Night Hours Noise

Starbright2

@elsien thanks for your reply,

It's the noise act 1996 it also says what the council can do to stop the noise. 

https://lawhive.co.uk/knowledge-hub/neighbour-disputes/understanding-your-rights-when-dealing-with-noisy-neighbours-after-11-pm/

Yes you are right there could be something going on which they are not telling me about. 

I actually have many times thought surly they would see the door bounce back, but it seems the law doesn't care if it's on purpose or not if it breaks the noise act 1996 it breaks it. 

twopenny

I had a neighbour who used to do this with the bedroom door then the toilet door in the middle of the night. Repeated on the way back.
Why I don't know because living alone you don't need to close doors behind you.
I tried moving bedrooms but I was already sensitised to it so no help.

I'd known this lady for 40yrs but she refused to discuss it. 

Moved to get away from deliveries at 3am , another neighbour had his vans bought back on a rescue trailer with flashing lights, the family from**** children would be out kicking stuff.

Currently in a quiet cul de sac neighbours son slams his car doors so hard a picture fell of the wall but she's deaf so doesn't realise.
Other side neighbours son moved in and leaves for work at 4.45 because he can't walk the 12mins.

So it's not just you.

As at night they are probably going to the toilet so hard to stop that if it doesn't affect them.
Does it affect anyone else in the building?
Could you ask to be moved?

Starbright2

Thanks @twopenny I'm sad it's not just me but glad it's not just me too. 

What I can't get past is if the HA & council came round & told me I was disturbing the neighbour I would stop shutting any doors at night even if I didn't think I was being loud. I guess everyone's made differently. 

It's a semi-detached bungalow. And yes I could ask to be moved.

It sometimes starts at just gone 1am when the man goes to bed late thankfully not every day, Then each one of them goes to the loo at different times during the night which is typically something past 3am, 4am or 5am & then they get up at 6am or just after & do it again so I'm just managing a few hours in between the slams. 

I don't go to bed to sleep I go to bed to be woken up 

elsien

Starbright2 said:

@elsien thanks for your reply,

It's the noise act 1996 it also says what the council can do to stop the noise. 

https://lawhive.co.uk/knowledge-hub/neighbour-disputes/understanding-your-rights-when-dealing-with-noisy-neighbours-after-11-pm/

Yes you are right there could be something going on which they are not telling me about. 

I actually have many times thought surly they would see the door bounce back, but it seems the law doesn't care if it's on purpose or not if it breaks the noise act 1996 it breaks it. 

And have you measured the decibel level? 

ExEstateAgent

Sometimes the only way is to give people a taste of their own medicine. They may be deaf but would probably still be bothered by impact noise vibrations. 

You could try creating loud impact noises (doors, dropping something heavy etc) during the night for a few nights.... 

But otherwise try to record the noise and keep on at the HA, regularly (the squeeky wheel gets the oil). 

Starbright2

Thanks @elsien no I haven't tried measuring the decibel levels.

The noise level that the law talks about is 34dbs which looking that noise level up says it's a quiet whisper (which would not wake you up) 

Being jolted awake multiple times by a door being cracked off the door frame is way above permitted noise levels

Thanks @ExEstateAgent Yes I have to say I have thought about doing that. Though all the info I've read about noise complaints is don't do it. I guess they could then start a noise complaint about me. 

Starbright2

Just thought I would update if anyone else is going through this. 

When people slam doors at night & they say they are not doing it you need evidence by recording it. Unfortunately they don't record door slams with noise equipment set up in your home or apps because you yourself could slam something & say it was your neighbours. There is no way of knowing where that door was slammed. 

So all they can do is talk to them & use the "Be good neighbours" bit that's written in their lease. And try & keep them quiet while I am waiting to move. 

So if this is happening to you & the people causing the problem won't put things on their doors to stop them slamming them, then your only two choices are stay & put up with it I can tell you going through this twice now you won't be able to put up with it, even with a white noise machine & earplugs in or move.

Bigphil1474

OP, not all councils use the Noise Act. Where I live, the council use the Environmental Protection Act. Under the EPA, noise can be a nuisance, but it generally doesn't apply to domestic type noises such as closing doors, going up and down stairs etc. It's expected that people will be reasonable and undertake works for noises like that. It also applies 24/7, not just after 11pm.

In terms of noise monitoring equipment (NME), they can't use it for recording door slams as they aren't designed for that. The idea is that you as the occupier will record snippets of the noise that's affecting you so the officer can listen to those snippets and determine if there is an issue. For example, if the noise is from loud music for hours, they don't want hours of loud music recordings, they might want a couple of minutes to gauge the level, along with a diary of noise events. You'd be hard pushed to record snippets of doors being slammed. They don't record 24/7.

I'm not sure what the council are saying, but if you have complained to them, you have every right to know what they are doing in relation to your complaint. They might not be able to give specifics but they should be able to give you a general overview. The council are the enforcing authority not the HA. The HA doesn't have any powers as an enforcer but does have powers as a landlord to ensure their tenants are abiding by the tenancy agreement. Most social landlords will have tenancy agreements requiring tenants to basically be good neighbours. If you aren't satisfied with the council or the HA you should follow their complaints procedure. Getting your local councillor involved also helps.

If the council is also the HA, then the chances of the council taking any action are basically 0. They won't enforce against themselves. If the HA is an independent provider, then there's a chance. However, I would suggest your best bet is with the HA. If the annoying tenants won't accept any works to lessen the impact, then the HA should be making them accept them. 

You can also pursue a private nuisance case, although I've never known of that happening. It's not easy.

ic

twopenny said:

Why I don't know because living alone you don't need to close doors behind you.

Except perhaps to prevent draughts where there might be an open window, odours in a room, so that they can keep heat in one room and not another, to prevent a pet from entering a room, or a whole myriad of reasons. 

Of course someone who is single can close a door behind them - what a ludicrous statement!

Starbright2

@Bigphil14 Thank you 

I had an email from the council today they still haven't told me if they have asked the neighbours if they will fit things on their doors or not!. 

But what they did say is the HA will offer me properties first before going to anyone else. They haven't said if the HA will talk to them about "being a good neighbour" or not as she said she would on the phone yesterday.

So more of the same neither the Council or the HA letting me know what's happening just what they want to tell me. 

So it's a waiting game for a property to come up.