Nuisance and Noise

This leaflet describes the policy and procedures for dealing with incidents of noise and nuisance involving tenants of Shepherds Bush Housing Association (SBHA).

The Association defines nuisance as interference with reasonable use or enjoyment of a tenant's home. All tenants are informed of their rights and responsibilities in the tenancy agreement with regard to their neighbours when they move into an Association home (see the What Your Tenancy Agreement Means page).

The action to be taken in respect of tenants creating nuisance depends on the extent of the problem. However, SBHA will investigate all incidents of nuisance and deal with them accordingly. We accept that in some cases one tenant's perception of nuisance may be a fact of life eg strong cooking smells, a crying baby etc.

When we investigate neighbour nuisance, wherever possible, we will advise and assist tenants to try and resolve disputes with neighbours themselves. We will also place tenants in contact with mediation organisations for mediation to occur.

SBHA will take legal action against neighbours who cause nuisance which is a serious and persistent breach of their tenancy, and will liaise with the police and other agencies to effectively combat nuisance.

What can you do if you are experiencing nuisance from a neighbour?

Firstly, contact the Customer Services department at our registered office as we can do nothing if the problem is not reported to us.

We will then investigate the incident quickly. In some cases the nuisance can be dealt with practically such as removing rubbish or writing a letter to all affected tenants.

However, in cases where the complaint is more serious then we will want to talk to you to get more details, such as damage caused, how often the nuisance happens, if there are any other witnesses etc. This will be done by your Neighbourhood Officer who is based in our registered Chiswick office. The Neighbourhood Officer will also ask you what action you would like us to take and whether you have talked to the tenant causing the nuisance to sort the matter out informally.

As a result of this, there are a number of options that can be taken, but only with your agreement. They are:

• we will often want to interview the person causing the nuisance to get their side of the story
• where possible we will suggest the option of mediation, a process which aims to sort out a dispute between two parties by the use of a third party, who is fully trained and remains impartial. Types of nuisance most likely to be resolved by mediation are problems with dogs, abusive behaviour, personality clashes or neighbour noise such as loud music etc. If mediation is considered an option, it can only effectively take place if both parties agree to it. It is also important that we do not become involved in the process so that the mediator can work objectively
• a referral to the Council's Environmental Health department can be considered by the tenant reporting the nuisance. They have powers to deal with tenants creating any nuisance possibly causing a public health hazard, such as noise, dumping and accumulation of rubbish. The Environmental Health officer will investigate and, if satisfied that a nuisance exists, can serve notice on the tenant causing the nuisance. If the problem persists, the Environmental Health Officer can impose a fine or, in serious cases, enter a property to deal with the nuisance
• in some circumstances, where disputes between neighbours show no signs of being resolved, SBHA can consider moving one of the parties under its management transfer system (see the Transfers page)
• as a last resort, and only if all other attempts to resolve the situation have failed, SBHA can take legal action to repossess the home of the person causing the nuisance.

If you are experiencing nuisance or noise from a neighbour and are unsure about what to do next, contact the Customer Services team on 020 8222 7300 for more advice.