Some interesting facts:
According to research conducted by Red Dot on behalf of Ocean Finance (see * below)
• Around 18 million people in Britain have suffered a nuisance neighbour in 2015.
• Noise (57%) is the most common issue followed by rude or abusive behaviour (30%) and dropping litter (30%)
• A nuisance neighbour causes 51% of the UK population to feel stressed or depressed.
• Around a quarter of people want to move because of their neighbours!
• Amazingly, 7 million do not know who to contact to resolve a dispute with their neighbour.
It would appear that age is a factor with those aged over 55 less likely to have come across an annoying neighbour in the last 12 months but those aged 25-34 were most likely to have experienced this.
People surveyed who said they has the "neighbours from hell" - the most common annoyance is noise (57%) – such as playing loud music and arguing.
A further 20% said they have a neighbour who doesn’t look after the exterior of their property with 15% saying their neighbour displays intimidating or threatening behaviour.
Interestingly, 25-34-year-olds were almost 50% more likely to complain about nuisance noise than the national average.
Nearly a fifth (18%) say that they no longer feel safe in their own home with another 20% saying this caused difficulty sleeping.
(* Red Dot questioned a nationally representative sample of 2,005 adults aged 18 and over between 6th October 2015 and 13th October 2015, of whom 651 were Scottish residents. Figures have been extrapolated to fit ONS 2013 population projections of 50,371,000 UK adults.)
The government recommends the following steps when dealing with a neighbour dispute:
1. Speak to your neighbour
2. If your neighbour is a tenant, contact their landlord
3. Use a mediation service
4. Complain to the council
5. Call the police
6. Take legal action
