Neighbour Dispute

gezzelin

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but don't know where to go.
The adjoining property is privately rented, when the landlord bought it about 8 yrs ago, they had the house gutted. Since then we can hear everything, if someone walks across the room, if water is turned on there is a clunk then roaring noise, even if someone sneezes.
We have tried to contact the Landlord, he does not want to know, the council, the previous tenant and the present tenant.
I do not have legal cover and cannot afford solicitor fees, would this be something that a no win no fee company would consider?

Davesnave

gezzelin wrote: »

I do not have legal cover and cannot afford solicitor fees, would this be something that a no win no fee company would consider?

What exactly would you hope to win if you took this down a legal route?

In order to be paid damages or compensation you have to be able to show a loss. The only thing you are likely to lose at present is sleep.

The most effective way to overcome this is probably to move house. I know that may sound harsh, but it's also likely to be true.

gezzelin

Cannot afford to move house, I just want the builder to undo whatever has been done. We have contacted the planning dept at the council but they won't do anything and the environmental health is about the same.

Pixie5740

Then you'll need to soundproof things from your side. I do know first hand what it's like to live beside noisy neighbours but you what you're describing is just every day noise amplified by what sounds like open plan living.

alumende27

If the council, environmental health, landlord and neighbour refuse to do anything and you can't afford to move, then there really isn't much you can do other than grin and bear it.

Have you tried inviting the landlord or the tenant to your property so they judge for themselves how intrusive this is? Do you live in a flat or is it a an adjoining property? I.e. is the noise coming from above or below or to the side?

If you can't afford to move you could consider extra soundproofing on your side which would surely be cheaper than moving house. I cannot advise on that but I know it's possible to do.

Maybe consider having a radio or other source of noise on to drown out the sounds from next door.

Davesnave

Why should the builder undo anything, if whatever's been done is allowable under building law?

I presume that when you informed the council, they checked that the work complied with building regulations, if applicable. It would depend, of course, what the work was. Do they know? (Forgot it happened 8 years ago!)

Environmental health can install monitoring equipment in a property and issue an enforcement notice, if there is excessive neighbour noise, but it has to be quite extreme. From your post it did not seem that you were claiming unreasonable or ant-social behaviour by your neighbour, just 'everyday living' noises.

G_M

It seems likely that whatever work the new owner did when he 'gutted' the house, it did not conform to Building Regulations standards and he can't have got BR certication. (BRs require specific levels of insulation, sound-proofing etc).

Unfortunately the local authority can only enforce BRs in the 12 months following completion of the work (the Building Act 1984).

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200128/building_control/38/building_regulations/3

Doozergirl

G_M wrote: »

It seems likely that whatever work the new owner did when he 'gutted' the house, it did not conform to Building Regulations standards and he can't have got BR certication. (BRs require specific levels of insulation, sound-proofing etc).

Unfortunately the local authority can only enforce BRs in the 12 months following completion of the work (the Building Act 1984).

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200128/building_control/38/building_regulations/3

Building regulations only require specific levels of soundproofing and insulation for specific jobs. Soundproofing only applies to new dwellings, whether that is a new build or conversion.

Your advice is really quite wrong in this instance. In an existing house you can do anything you like without being required to soundproof, and insulation only applies to external walls which, even if gutting the house back to brick, isn't going to help their neighbour.

The OP needs to address the problem from their side. Acoustic insulation on the most offending party wall sounds like the best thing.

G_M

Well since my 'advice' (such as it was) was that the OP could not use BRs to improve his position, we seem to have reached the same conclusion....

Doozergirl

G_M wrote: »

Well since my 'advice' (such as it was) was that the OP could not use BRs to improve his position, we seem to have reached the same conclusion....

It's not the same conclusion. You stated it was non-compliant work that is unenforceable now. I'm saying that all of your post is incorrect and that none of it applies to the OP.

glasgowdan

Maybe the "house gutting" involved removing built in wardrobes from the adjoining wall. Pretty sure nobody needs BR for that, for example.

*Edit - damn, I'm turning into moneystooshort! ��