You can report noise issues to us or to your council's Environmental Health team. We often work together on resolving noise issues.
Who to report it to?
Noise from a nearby business or construction site:
Noise caused by a neighbour or someone else in the community:
- Report it to us and/or
- Report it to your council
What type of noise can you report?
It is normal to expect some noise from the people that live around you, and we ask that you try to be tolerant of this. There will be certain noises that are unavoidable or may be out of your neighbour's control. If you are being affected by excessive or continuous noise, or unreasonable noise after 11pm and before 7am you can report this to us. We'll do our best to help you sort out noise problems, but we can only investigate noises that are unreasonable. Just because a noise is annoying, that doesn't mean it's unreasonable.
Reasonable noise is:
- Children playing
- People talking
- Toilets flushing
- People walking around their property
- Babies crying
- Dogs barking at doorbells or postmen
- DIY during daytime hours
- Household appliances like washing machines or hoovers
- Doors opening and closing
- One off parties or gatherings
Unreasonable noise is:
- Using power tools at night, unless in an emergency
- Very loud music
- Shouting regularly
- Dogs barking all day.
So please, before you report a noisy neighbour, ask yourself:
- Is it a reasonable noise at a reasonable time (between 7am and 11pm)?
- Does my neighbour know it's causing me a problem?
- Could I talk to them about it?
- Do I make noises that make my neighbours think I don’t mind theirs?
How to report a noise issue to us
- Go to My Account and use the issue report form.
- Call 0800 432 0077 during office hours.
Please don’t email your Neighbourhood Officer directly. If they're away, this could delay us helping you.
When you report a noise issue, we'll ask you if you’ve spoken to your neighbour about it. If you haven't, we'll usually ask you to talk to them as a first step.