1. Dealing with noise
Noise affects people in different ways; if it’s loud or obtrusive enough to affect someone else's enjoyment of their property, it could be considered a statutory nuisance.
There’s no specific decibel level that constitutes a statutory noise nuisance; if we have evidence that the noise unreasonably and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises, an abatement notice may be served on the person responsible under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Failure to abate a noise nuisance after a notice has been served can result in a court fine. Sound equipment may also be confiscated.
Types of noise we will investigate include:
- noisy neighbours
- loud music for long periods of time
- persistent barking dogs
- outdoor events
- commercial property noise
- building work, including domestic DIY at unreasonable times
- intruder alarms
Types of noise we cannot investigate include:
- noise associated with normal reasonable household behaviours (e.g. vacuum cleaners, washing machines, DIY at reasonable times)
- noise from children playing or babies crying
- people noise, such as voices in the street or in public open spaces
- noise from road traffic, aircraft and railways
- emergency roadworks
- one-off events such as a party, fireworks display etc.
- noise caused by poor sound insulation between buildings
Case law requires us to investigate complaints about noise as it would affect an average person - we cannot take into account complainants who have a different, or higher expectation of peace (for example, shift workers, people who are studying or people who are ill).
Noise from licensed premises
The prevention of public nuisance is one of the four licensing objectives. If you are troubled by noise from a licensed premises (loud music from a pub, for example), in addition to making a complaint, you can also apply for a review of the premises licence or club premises certificate. More information on this procedure can be found at Apply for the review of a licence - Exeter City Council
Before you make a noise complaint
We encourage you to speak to the person responsible for the noise before contacting us – often they are unaware that they are creating a problem for others. If this isn’t possible, or you have tried but the problem has continued, you can make a noise complaint to us.