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Being a good neighbour

Being a good neighbour means looking after your home, your garden and looking out for your neighbours and community.

We are all different but being a good neighbour is about being reasonable and tolerant of different people’s views and lifestyles and but also considering how your own behaviour affects others around you.

What types of behaviour could affect others around me?

  • Noise nuisance
  • Garden nuisance
  • Parking nuisance

What should I do to be a good neighbour?

Noise is a common cause of complaints however;

  • As part of everyday living, and the fact that no home is totally soundproof, we all must expect some noise from the people living around us. Common everyday living noise includes TVs and stereos, DIY, dogs barking, intruder or car alarms, slamming doors or simply walking around the property.
  • Recognise that your neighbours do not want to hear noise from your home, particularly late at night, or for long periods
  • Keep noise at a reasonable level at all times e.g. from the TV, stereo, radio
  • Noise carries through walls, floors and doors. Laminate flooring (particularly in flats), and other hard surfaces, can amplify noise. To help reduce it, put down rugs and fit felt or rubber pads to movable furniture.
  • Warn your neighbours if you are going to do anything noisy e.g. having a party or doing

Co-operate with your neighbours if they ask you to reduce noise. For example, you can position your TV or stereo away from the walls you share with your neighbours.

  • Park considerately
  • Recognise that you don’t have the right to park outside your home. Anyone can park on a public road if they adhere to any restrictions imposed by way of signs and markings and it is not causing an obstruction
  • Avoid blocking entrances, dropped kerbs, garages or pavements.

  • Be tolerant of children playing outside
  • However, if you’re a parent, consider how the noise of your children playing outside may affect your neighbours. Consider if there’s a safer place to play such as a park or skateboard area
  • If a child accidentally throws or kicks a ball into your property, you should either hand it back or allow it to be collected
  • If children harass, intimidate or disturb others then complaints are justified, and parents must respond reasonably.

Different lifestyles and one-off incidents

We are all different and we should all respect that.

Often people do not realise they may be disturbing others. One-off incidents can be annoying, such as a loud party, but if they are not frequent then you should try to tolerate it. If they occur on a regular basis, and the disturbance causes you a problem, it is often a matter of making your neighbour aware in a friendly manner and seeking to work out a solution together.

What should I do if my neighbour is causing problems?

We recommend you speak with your neighbour as soon as possible about anything that is affecting you, they may not be aware and may be able to easily and quickly resolve it.

For some tips on how to approach your neighbour see our Being a Good Neighbour leaflet [pdf document]

If you have spoken with your neighbour and things have not improved or have got worse, you should contact us, and we will assess your complaint in line with our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy [pdf document].

If your complaint is assessed as high-level it will be referred to our Tenancy Enforcement team who will contact you within 1 working day to investigate your complaint.

Further information

You can find more information around our policies and advice in relation to being a good neighbour in our Being a Good Neighbour leaflet [pdf document], our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy [pdf document] by talking to your Housing Management Officer direct or by talking to your Scheme Manager direct.

How to contact us

There are several ways you can contact us:

Any emergency repairs can be reported to 01325 405333 24/7 365 days a year.

What if I am not satisfied with the response?

We hope that we can work together with our residents and listen to their voices and resolve any problems, but if you are unhappy with the response from the Housing team we have a complaints procedure you can follow and you can contact our Complaints Team by:

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