Incessant Barking / Poor Soundproofing

anselld

janj1332 said:

HampshireH said:

janj1332 said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

Were you approached before.the building work occurred on the party wall?

Not at any point. The fact that much of the work was carried out during hours which might be deemed unreasonable (evenings,weekends) suggests to me that they perhaps aren't too well up on building rules and regulations.

Or they just had day jobs?

Talk to the landlord. Explain the situation. Explain the tenant wasn't pleasant when approached (but some adjustments were made) and you no longer feel comfortable approaching them as the relationship has seemingly broken down. As a result you are coming to them as a last resort before looking at other options such as Environmental health noise team.

The suggestion about looking after their dog isn't a route I would go down  Why should you take responsibility for someone else's decision to get a dog and then not meet it's needs (whether that is a doggy day care / training/ being home / whatever reason the dog is unsettled enough to be barking everytime)

Thanks MultiFuelBurner

The landlords worked on it a full time basis, including during evenings and weekends. Maybe a conversation with them is in order though. And yes, we won't be looking after next doors dog anytime soon either. 

A conversation is fair enough, but don't go in with too high expectation since in practice there is very little a Landlord can do to influence Tenant behaviour.  There is no s21 option during the initial fixed term and any s8 action for breach or asb is unlikely to result in eviction.  There will be even fewer options when the renters reform bill is enacted and it becomes illegal to deny pets and s21 is scrapped.  The only possible action the L can take is to soundproof their side but that seems optimistic if they have just completed a renovation.
The actual enforcement authority for noise issues is the Council (Environmental Health) but they vary greatly in performance. 

janj1332

A conversation is fair enough, but don't go in with too high expectation since in practice there is very little a Landlord can do to influence Tenant behaviour.  There is no s21 option during the initial fixed term and any s8 action for breach or asb is unlikely to result in eviction.  There will be even fewer options when the renters reform bill is enacted and it becomes illegal to deny pets and s21 is scrapped.  The only possible action the L can take is to soundproof their side but that seems optimistic if they have just completed a renovation. The actual enforcement authority for noise issues is the Council (Environmental Health) but they vary greatly in performance. 

Thanks anselld. One of the issues we have is whether the work carried out on the party wall in which both fireplaces were removed is covered by the Party Wall Act. If so, we weren't informed about the work beforehand, and a lot of the noise now comes through the chimney breasts.

anselld

janj1332 said:

A conversation is fair enough, but don't go in with too high expectation since in practice there is very little a Landlord can do to influence Tenant behaviour.  There is no s21 option during the initial fixed term and any s8 action for breach or asb is unlikely to result in eviction.  There will be even fewer options when the renters reform bill is enacted and it becomes illegal to deny pets and s21 is scrapped.  The only possible action the L can take is to soundproof their side but that seems optimistic if they have just completed a renovation. The actual enforcement authority for noise issues is the Council (Environmental Health) but they vary greatly in performance. 

Thanks anselld. One of the issues we have is whether the work carried out on the party wall in which both fireplaces were removed is covered by the Party Wall Act. If so, we weren't informed about the work beforehand, and a lot of the noise now comes through the chimney breasts.

The Party Wall Act only applies before and during the works.  It cannot have any effect retrospectively so that ship has sailed.

GDB2222

Should building control have been informed of removal of chimney breasts?

janj1332

anselld said:

janj1332 said:

A conversation is fair enough, but don't go in with too high expectation since in practice there is very little a Landlord can do to influence Tenant behaviour.  There is no s21 option during the initial fixed term and any s8 action for breach or asb is unlikely to result in eviction.  There will be even fewer options when the renters reform bill is enacted and it becomes illegal to deny pets and s21 is scrapped.  The only possible action the L can take is to soundproof their side but that seems optimistic if they have just completed a renovation. The actual enforcement authority for noise issues is the Council (Environmental Health) but they vary greatly in performance. 

Thanks anselld. One of the issues we have is whether the work carried out on the party wall in which both fireplaces were removed is covered by the Party Wall Act. If so, we weren't informed about the work beforehand, and a lot of the noise now comes through the chimney breasts.

The Party Wall Act only applies before and during the works.  It cannot have any effect retrospectively so that ship has sailed.

I was under the impression that landlords had a duty of care under common law to correct any damage / sub par work, irrespective of whether the work is completed or not.

anselld

janj1332 said:

anselld said:

janj1332 said:

A conversation is fair enough, but don't go in with too high expectation since in practice there is very little a Landlord can do to influence Tenant behaviour.  There is no s21 option during the initial fixed term and any s8 action for breach or asb is unlikely to result in eviction.  There will be even fewer options when the renters reform bill is enacted and it becomes illegal to deny pets and s21 is scrapped.  The only possible action the L can take is to soundproof their side but that seems optimistic if they have just completed a renovation. The actual enforcement authority for noise issues is the Council (Environmental Health) but they vary greatly in performance. 

Thanks anselld. One of the issues we have is whether the work carried out on the party wall in which both fireplaces were removed is covered by the Party Wall Act. If so, we weren't informed about the work beforehand, and a lot of the noise now comes through the chimney breasts.

The Party Wall Act only applies before and during the works.  It cannot have any effect retrospectively so that ship has sailed.

I was under the impression that landlords had a duty of care under common law to correct any damage / sub par work, irrespective of whether the work is completed or not.

Not under the Party Wall Act, it would just be a regular damages claim which you could bring against any person who negligently causes damage to your property.  Or you may be able to persuade Building Control to take action if they have not complied with building regulations in some way but again the PWA would not be relevant.