You can complain about problems that you have in a home that you own or occupy and/or its garden or yard because of the hedges height. The resident contacted the landlord on 6 March 2020 complaining that he and his family were having sleepless nights and he had been signed off sick from work because of loud noise and banging from his neighbour. Inquire from the landlord or other neighbors about the details of a recent complaint about your behavior. Phone. Hounslow includes the districts of Hounslow West, Heston, Cranford and Heathrow. The landlord assured the resident that a great deal of effort was involved in resolving the issues and the case was overseen at a senior level. Use this comments section to discuss problems you have had with Hounslow Council, or how they have handled your complaints. For example, the hedge might help to make the area an attractive and pleasant place. They might be able to deal with the disagreement on your behalf. Visiting Hounslow House. the landlords handling of the residents reports concerning antisocial behaviour from his neighbour. You can make a complaint, like I did before and nothing happens. This is Hounslow Council's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a Hounslow Council agent. In August 2020, the police and Fire Brigade attended the residents floor to investigate smoke in the communal corridor and it was identified that the source of the smoke was the neighbours flat. Further, that other neighbours said the noise was mainly in the evening and usually stopped at around 9 pm. London Borough of Hounslow delayed in assisting a homeless man with mental health issues finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin. The landlord. It is recommended that the landlord arranges for the installation of noise recording equipment in the residents property to confirm and identify the noise reported and take appropriate follow-on actions. Welcome back Edit Account-Sign Out. Hounslow Council was the subject of more than 100 complaints and enquiries to the ombudsman about its actions last year, new figures show. , and in accordance with its ASB policy, above at point 2, for it to take this action to resolve the issue in the absence of evidence to support the noise reports. It said if issues continued and legal action was required, it would require such evidence to support the legal case. If you think your neighbours tree is dangerous, you can report it to the council - for example if you think it might fall over. This and the lack of detail and explanation given in its responses was unreasonable and evidence of poor complaint handling. The complaint was not upheld as it said the investigation was still ongoing and was being carried out satisfactorily and in accordance with the landlords policy. This means your noisy neighbour must stop making the noise or face legal action. The landlord also reiterated to the resident at this time that there was an ongoing investigation. Please do not post any personal information relating to yourself, or employees of Hounslow Council as these comments will not be approved. After the resident made further reports of noise on 18 and 19 May 2020, the landlord enquired about installation of noise recording equipment but was informed that, due to the ongoing corona virus pandemic, the noise team were not entering properties. The Ombudsmans role is not to establish whether particular events occurred; for example, it is not our role to assess whether antisocial behaviour happened. You can contact the council if you think your neighbour isnt acting in accordance with this notice. The resident said the issues had gone on for years. If the trunk or main stem of a tree or hedge is on your land, you own it. It might be worth reading Hedge height and light loss. Login . the landlord to report he could smell burning coming from his neighbours flat. Call Customer services on 020 8583 2000. hounslow and richmond community healthcare nhs trust. All Rights Reserved. It advised that there was an ongoing investigation about the issues he has raised. Moreover, the landlords updates were invariably advice that its investigations were ongoing. You can find out more or opt-out from some cookies. The out of hours service is designed for emergencies only. They might ask the owner to make it safe or deal with it themselves. This Investigation will not consider the landlords handling of the events in 2018 as they were not raised as a formal complaint until March 2020 which is more than six months after the events occurred, as the Ombudsman expects formal complaints to be made within a reasonable period of the matter arising which is usually six months. The landlords notes reference that the neighbour had confirmed during this visit that he was burning paper in this flat. Our address and travel options for getting to Hounslow House, Find out the different ways you can contact us, The out of hours service is designed for emergencies only, If you are unhappy with a service that we have provided to you, please let us know, Members of the media can contact the councils communications team, If you would like to compliment a member of staff or a service let us know, Get involved in local issues with the latest consultations, Information about what you can expect from us, Copyright 2023 London Borough of Hounslow. Theyll indicate where the boundary is and might say whos responsible for the tree or hedge. Housing Messy/untidy neighbour rights | Resolver UK the landlord took the other steps identified in its action plan at the time. The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any maladministration, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner. 60 councillors are elected from 20 wards, with by-elections held to fill any vacancies between elections. You have rejected additional cookies. When councils are determining a complaint they must first decide whether the height of the high hedge is having an adverse effect on a neighbours enjoyment of their home and/or its garden or yard. It also told the resident it would investigate his reports. Had to put up with druggies, noise, her washing machine used to go on at 