Noisy Neighbours - need advice on taking action / recording evidence

Jimmy_Boy

Hi,
Having issues with my downstairs neighbours that has gone on for a long time (about 7 years). Have tried speaking with them, but issue continues.
I am considering taking action myself and am looking for some advice.
I had issues with my upstairs neighbours previously which is now better (after I paid for all there carpet to be fitted). I had the council involved and they where useless, no help or assistance. I am considering not getting the council involved this time based on my previous experience - do I HAVE to get them involved or can I just take the case to court myself ? 

1. Setting up CCTV
One complaint I have is my neighbour uses his parking space (which is outside my bedroom window) as a workshop for fixing cars and bikes. He will often start at about 7pm and finish at 10pm or later. This has disrupted my sleep on many occasions.
What can / cant I record ? Can I point the camera at his parking space or is this considered snooping ?
Any recommendations for a good system?

2. Recording Audio
I have used Decibel X (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/decibel-x-db-dba-noise-meter/id448155923) to record audio with SPL levels. This is a useful tool and also allows you to record video with SPL information overlaid onto the video but will only record for 3 minutes. Developer is unresponsive.
Does anybody know of a system that allows you to record video 24/7 with SPL information overlaid.
One of the complaints I have is the amount of door banging I hear - these are difficult to capture 'live'. ie. I hear a door bang, I have to open the app, press record and obviously the sound has passed and I did not record it. Ideally I want something to record 24/7 which I can edit together for evidence.

3. How much evidence ?
Im unsure of how much evidence I need. My complaint is not about continuous noise (ie a party for 3 hours) but the amount of times I hear them EVERY day. I guess I hear them over 100 times a day including people coming and going all day (he sells weed), car doors banging, front door banging (a lot of people coming and going), internal doors banging, car / bike revving, shouting, hammering, drilling, dropping stuff outside, chopping wood, music playing and more.

4. Can I also sue them ?
I have installed soundproofing on the a-joining walls (£1500), and installed new windows (£1400) to try and make the noise more bearable. While it has made things better, it has not fixed the issue - I still hear them, especially outside.
In addition to trying to get some action to stop them making noise, can I also sue them to recover costs for the above as well as mental health / pain and suffering which has been caused over the years?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

another_casualty

It sounds like you live in a 1st floor flat, sandwiched n between 2 sets of neighbours .
Do you own your property? Do your neighbours own theirs? 

The managing agents of the block would probably be the first to contact . The owners of the properties also , if the people don't own them .  If you are renting , then it's something you would have to address with your landlord . 

If on the other hand they are council flats, and your landlord is the council then that is  probably more difficult to get sorted. 

Direct confrontation is best avoided . Not sure what to advise regarding the other stuff. 

Hope things improve .

Jimmy_Boy

Yes block of 4 (2 up, 2 down). I own mine, the 3 others are council tenants.

davidmcn

You don't need to involve the council, but it's generally a more cost-effective route where a solution is reasonably likely to be available.

Go to court yourself and (at most) you'll get an injunction telling the neighbours to stop being noisy. Then what? Are they going to comply with it? You're not going to get them to pay you damages for having been noisy in the past.

RelievedSheff

You can approach the council who will ask you to keep a record of noise incidents with dates, times etc or as said above go to court to get an injunction.

As you own your flat I would be more inclined to just say move if it is an option. You can't underestimate the effect that problem neighbours have on your life. We lived next door to noisy problem neighbours for 12 years and it wasn't until we moved last year that we realised what an adverse effect living there had had on us. Even the dog is much more settled now!

It might sound extreme but sometimes needs must.

MovingForwards

Can you swap your bedroom / living room around, assuming you have got a flat that runs the length of the building.

Have you offered to swap parking spaces with the neighbour?

Look at the title deeds (£3 from the land registry website) and see what it says about operating a business; councils don't usually allow it. I'm also assuming it's not just his own bike / car that is getting fixed.

Buy a dictaphone for recording, you can leave it running all the time, swapping memory cards as necessary. Do you hear footsteps before the door slamming? As that will give you advance warning the door will be slamming.

What flooring have you got down in your property?

davidmcn

MovingForwards said:

Look at the title deeds (£3 from the land registry website) and see what it says about operating a business; councils don't usually allow it. I'm also assuming it's not just his own bike / car that is getting fixed.

The offending neighbours are council tenants so the titles aren't going to be relevant - though I expect their tenancy agreement prohibits business use.

Jimmy_Boy

I am considering moving and renting my place out, but am fearful that the tenants I rent to would not stay as they would not tolerate the noise. 
I find it so frustrating that people can be so inconsiderate and have such a negative impact on your life (I HATE coming home) and I am relatively powerless as to what I can do.
I rented a place local to me in January just to get out of my own home and felt so much better after being able to get a few decent nights sleep and reduce my stress and anxiety levels.
I think moving is the most viable resolution, but find it extremely annoying that I am essentially being pushed out of my own home with no consequences for the people that have put me into this situation.

Jimmy_Boy

MovingForwards said:

Can you swap your bedroom / living room around, assuming you have got a flat that runs the length of the building.

I have done this already. Problem is, they are out the back just as much so I still hear them. They will often have many people round (including through lockdown) and be out the back with music playing (often until 3am). Also, he has now added decking which is attached to the house, when they move chairs etc... the sound travels through the walls which I hear. Basically, if I sleep in my bedroom or front room, I get disturbed by them.

Swapping parking spaces would not help either, its only a difference of about 8 feet.

RelievedSheff

Jimmy_Boy said:

I am considering moving and renting my place out, but am fearful that the tenants I rent to would not stay as they would not tolerate the noise. 
I find it so frustrating that people can be so inconsiderate and have such a negative impact on your life (I HATE coming home) and I am relatively powerless as to what I can do.
I rented a place local to me in January just to get out of my own home and felt so much better after being able to get a few decent nights sleep and reduce my stress and anxiety levels.
I think moving is the most viable resolution, but find it extremely annoying that I am essentially being pushed out of my own home with no consequences for the people that have put me into this situation.

It is annoying when you have to move because of inconsiderate neighbours. We felt the same. But do you know what? They are a distant memory now and we are so much happier.

If anything we should thank them as they gave us the push to move to a much better house in a much better area. 

Norman_Castle

Their tenancy agreement might state the parking areas cannot be used to repair cars. Other residents might be annoyed by it.  Contact the council and ask.  Unfortunately a lot of the noise will be classed as "normal" with no accounting for its volume, regularity or whether it could be avoided.

Film or record anything you want until you're told not to. From experience most of it will be disregarded so I wouldn't invest much time or effort.