Dealing with neighbour disputes

Initially you will be asked to give all the details to the Housing Officer who will meet you in your home or at the Civic Offices 

If the dispute clearly seems to be a 1 to 1 neighbour dispute there is little wecan do and we will be refer you to the Citizens Advice Bureau who will advise you about dealing with the dispute privately

If the dispute is more than a 1 to 1 dispute will we give you, and probably some of your neighbours, monitoring diaries which you will be asked to complete over a period of time detailing the nature and the time of the nuisances caused

In the meantime the Housing Officer will contact the person you have complained about to discuss the problem with them

Next we will take a detailed look at your diary

If, after reading the diary, we feel that the neighbour nuisance is not a breach of the tenancy agreement we will explain this to you and let you know if there is someone other than Housing staff who may be able to help you resolve the problem 

If, after looking at your diary, we feel that your neighbours’ behaviour is unreasonable and is a breach of their tenancy agreement, we will discuss this with them to try to resolve the situation

If the breach of tenancy conditions continues, then we will serve a Notice Seeking Possession which is the first step in taking them to Court

If we serve a Notice Seeking Possession and your neighbour stops causing a nuisance that will be an end to the matter

If serious problems continue we may start Court proceedings and you will be asked to confirm in writing that you are willing to go to Court and that you are prepared to give evidence

You will need to keep another diary of events to prove that the nuisance is ongoing

At Court the judge may feel that the problem does not justify granting an order for possession of your neighbours’ home and the case could be dismissed

Alternatively the Court may grant the Council possession and then suspend it if the problem stops