Anti-social behaviour
Noise nuisance
When agreed by the case officer during an active investigation, customers can use the Noise App.
Noise from neighbours is very common, and it can be very upsetting.
The main problems are caused by:
- barking dogs
- loud music or TV
- shouting
- banging doors
- DIY activities
No home is totally soundproof so everyone can expect a degree of noise from neighbours.
If you are being disturbed it may be because:
- the neighbours are behaving unreasonably. For example, playing loud music late at night or allowing their dog to bark all day.
- the neighbours are behaving normally, but the sound insulation in the floors and walls may not be good enough to cut out the sounds of everyday living.
- you may have become over sensitive to the noise. Some people tune in to the noise from next door and find it annoying, while others would not.
Approaching your neighbour
If you feel you are able to, you can approach your neighbour to discuss the noise.
They might not realise they are disturbing you.
We understand some people may not feel comfortable doing this and would rather involve us.
We understand your complaint may be about more that one type of noise.
This can be discussed with your caseworker.
What noise nuisance in the house can be
- Household chores
Some household chores can be very noisy. Before you decide to do some hoovering or mowing the garden, stop and think about the time of day you are doing this work. Neighbours might not like to be disturbed by these noises at 6am and in late evening, especially if they have young children who may be in bed. House work tasks between 7am and 7pm would not necessarily be classed as noise nuisance. - DIY
Home maintenance is essential, but lots of DIY can be very noisy. Hammering, sanding, scraping and car maintenance can take their toll on neighbours and the rest of your household. Please consider your neighbours when you are carrying out work. Let them know if you plan to do anything that involves work on walls or floors that could be extremely noisy. Try to avoid drilling and banging late at night and early in the morning. - Children and / or babies
We are not able to take action on noise from children playing or babies crying. If you're concerned about a child, please report it. - Dog barking
Examples of excessive barking includes:- frequent sporadic barking for long periods of time
- constant barking over more than a minute or two
- barking early in the morning or late at night
- Loud music and parties
If you are planning on playing loud music or having a party, make sure speakers are away from walls and floors, and keep the volume reasonable. Please think about the time of day when you are playing music. - Playing a musical instrument
If you play a musical instrument and need to practice, think carefully where and when. If you tell your neighbours that you will be making a noise, and agree what days and times will cause them least disturbance, you are less likely to have complaints.
Report noise nuisance
If you report noise nuisance to us, we will ask you to keep diary sheets for an agreed amount of time.
This would usually be between 2 to 3 weeks.
You will record the:
- time
- duration
- type of noise
We will ask you to return them to us before any further action can be taken.
Download and fill out the anti-social behaviour diary information sheet.
Downloading the noise app
Once diary sheets have been returned we can look at installing our noise app onto your smart phone.
This is a free app available for Android and Apple phones.
The app will be installed for an agreed amount of time.
The number of recordings you can submit will be agreed with your caseworker.
It is a legal requirement that your neighbour will have to be told in writing that surveillance is taking place.
If recordings are received and your caseworkers considers the noise to be excessive, action might be taken against your neighbour.
How to install the noise app
For the noise app to work correctly, your location settings on your phone needs to be switched on.
- Go the the App Store.
- Search for 'The Noise App'.
- Click to download it. Once it has downloaded, click open.
- Once the app opens, click 'Get Started'.
- Choose the country of use as United Kingdom and click next.
- Start typing 'South Tyneside Council' and it will auto-fill 'choose this as the investigator'.
- Enter your email address.
- Complete the information in the boxes (First name, last name, email, telephone). Create a password, then click 'Create Account'.
- After clicking 'Create Account', a screen will appear thanking you for signing up. Click 'Continue', then go to your emails and open the one from The Noise App. If it isn't in your inbox, check your junk folder. Click 'Confirm my account'.
- You will then need to go back to the Noise App. Click 'Login', and enter your email address and password.
- Complete your address information and click next.
- You will then see a screen with a red button - tap the red button.
- You will get some pop ups asking you to confirm access to your phone's microphone and storage. Click 'allow' on these, then press and hold the red circles for 30 seconds the timer will count the seconds.
- You will be asked questions about the length of time the noise has been going on, what type of noise it is, where in your home you are and how intense the noise is. Complete these one by one clicking next after each one.
- You will then be asked to complete the address of where the noise is coming from. You only need to do this once and won't be asked again.
- Send the report to South Tyneside Council Housing Services.
Your caseworker will receive each recording by email.
Your GPS must be activated before making a recording using the Noise App.