Noise from demolition and construction sites
Demolition and construction are an essential part of 21st century living. The law aims to strike a balance between allowing building work to proceed without undue levels of disturbance to local residents.
The construction site next door or opposite your home might be finished for the day when you return home from work but now, you may be at home more during the day, you might hear the work taking place on site. Construction work is inherently noisy but as long as the site is managed well, keeps to the hours of 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am - 1pm on Saturday (for the most noise generating works - demolition, pile driving, jackhammering) and they are taking all reasonable precautions to reduce noise, they are working within the guidelines.
With this in mind no noisy work should be undertaken on site outside the following approved hours of working:
However:
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Contractors may work outside these hours if they are not causing any noise i.e. painting and decorating, plastering
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The times can vary on occasions where health and safety prevails or in the event of an emergency
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There is a responsibility on the developer or builder to keep noise on site down 'where reasonably practicable'. So, for example, they may not be able to make a pneumatic drill quiet but they have a responsibility to ensure it has a noise-reducing jacket on it or that a radio played on site is at a level that does not disturb neighbours
DIY noise
Some people may choose to complete those DIY tasks that they have been meaning to get around to at weekends for example. Whilst you may enjoy putting your time at home to good use, your neighbours will not enjoy long periods of drilling, sawing or hammering.
Most people will be understanding and accommodating, but you should be prepared to compromise if there are times that your neighbour asks you to avoid for a genuine reason. In any situation, unless it's an emergency, try not to do this sort of work in the evening or early in the morning, particularly at the weekend.
My neighbour's builders wake me up at 6.30am with their banging and drilling. What should I do?
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First, try to discuss your concerns with your neighbours or, failing that, the developer directly. You may wish to point out the approved hours of working.
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If no improvement occurs start recording instances of any noisy working outside the approved hours of working, on a nuisance recording sheet.
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Register your complaint using our online noise reporting form where you can upload a copy of your completed nuisance record sheet.
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We will then investigate your complaint. This could result in a notice being served on the builder requiring that the approved hours are adhered to. If breaches of the notice are confirmed the builder could be prosecuted for non-compliance with the statutory notice.