1 in the morning as well as hoovering. You can change your cookie settings at any time. They must take into account any relevant concerns raised by you and your neighbour. Email Customer Services on customerservice@hounslow.gov.uk. On 8 April 2022 the landlord told the Ombudsman that: the neighbour was temporarily house elsewhere from 13 January 2022 which was agreed for six months. It advised of the contact details for the Councils Enforcement team who it said were available depending on the type of nuisance. Contacting Hounslow Council. But the legislation doesnt allow councils to deal with every problem that might be caused by hedges. You can find your council's website on GOV.UK. I gave up with the authorities. To help you test the strength of your case, it also might be worth reading High hedges complaints: prevention and cure. In conclusion, the landlord made, and continued to make, reasonable efforts to evidence the noise reports made by the resident and took reasonable action to resolve the matter by initiating mediation between the parties. The council can reject your complaint if they think you havent taken all reasonable steps to try to settle your dispute without involving them. You need to keep a log of all the incidents so you can accurately report the issue. This shows the landlord considered legal action to evict the neighbour however as its ASB policy sets out legal obligations the landlord has to vulnerable residents including when pursuing possession, it is reasonable to expect the landlord to have contacted its Legal team for advice on this issue to ensure it was fully aware of all options. This is usually at the base of the trunk or main stem of the trees or shrubs in the hedge. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. Citizens Advice is an operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Housing Neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour Speak Neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people having problems getting the council to deal with anti-social behaviour near their homes and who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. Whilst it did consider the option of enforcement action and attempts were made to move the neighbour by gaining his consent, due to the difficult circumstances, this was not possible. If you dont feel comfortable speaking to them, write a letter or ask someone to contact them for you. He stated that he had no choice but to allow the upstairs neighbour to enter his property on its visit to him to assess the noise level. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in its response to the residents reports of noise nuisance, The landlord made reasonable efforts to substantiate the residents reports of noise and. Check if you can get help with legal costs. It is evident that the landlord made 22 further visits after the conclusion of the residents complaint between 18 May and 19 November 2020. Now the whole street can enjoy my bass. Mohammed Ali Khan, 45, of Thornbury Road, was found guilty of instructing a contractor to demolish a building without notifying the Local Authority as required by section 80(2) of the Building Act 1984 after a trial at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on February 3. From disruptive planning permission to noise complaints, you can tackle the issue of nuisance neighbours though your local council. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Contact your local councillor. While he agreed with mediation as a way forward, he contended that this should have been agreed in advance and not on the day of the visit. Whilst the landlord has to take steps to address ASB in line with its ASB policy, it has a responsibility to balance this with the needs of its vulnerable residents including those who may be the perpetrators of ASB. Your neighbour can cut any branches that are overhanging into their garden as long as they only remove the bits on their side of the boundary. The right hedge can be an ideal garden boundary but the wrong hedge may bring problems. During the investigation, the ASB Team and HO worked with the police and other agencies to find a resolution to the issues raised about noise nuisance from the neighbour. Your neighbour could report it to your local council and you could be told to cut your hedge. If youre not sure what to do, you canget help at your nearest Citizens Advice. Ombudsman receives more than 100 complaints and enquiries about More information on the cookies we set can be found in our cookie policy. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area. Your feedback will help us give millions of people the information they need. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the residents reports concerning ASB from his neighbour. You can send your complaint to the council by post or email. I get the feeling they fear this noisy neighbour enough to give him a wide birth but not me. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. The STANDS4 Network. Five Fire Brigades attended who knocked on the doors of residents in the block. The landlord emailed the resident on 12 August 2020 confirming that they had visited the neighbours flat. He complained about the risk to the whole block and said he could not keep calling the Fire Brigade. It said it appreciated that the issues were reported over 12 months previously, but they had not yet been resolved. To what extent does the hedge block light or views, even if there are gaps in the greenery or between the trees or shrubs? hat the landlord did fail to sufficiently communicate with the resident during the period of this review. Police say this cannabis factory discovered in Knowle contained 80 plants. You don't mention if this person rents the property or is a lease holder. If the problem continues, youll need to get help from a solicitor who specialises in neighbour disputes - but this will be expensive. If it's noise from a factory or business, the penalty can be up to 20,000. We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. The HO did. Its a good idea to ask your council if they can help you find a mediator. On 14 May 2020, the