Chronic neighbour noise go unreported

Eight out of ten noisy neighbour disturbances go unreported to the police or local authority, as stressed victims are too scared to report the problem.

A new report from Direct Line Home Insurance has revealed one in ten homeowners (10 per cent) experience persistent neighbour noise, yet the majority of cases go unreported due to fear of reprisal and homeowners’ ignorance of their legal rights.

Neighbourly disturbance now directly affects three million families in the UK, and has increased by 31 per cent over the past five years. Two thirds (68 per cent) of victims state they suffered physical or emotional harm as a result, with half (58 per cent) of sufferers deprived of sleep, one in ten (10 per cent) becoming ill, and a similar number (12 per cent) seeing the relationship with their partner affected.

Arguing and shouting (47 per cent), loud music (65 per cent) and unrestrained barking dogs (35 per cent) are cited as the most common complaints. Liverpool tops the regional league for neighbour noise, followed by Bradford, Leeds, London and Edinburgh.

The level of anxiety caused by this neighbour noise was demonstrated in a scientific experiment monitoring levels of hormones and antibodies released in traumatic situations. It was found that experiencing intense neighbour noise placed the body under greater psychological pressure than moving house, starting a new job, or even being involved in a physical confrontation.

What’s more, these neighbour-related nightmares have forced a million homeowners to sell up and move home, with the vast majority (65 per cent) keeping their disruptive neighbours a secret from new buyers.

As neighbourhood disturbances reach new levels, the government has been forced to enact legislation giving police powers to evict homeowners persistently exhibiting ‘yobbish behaviour’. The powers will be introduced this summer as part of reforms to the Criminal Justice Bill.

And with 27 per cent of noisy neighbour victims stating that they feel powerless, Direct Line is reminding its customers that it offers a Family Legal Protection service, which provides advice on any legal issues affecting the home.

Andrew Lowe, Direct Line’s Head of Home Insurance, commented: “Homeowners feel that they have nowhere to turn in dealing with nightmare neighbours, and are not reporting incidents to the police or local authority. The fact is that the police take these kinds of complaints seriously and will soon have the power to evict noisy neighbours if they are causing problems.”

David Moxon, Head of Psychology at Peterborough Regional College, who carried out the scientific experiment said:

“The levels of stress revealed in the scientific experiment are surprising. The problem with noisy neighbours is that its a constant worry for homeowners and there is no getting away from it, meaning that it affects people in their everyday lives. If people do have troublesome neighbours, I’d urge them not to ignore the problem as it could be affecting their health.”

The UK’s top 10 cities for neighbourly disturbance

Liverpool (63 per cent experiencing neighbour noise)
Bradford (56 per cent)Leeds (52 per cent)London (51 per cent)Edinburgh (51 per cent)
Sheffield (47 per cent)
Birmingham (47 per cent)
Manchester (46 per cent)
Glasgow (39 per cent)
Bristol (36 per cent)
Results of Experiment

Eight participants suffering from chronic neighbour disturbances were monitored for levels of the stress hormone cortisol and immunoglobulin-A (IgA – an antibody released in situations of trauma) over two weeks.

Samples were taken following participants’ experience of neighbour noise. These were compared to average levels of cortisol and IgA released by people in varying stressful situations. The five most stressful noises were:

Aggressive arguing
Loud music
Crying baby
Banging/slamming of doors
Shouting/raised voices

Stress levels exhibited from encountering persistent neighbour noise (1.12 µg/dl) were also seen to be worse than those exhibited by someone in a new/unfamiliar job (0.47 µg/dl), a person moving house (0.08µg/dl), and a boxer following a competitive fight (0.68µg/dl).