Selling a House with Noisy Neighbours

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If you own a property and have noisy neighbours, you likely find them to be an annoyance – and some potential buyers for your home might think the same thing. This can be enough to turn people off from wanting to purchase your flat or house. But there are still ways to find a buyer fast and at a profit, and this guide outlines some simple steps that might make that happen.

1. What are noisy neighbours?
2. Are homeowners required to disclose noisy neighbours when selling?
3. How noisy neighbours can hinder the sale of your property
4. Ways to potentially address noisy neighbours when selling your home
5. Options for selling your house or flat with noisy neighbours
6. Frequently asked questions about selling a home with noisy neighbours

What are noisy neighbours?

Noisy neighbours are people who live next door to your home, whether it’s with an adjoining wall, above or below your flat, or even a detached house, who create an ongoing loud disturbance that disrupts your ability to live quietly and peacefully in your own property.

For homeowners, noisy neighbours can range from a mild annoyance through to making their property almost unliveable, depending on the scale of problem. Some neighbours might not realise that they are creating excessive noise, and it might be possible to chat with them to address the problem. But other neighbours might not care if their noise affects your quality of living, and they will reject any requests to be less loud, which can be a stressful situation.

As a result, noisy neighbours fall within the broader definition of problem neighbours when describing a house or flat, and their presence can make selling your home more difficult. That’s because some people will be instantly turned off by the noise and lose interest in buying your home.

The UK government’s environment department has issued guidance, most recently updated in 2017, for what constitutes a noise nuisance that applies to properties. Noise is qualified as being a "statutory nuisance" – meaning the local council can step in and try to order the loud neighbours to address the problem – if it injures, or is likely to, injure someone’s health, and if it unreasonably and substantially interferes with you enjoying your home or other premises.

This definition includes any loud noise from your neighbours that occurs anytime between 11pm and 7am, or that might be considered to be inappropriately loud at any time.

It’s important, however, to note that typical daily household noise does not qualify as being a nuisance, no matter how annoying it might be to you. Footsteps, children playing, dogs barking and other usual sounds do not meet the standard of a nuisance, even if you are irritated because you can hear the noise through your walls due to inadequate insulation.

Are homeowners required to disclose noisy neighbours when selling?

If you’re a homeowner and you have loud neighbours, you might think that it’s possible to try selling the property without telling potential buyers about the problem. In this situation, you will be hoping that the people living next to you will be uncharacteristically quiet during viewings when someone interested in your flat or house comes to tour its interior and exterior. You may think that you only need to alert a buyer to the noise if they hear it whilst on a viewing. Unfortunately, that approach is not only unethical, it’s also against the law.

You are legally required to tell a buyer about noisy neighbours as one of the facts about your home that are mandated for inclusion in a Property Information Form, also known as a TA6. This form is generated at the beginning of the process for handling a serious offer from a buyer, and it’s something your conveyancer – who is your designated legal representative for overseeing the sale of your home – will require you to fill out, and you must answer the form’s questions honestly.

If you lie or mislead the buyer with your answers to the various questions on the form, you open yourself up for litigation and penalties if someone buys the home and discovers the issue. Therefore, if you do not disclose on your TA6 form that you have an ongoing problem with loud neighbours and sell your home, the buyer can sue you when they discover the noise after they have moved into the flat or house.

The relevant question on the form asks, “Have there been any disputes or complaints regarding this property or a property nearby? ” and solicitors have long understood this to cover a range of activities that includes a situation where you believe that your quality of life and ability to enjoy your property in peace are suffering as a result of excessive noise from your neighbours.

Although you are required to disclose noisy neighbours on your TA6 form responses, in some cases there are steps to take that might reduce or solve the problem. A later section of the guide shows when this might be possible, although in some cases none of the steps will work.

How noisy neighbours can hinder the sale of your property

Unfortunately, if you own a house or flat and you are attempting to sell it, the existence of loud neighbours that are a continuing problem can create complications with finding a buyer.

Because you’re legally required to disclose noisy neighbours on your TA6 form, you’ll have to confront the situation directly whenever you get a serious offer from a potential buyer.

But you might find that it takes more time to get to the point of receiving a genuine offer, because a large majority of buyers might be disillusioned by the excessive noise problem. They might hear the neighbours being loud during a viewing of your property, before you’ve even had a chance to alert the prospective buyer about the issue. Or they may ask via their solicitor whether such a problem exists, and you need to be honest in answering this question.

If someone loses all interest in purchasing your house or flat due to the noisy neighbours, even if you outline some potential methods for fixing the issue, you should accept this outcome.

You might find that a person is willing to buy your property, but says they want to pay much less than the asking price because they believe that the loud neighbours detract from the home’s value. If this happens, you will have to assess your own finances and your goals with how much profit you want to make from the sale. Don’t accept any offer that will ultimately result in you making a financial loss when selling your property, because you deserve to earn a good profit.

