Taking next door landlord to court for lack of noise insulation

HighContrast

(Apologies, there isn't a legal forum, mods please move to a more appropriate forum if there is one?)

Noise - CAB

 

I live in a terrace house which is in a prime student location, therefore nearly all rentals, my family and I are owner occupiers of our house. (but yes need to move away obviously but that situation is complicated atm)

 

We live next to a rental property that is rented out 2 possibly three students, but the often have guests, even when it was peak lockdown.

 

The issue as you can imagine with students, coming back at all hours, shouting, slamming of doors etc.

 

Now I complained to the university which made some difference, and also to the council which made some difference, however the council always missed the worst of the shouting, and so seem to think along the line that is it  borderline acceptable anyway. But despite that the issue remains even if they are being "normal"

 

The problem is the house is one big echo chamber, wooden floors, painted walls, basically sounds just reverberate. I can hear a normal volume conversation. And the neighbours bathroom which adjacent my bedroom, I can hear the conversation more clearly than I would if someone was talking to me the upstairs landing with my door closed. I have been woken at various times by someone having a drunken mobile phone chat.

 

I asked the students, they can't really hear us because we have carpets, thick curtains, wallpaper etc.

 

I know there are rules for flats i.e. no wooden flooring etc., but I guess it is a bit more of a grey area for houses? Are there minimum requirements here too? But I'm considering taking legal action against the landlord because this noise travel/lack of soundproofing from the property, and so that they remedy this. Basically they layout/decor of the house is unsuitable (IMO) for its purpose i.e. a student let in still residential area.

 

What I want to know, is what do I need to consider? And what help can I get, if any, RE legal costs (is it Citizens Advice who do this?)

 

I think I will need to get independent noise monitoring, (as I say council always miss the worse of it), is this admissible in court? And again is this something citizens advice can help with?

Can I also sue for damages/personal distress/health implications?

Thanks

davidmcn

There's no general requirement for neighbours to make alterations to their property to reduce sound transmission. And no, you can't sue for "distress" etc. You'd be better to focus on any valid complaint about how much noise the residents are creating.

HighContrast

Thank you for your considered reply. Reason I ask though is surely I can't be the only person who has thought about doing this? (I.e. a house owner rather than flat owner) Surely I wouldn't be setting any kind of precedent here? I.e. this kind of action must have happened before? You'd think?

davidmcn

HighContrast said:

Thank you for your considered reply. Reason I ask though is surely I can't be the only person who has thought about doing this? (I.e. a house owner rather than flat owner) Surely I wouldn't be setting any kind of precedent here? I.e. this kind of action must have happened before? You'd think?

On what sort of legal basis do you think such an action would have happened before? If the sound insulation between the terraced houses is rubbish (which is pretty common), that's just an inherent feature of the construction.

AdrianC

Of course you can sue, for whatever you like.

Will you win? Almost certainly not.

If you're going to do anything about it, follow the proper route - your local authority's environmental health.
Oh. You've done that, and they've monitored the property, but they haven't found any noise nuisance...

GDB2222

And, nobody will pay your legal fees.

The council can help with the noise issue, but you would have to keep a detailed log. You may have to buy a noise meter and recorder. Even so, they are strapped for cash, and probably won’t help. 

Generally, it’s the tenant who is responsible for their own noise, not the landlord. One issue with students is that, by the time you have collected the data and the council have gotten off their asses, the students will have moved on, and it will be a new lot in there. So, you have to start logging again.

Nothing to stop you putting up sound insulation on your side of the party wall. Also, if they are making lots of noise late at night, you can make lots of noise first thing in the morning. They may take the hint. Besides that, they need to get up for lectures, so an early start at 6am will be helpful for them.

elsien

You will not get any financial support off anyone for trying to take legal action in this sort of case. 

Citizen's advice are just that, an advice service. They are  not solicitors; often they are volunteers. If you were contemplating legal action you would need deep pockets and a solicitor. 

GDB2222

You have spoken to them about this issue?

davidmcn

The OP has an earlier thread with some more info:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6189557/noisy-student-neighbours-should-i-buy-soon-etc-urgent-advice-please/p1

theartfullodger

Your complaint is with & will always be with the residents, the occupants.  Follow CaB excellent advice on neighbour disputes.  By all means inform landlord but very very unlikely he'll do anything.  If next tenant is a elderly quiet lady, will you still be in dispute??

But if noise really really bad over a long period the council/police have powers to shut down (as they do brothel or cannabis farm.).

https://www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/two-years’-noise-nuisance-leads-closure-order-croydon-private-rented-flat

[Deleted User]

From the sounds of it the issue seems to be with the build of the property rather than the students themselves being too noisy. Talking, closing doors etc is just general living noise. 

It is an issue all too common with terraced/semi's and one that whilst annoying there is little you can do about it, unfortunately. 

In reality your options are to invest in soundproofing your home (expensive and not guaranteed to work) or move (expensive and not always an option for some people). 

You need to be aware that any official complaints you have made to the council and authorities will need to declared upon selling the property, which may send potential buyers running for the hills. 

I'm sorry for the situation you are in. We are similar with hearing our neighbours doors closing, cupboard drawers and the bloke especially talks several decibels too loud as he is hard of hearing. Although it is not constant throughout the day, it is still fairly annoying and one of the reasons we are wanting to sell up this year and move (preferably to a detached!).