Noisy neighbour

[Midsummer]

Hi - I hope this is the right forum.

I have a problem neighbour (semi-d) she's been living there for years (about 5 I would say) and from the outset she would play really loud music. In the beginning she had very loud parties all the time but these have petered out (she's about late 30s I'm guessing) and now it's the odd party after the pub. The music would sometimes be literally nightclub level when they come back in the middle of the night. She had no concern for us at all - it could also happen midweek etc., during the day etc., anytime she felt like a blast.

For example in the early days she would do her gardening with her car doors open and the music at top volume even though absolutely noone else on this road would do that, or she would have all her windows open and her music blaring.

Since we had a baby she hasn't been as bad (last worst time was when we brought the baby home from the hospital - she apparently didn't realise we'd had one - met the husband a few days later) but in recent months the level has creeped up again.

Sadly (for her) it seems to be her on her own a lot or with one friend playing very loud music. I'm very reluctant to fall out with our direct neighbour (we're only on nodding terms only for that very reason) apart from the fact that she seems to be quite volatile too (judging from various screaming matches after her 2 person "parties" etc.). Apart from the fact that it's usually late at night & I would have to get out of bed to confront her.

Is there anything else I can do about this legally without causing confrontation ? I have actually called the police in the middle of the night about 3 times a few years ago when the parties were very loud but I don't think they ever turned up - just took the complaint and did nothing.

I'm just fed up after years of putting up with this & now with the baby it's 10 times worse. In the olden days we could play our own music loud to give her the message but haven't been able to do this in the last 2 years of course.

Any advice ?!

 

[Diziet]

Have you tried having a friendly word with your neighbour at all?

 

[Niallman]

Search AAM for similar threads, theres loads of discussion on "my neighbour is an axe-murderer" etc.

 

[Sue Ellen]

Hi Midsummer,

Sounds to me like you have been far too tolerant and she may have settled into a routine now which will be hard to break.

Have you tried speaking to your other neighbours on the road to see if they have tried to do anything about it?

Your best bet is probably your Community Garda who deals with these type of problems all the time.

The previous threads mentioned are .

http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/NoisePollution/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,1319,en.pdf (This) document should give you some advice. The noise and nuisance section on www.enfo.ie might help also as discussed here.

[broken link removed] might help also.

Best of luck with your endeavours as it sounds as if she needs sortin'

 

[pearlpunjabi]

Hi,

I also have a problem with my neighbour. I bought my house three years ago on a newly built estate. It turned out that my next door neighbour is the son of the man who built the estate. Since I moved in I had to cope with extremely loud after pub parties. During these parties taxies are coming in and out using horns in the middle of night sometimes bringing up to twenty drunk young people. Our house is situated at the back of the estate in cul de sac. Then these people would smoke cigarettes in front of my door for the whole night. If I try to complain there is so loud that they do not even hear me what I am saying to them. I have small child and I am very sensitive to any noise at night time. I cant cope with this anymore. I complained to the builder but he does not care. I feel that they do not respect me at all. I was talking to my solicitor but he advised that there is nothing i can do with that and that i cannot issue proceedings for nuisance against my neighbour. Did you hear of any successful recent Irish cases agaist noisy neighbours?

 

[Sue Ellen]

Hi Pearl,

Welcome to AAM.

The same reply applies to yourself as Midsummer.

Your solicitor should be well aware that you need to take a case to the http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/NoisePollution/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,1319,en.pdf (District Court).

Have you tried speaking to the local Community Garda?

This is some advice taken from the Key Post on noisy neighbours:

"First step would be to approach the residents yourself in a reasonable fashion. Appeal to their better nature.

Failing that, you could serve them with a notice to meet with the district court clerk who may decide to issue an order on them.

For now, though, try the direct approach. You should also keep a diary of all instances should it result in you taking the court clerk avenue. Maybe try consulting with the local community garda/gardaí. They might be able to advise you but they can't take any action themselves. If you got them to visit while the noise is in progress, they could also serve as a witness to the situation should it end up with the court clerk".