Excessive Noise

If you are affected by noise in your community, we can help.

Types of noise the Council can help with

The Council’s Noise Team can investigate complaints about noise caused by:

• barking dogs
• building and construction sites (please note however that noisy work is permitted between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays)
• burglar or car alarms
• noisy deliveries
• nightclubs and pubs
• noisy neighbours
• parties
• loud music from parked vehicles
• industrial processes
• kitchen extract and air conditioning units
• roadworks
• places of worship
• open air events

Complaints about noise are investigated by officers who can take action if the it is considered to be a "statutory nuisance", i.e., noise that is prejudicial to health and/or causing an unreasonable and persistent disturbance to an individual’s lifestyle.

An assessment will be required and may involve officers visiting the affected property in order to assess the level of nuisance.

How to contact the Council about excessive noise

You can report a noise problem using our online noise-reporting form.

You can also contact us by phone, email or post - please see the top-right corner of this page for our contact details.

Whom to contact about other types of noise

If you are affected by a type of noise which is not covered above, you can seek help from other indivduals and/or organisations - please see below for more information.

Reasonable household noise transmitted as a result of inadequate sound insulation

Depending on your housing arrangements, you can contact:

• the landlord of the relevant premises
• your Neighbourhood Housing Office (for Hackney Homes)
• your Housing Association.

Noise from rowdy behaviour

Please contact the local Metropolitan Police or, if you live on an estate, an Estate Warden.

Traffic noise

• For general traffic noise on roads, please contact Transport for London.
• To report vehicles with faulty mufflers or other issues, please contact the local Metropolitan Police.

Aircraft noise

Please contact the Civil Aviation Authority.

How the Noise team deals with noise

• For intermittent noise and first complaints, we will provide you with a diary sheet to monitor ongoing excessive noise. This will allow officers to plan their site visits to increase the chances of witnessing a statutory noise nuisance.  
• For ongoing general neighbourhood noise, we will visit the site in the first instance to determine whether the noise is a statutory nuisance, and see whether the responsible individual can sort out the problem quickly. If the problem continues, we can serve a notice on the offending party requiring them to abate the nuisance. If such a notice is not complied with, then legal action can follow.
• For commercial, residential or car alarms lasting more than 20 minutes, officers will attempt to locate the key holder. In repeated instances, officers will take legal steps to enter and disconnect an alarm forcibly if the key holder cannot be located.
• For general commercial noise, problems are sometimes quickly and easily addressed. However, in some cases we may not need to prove a statutory nuisance where the premise holds an appropriate licence. These licences are issued in order to ensure that the disturbance caused to the general public is kept to a minimum.
• If we are not legally able to take any action regarding a particular type of noise, we will advise residents and businesses on what else they can do about it.

Council Service Standards

Every resident has a right to expect high standards of service from the Council, no matter how they do their business with us. Find out more about our service standards.

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Page updated: 17 Sep 2009