country throughout and with hindsight I still can't see how I could have managed to end up living a normal, peaceful life - I seriously think I'd have ended up fatally hurting myself or someone else should I have had to stay in that situation.

I cannot understand why the authorities don't do more, sooner to tackle the problem - which is happening far to often, to so many people.

I don't think people always realise how much this affects ones life. You become super-sensitive to the slightest thing and are always waiting for the next intrusion to begin. It's like your nerves are jangling all the time. I really think the authorities should do more about this, but what? They can move the problem to another area, but that's about it.

People on Escape to the Country often say it's the traffic they are moving away from, but I think it's other people they are trying to escape and don't like to admit it.

dancing_star wrote: »

if you have the landlord's phone number then phone him EVERY time the tenants make a load of noise. Tell him that each time his tenants disturb your peace, you'll disturb his. Good luck

What a great idea.

Best of luck OP. My neighbours are lovely, thank goodness, but I've had some real horrors in the past and it makes your life hell.

faerie~spangles

One of my neighbours was suffering from a similar noisy nextdoor neighbour as the OP. His remedy was to come home one lunchtime and place his speakers next to the party wall, shoved on a country and western cd on repeat and go back to work.

Drove me nuts however when he explained why he did it I saw the funny side.

grandma247

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

Enough is enough so am now going to take action and speak to the council and a the local community police's anti social behaviour team, as this is anti social. If the brother comes threatening or she starts at us we will just go to the police.

Good for you.
No one has a right to make you feel bad in your own home The keeping calm every time you call the police is certainly the best way to deal with it. Make your diary very detailed and put how each incident made you feel too. If it has to go to court they will appreciate the detail.

I got action eventually because I refused to be cowed by a bunch of kids . I told the police I was prepared to go to court with or without their help if I had to.
I had high blood pressure during and for a while after our troubles but it has settled now.

Crisp_£_note

Not sure if it was on this post but someone advised me recently that any report of noisy neighbours (etc) to the council or police that was made official would (by law) show up on information if our house went up for sale. We assume next door owns her own home (probably no mortgage by now either). So thank you for that advice whoever gave it to us.

Hubbzy and I have spoken to his mum (our landlady) about the fact it would be picked up on if ever she sold the house and she says she wont be doing this for a very long time yet and by then next door possibly wont be aroound anymore or at least not living there! We were given full backing to go ahead and contact the council as our wellbeing was more important than someone in the future being put off purchasing the property for some noisy ex neighbour next door. :beer:

Latest though is next door has been having the volume slightly lower (althought its still clearly audible our side) and her TV has even been off from 12:30! Dont think our thumping on the wall has made a difference as been doing this for a long time and I dont expect her respect to last either so other than do nothing we have 3 options as I see it -

1 swap our lounge and bedroom around (quite unpracticle and will only slighly reduce the noise).

2 Wait until it becomes a nuisance again try and have 1 final polite word and then have no option when met with a negative reaction than to take it further to the council / police.

3 Dont wait, dont have a polite word now and just contact the council.

claire_deen

I came on here to find out if anyone else was in the same situation as me. I have 2 neds living next door to me, they either don't work or work late in the afternoon for a few hours which I doubt.

My bedroom is through the wall from their kitchen and there are times I've wondered what the heck they are doing in there with their banging about and shouting.

I contacted Enviro Health and the Anti social behaviour unit one night after contacting the police when the moron next door wouldn't stop his drunken shouting/singing past 11pm.

A letter was sent to their door and landlord. The Monday night after they recieved it I was woken up at 3am and I am sure she was banging on the wall and saying she knew it was me. It is really getting me down. Our flat is bought and the landlord doesn't care who lives there as long as the rent gets paid.

I now can't enjoy my flat and feel that all the money we've spen ton it has been wasted as I dread going to my bed every night just to be kept awake or worse still when i lie there and listen out for them.

I'm hoping that I feel better about this at some point, I've kept a log and I HOPE something gets done.

pug_in_a_bed

just thought I would update this as I'm feeling terribly low. After a few weeks of quiet, saturday morning at 6.30am the party started and continued untill about 1pm. I lost my rag (again) at him and his excuse was its the weekend.

Started again about ten pm, off and on and woke up me for good at 4am.

The environmental health won't take any action as the nuisance is not constant, it occurs a few weeks on and a few off. The police can't do anything and the neighbours ignore them on the two occasions they have come round.

I feel dreadful today, I feel so upset and tired; one of the worst things is that they know I can't really touch them.

Its the selfishness I can't stand, I asked him yesterday if he could tell the time (this was at 8am), his answer again was its the weekend. He likes to pretend he can't speak english yet I hear him on the phone yammering away in perfect scouse lol.

Yesterday I actually bruised my hand from banging so hard on the door to get them to hear me over the music.

We have even looked into buying the flat upstairs but just don't have the money at the moment.

I like the idea of disturbing the landlord every time they disturb me so will maybe try that, but his answer is always that he can't do anything.

Everyone in the street complains to me about them as if I can do something about it, but its only ever me who calls the police, or who approaches them.