Still, even with these potential barriers, it’s possible that someone might be so enamoured with your home and its location that they are willing to overlook the noise next door – or at least make an offer with a plan to address the issue after they own your home. Just beware that this outcome is the exception rather than the rule, and have realistic expectations when selling.

In the next section, you’ll find some examples of steps that you might be able to take that could, depending on the outcome, possibly resolve the noisy neighbour issue before selling.

Ways to potentially address noisy neighbours when selling your home

Any homeowner that has noisy neighbours but is eager to sell their property has a few different ways that they could potentially try to resolve the issue before trying to find a buyer.

If one of the options detailed below might be viable in your situation, it might be worth pursuing because of the possibility that the problem could be taken care of ahead of the requirement to disclose the noise takes effect. In the event that you’re able to put an end to the noise that your neighbours are causing, it will no longer be a negative factor that will affect selling your home.

However, as you’ll see from the descriptions for the different solutions, not every method will be viable for various reasons – whether that’s because of the time and cost involved, a poor relationship with your neighbours, inaction by council officials, and various other reasons.

You should only pursue one of the steps outlined below if you are willing to invest the necessary resources, and you’re also prepared to accept an outcome where the approach fails and the noisy neighbour problem continues, and you then try to sell your home even as it persists. The following section details the pros and cons with the different choices for selling in that scenario.

Try approaching your neighbours

The HomeOwners Alliance, an independent organisation that advocates for the rights of UK property owners, says that it might be possible in some circumstances to speak with your neighbours in an attempt to solve the noise problem.

There’s always the possibility that the people living next door, above or below you simply don’t know that their behaviour is creating unbearable noise for you that is significantly disturbing your ability to enjoy your home peacefully. If you have a good relationship with your neighbours, feel free to approach them in person, by email, or call them and to politely alert them to the noise situation. If they are unaware that they are creating such noise, the result of this approach – in an ideal scenario – is that they would take steps to mitigate the problem and be quieter.

Of course, there is no accounting for how a person might react to being informed that they are a noisy neighbour, and it’s also just as possible that they will react angrily and potentially even increase their noise levels out of spite. If you already have a tense relationship with your neighbour, it’s very unlikely that approaching them to have a talk will be a viable option.

Invest in soundproofing your home

If you are open to spending some money and time in addressing the loud neighbour issue before selling, you could invest in soundproofing for your property. There are products of varying expense that may help to lower or eliminate the noise from your neighbours that enters your house or flat, although none of the various options are guaranteed to always work.

On the less-expensive side of noise-reducing methods, assess the inside doors in your home for any gaps, and try to fill these, as this will help create a barrier to nearby noise. Similarly, plugging any holes in your windows and walls might also help to mask the loud neighbours.

Pricier choices for tackling the problem include the installation of double glazing, or placing soundproof insulation throughout your property. Both options have a good success rate with helping to abate noise from troublesome neighbours, but they will cost a lot of money, and it might take a long time for the work to be completed. Those are disadvantages that can make this an unsuitable choice if you are trying to sell your property swiftly and make a profit.

Ask the local council to intervene if necessary

Escalating the problem to your local council is another way that you might be able to address the issue of noisy neighbours, although this will not be received well by the people causing the noise. They may retaliate by increasing their noise further during the formal proceedings. And in some cases the problem can worsen to the extent that you and your neighbour end up in court.

It’s crucial to note that any formal proceedings, whether overseen by the council or a court, will be part of the public record and something that you’ll have to disclose to prospective buyers. They may think the hassle of the noisy neighbours is not worth the benefit of owning your home.

When you get in touch with the council, it will first write to your neighbours saying that it has received a formal noise complaint, although this will not identify you in any way. The council will also ask you to keep a diary where you write down every instance of problematic noise.

Should the council concur with your claim that the noise qualifies as a statutory nuisance as defined by UK law, they might give your loud neighbours an abatement notice, which is a formal warning that they could be prosecuted and fined if they fail to stop the noise, or take other punitive measures. In a recent example, the Cambridge City Council confiscated one resident’s music equipment after he ignored an abatement notice that was issued following complaints from neighbours about his loud music. But council action could be a very lengthy process, which may not suit your needs if you want a swift property sale.

Or the council could recommend involved a mediator, who will be a licensed professional with an expertise in resolving disputes. They will hear from you and your neighbour and try to find compromises and solutions to the problem. Mediators have a good track record of solving fights, and they are free, but the process is voluntary and your neighbour can decline to take part.

And finally, if none of the above options work and the council does not want to get involved, you could try suing your neighbours in a bid to win a court order that forces them to reduce their noise. This will be a long and expensive process, with no guarantee of success for you. It’s only recommend in worst case scenarios where you aren’t in a rush to sell your flat or house.

Options for selling your house or flat with noisy neighbours

If none of the different possible choices outlined in the previous section of this guide are viable for addressing your problem with noisy neighbours, you’ll have to try selling your home as is in its current state, which means trying to find a buyer without fully addressing the issue. If that’s your situation, then the next decision that you will have to make is choosing which approach to use in order to find a buyer.