resident contacted the landlord to report further instances of loud music and banging early in the morning. He said that he wanted reassurance that the case was high priority. In the second major debate of the night, over the proposal to make a huge increase in councillors' allowances, as revealed by The Chiswick Calendar, several of Chiswick's councillors criticised the increase. On 30 April 2021, the landlord visited the neighbour to deliver him a warning letter stating he was breaching. Email Customer Services on customerservice@hounslow.gov.uk, Call Out of hours emergency on 020 8583 2222. That may include the date and time of the incident and how it affected them. the steps youve taken to try to settle the dispute, the problems that you are having in your home and/or its garden or yard because the hedge is too tall, how you think the hedge is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of this property, take any action that could result in the hedges death or destruction, trim the hedge to a height less than 2 metres above ground level. The landlords internal record dated 19 August 2020 confirms it visited the neighbours flat with its fire officer and that a smoke detector was fitted. There is also no evidence of the landlord following up on a further report from the resident of a burning smell from the neighbours flat on 6 November 2020. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. If that doesn't work there are other ways you can ask them to stop, for example by reporting them to the council. Excessive amounts of any of the following could also be handled by the council: It is hard to define unreasonable noise as this differs from person to person. The complaint is about the landlords response to the residents reports of noise nuisance. This procedure also states that, f the noise levels are likely to constitute statutory nuisance, s policy provides for a two-stage complaints process, with timescales for a response of 15 working days at stage one and, working days at the final stage. On 8 April 2021, the resident made a further report of noise nuisance and a burning smell coming from his neighbours flat. Not usually. So stick some Motorhead or Slayer on full blast and try and wake the bastard up Once again, thanks. Advice for people affected by child abuse. As at the date of its final response on 4 June 2021 the landlord advised the resident that its investigation into his ASB reports about his neighbour was ongoing. What does it mean to have power of attorney? It might be a good idea to buy the documents for your neighbours house too - they might give information thats not covered in yours. Noisy neighbours - London Borough of Richmond upon Thames For example, 2 metres will only be the right height in some cases. But a hedge with gaps at more than 2 metres above ground level that significantly affect its overall effect as a barrier to light or access is not a high hedge and, therefore, you cannot complain to the council about such hedges under this procedure. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The landlords ASB officer spoke to other residents in the block as well as the neighbours care worker. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The legislation specifically says that councils cant deal with problems caused by roots. The Housing Ombudsmans approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. They concluded at this time that there may not be a case to investigate or keep open any longer but said they would write to. Hounslow Council (202001964) - Housing Ombudsman This could include keeping the hedge within its new height for as long as its there. If youre worried because you havent heard anything, you can contact the council to check progress. The landlord failed to follow its ASB policy in this regard. This doesnt include those privet hedges that lose all their leaves in winter and beech or hornbeam hedges that keep dead leaves in winter. None of these visits recorded any evidence to prompt enforcement action. The landlords policy says on receiving the initial report, the HO would make an initial assessment to determine a plan of action and to make a referral to the ASB team for Grade 1 & 2 cases. Some examples of these are: Complain about a Councillor breaching code of conduct, Complain about a service provided by our partners, Complain about a tendering or procurement process, failure to follow the Councils own policy, significant or repeated failure to provide a service, Copyright 2023 London Borough of Hounslow. In most cases you should first approach your neighbour directly about the matter. Well send you a link to a feedback form. We are an independent directory of contact information that enables consumers to quickly and efficiently find appropriate contact information and discus their own complaint experiences with other internet users. Search for trees on your councils website to find which department to contact. Its actions were appropriate with no delays or service failures. The landlord issued its stage one complaint response to the resident on 16, August 2019 and 12 March 2020 to observe the noise level. One that keeps some live or green leaves all year round. and it did not explain why it had not logged an ASB complaint prior to August 2020. pay the resident total compensation of 600. On 16 March 2020, the resident reported there had been loud music and banging all night for the last three nights from his neighbour. If they want you to cut your tree or hedge just because they dont like the way it looks, its up to you whether you do the work. On 13 April 2021, the neighbour made a self-referral for support. If you have tried and failed to resolve your neighbourly issue by talking to your neighbour you can approach your local council. Our address and travel options for getting to Hounslow House. Bloody ridiculous people have to put up with these selfish sod neighbours! They must also think about effects on the neighbourhood. They might, for example, make sure that your complaint is handled by someone who isnt responsible for maintaining the hedge.
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