People often choose between four different methods of selling their homes, which are selling with an estate agent, selling on their own, selling with an auctioneer, or selling to a fast buyer like the London-based company LDN Properties. You’ll find that there are some advantages with all of these options, but a few also have potentially significant disadvantages. Below you’ll find a summary of how each choice works, along with the pros and cons involved with them.

To help you choose the ideal approach, create an honest budget for your home sale that details how much time and money you are willing or able to invest in the process, as well as how quickly you would like to find a buyer. Compare this information against what each method offers, and this should help you to find the selling method that fits best with your needs.

Selling your home with an estate agent

You will do minimal work with this way of selling, as the estate agent will craft the listing for your home, advertise it in local newspapers, their office and online, and organise a calendar for viewings where potential buyers can tour the exterior and interior of your property.

If an estate agent succeeds in selling your home, they will charge for this work by making you pay them commission that will be subtracted from the sale proceeds.

This can be one of the slowest methods for selling your property, because many houses and flats sold via estate agents can remain on the market for a number of months, or in worst case scenarios it might be more than a full year before a genuine buyer makes a legitimate offer. As a result, this isn’t necessarily the ideal option if your top goal is the swiftest possible sale.

Some estate agents might also only have expertise in selling conventional homes, and they might not know how to find buyers for a problem property with noisy neighbours. You can always ask specific companies about their past success with selling houses or flats like yours.

Selling your home on your own

You may be interested in selling your home without the assistance of an estate agent or auctioneer. This will put the burden on you to prepare and advertise a listing, schedule and host viewings, and oversee any serious offers from buyers through to exchange of contracts. It’s a lot of work, can be very stressful, and will require a major investment of your time and resources.

For those reasons, you should only contemplate this approach for selling if you experience with selling a home, or have family members or friends with that knowledge who are willing to help. Otherwise, you might struggle to correctly market your home and fail to attract interest in it. It’s feasible that it might be months, or even a year, that you receive a genuine offer as a result.

And that’s the outcome with a generic home, so you could face even tougher circumstances because you’re trying to sell with noisy neighbours. Many buyers will see this problem as a dealbreaker, and owners selling by themselves may not know how to overcome such a barrier.

The only clear advantage with this method of selling is that you won’t have to pay anyone commission for selling your property, so you can maximise your profit that way. However, any financial gain made could be offset by the resources that you’ll have spent in finding a buyer.

Consider instead using a fast home buyer who will not charge you any fees to purchase your property, giving you a much less stressful option for achieving the same outcome.

Selling your home with an auctioneer

Auctions can be a gamble, because you might get many people bidding on your home, driving the price very high and making you a great profit. Or you may get zero bids, which means your home doesn’t sell and you have to start over with finding a buyer. Or you could get just one bid at the reserve price, the lowest value you’re willing to accept for selling your property. Always opt for a reserve price which will still guarantee a profit even after paying the auctioneer’s fees.

Selling through an auction can be faster than using an estate agent, although it can still be quite lengthy. After you list your home for sale there will be a wait of at least several weeks before the auction occurs. If someone places a winning bid on your property, they usually have 28 days to sign all of their required documents to finalise the sale and complete all of their other steps. Taken together, the time involved means auctions can take at least a couple of months.

And just as certain estate agents could lack the necessary expertise to sell a property with noisy neighbours, you may find that some auctioneers don’t know how to attract interest in such a home. Ask companies for their success rate with selling houses or flats that have loud neighbours, and if they have never done so, they might struggle to find a buyer for yours.

Selling your home to a fast property buyer

Quick home buyers are companies like LDN Properties, launched in 2003 and based in London, that provide owners with a streamlined, zero-hassle and stress-free way to receive competitive and rapid offers for selling their properties. They can consider buying almost any type of house or flat, regardless of whether it’s freehold and leasehold, and no matter its age, shape or size.

For example, offers that LDN Properties has made across London include lock-up garages, houses in high-risk flood zones, flats situated on busy city centre streets, properties where the owner has misplaced important documents such as the title deeds, inherited retirement homes, houses that are located close to unsightly mobile phone masts or power lines, flats that have current tenants with very lengthy rental agreements, vandalised properties, and more.

You’ll never pay any fees when selling to a trustworthy home buyer, which means you can count on receiving the full proceeds from whatever price they offer for your flat or house. That makes this method of selling perhaps the best for owners who prioritise the profit they can earn.

And as the name implies, these companies are able to finalise the purchase of a home much quicker than other methods. They don’t have to wait weeks or months to win approval for a mortgage to be able to afford your home. Instead, they have the financial ability to buy the property immediately, and so they can complete the process within a few short weeks. That includes every step involved, such as exchanging contracts and paying you the proceeds.

Top queries and answers about selling a house with noisy neighbours

Homeowners wanting to sell their home quickly often have a few things to ask us, ranging from the repair works required before selling through to selling a home with a poor energy rating. Here are some of the top questions we’re asked about selling a property with noisy neighbours: