Listen to the noisy neighbor whose noise makes my council house shake

A MONTH after moving into her council flat, Sarah Chipperfield plans a relaxing evening of food and reading.

She loves her new home, but as soon as she sits on the couch, her peace is disturbed by the blaring sound of her neighbor’s television.

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It’s so loud she can even hear what show they’re watching and within minutes the sound is so overwhelming that her head is pounding and she can’t think straight.

Sarah dismissed it as a one-off and had no idea that three years later she would still be living in ‘noise hell’ and it has become such a problem that she has to leave her flat for peace and quiet.

Having friends visit is also impossible and some no longer come to visit.

“I thought my council flat would be a refuge. Instead, I have a noisy neighbor from hell. It has made me physically and mentally ill,” Sarah tells Fabulous.

“I thought the noisy TV would be a one-off. It wasn’t.

“I had to leave my flat and walk through the streets. The noise has been so bad.

“The downstairs neighbor’s TV is so loud that it causes vibrations in the floor. I can’t sleep, think or relax.

“I know I’m not the only one. It is time for municipalities to take tough action against noisy neighbors.”

Single Sarah lives on the second floor in a block of 24 housing association apartments for over-50s in Cirencester, Gloucester.

The former primary school teacher, who suffers from complex PTSD due to workplace bullying and childhood trauma, is currently on Universal Credit benefits and pays £670 a month for her one-bedroom apartment.

“This Christmas marks the third anniversary of the move to the council flat,” she says.

“It should be a time of festive fun and joy. Instead, I have to wear earplugs most nights and barely sleep.

‘I can’t invite friends to Christmas parties. The noise from downstairs overwhelms them and they simply leave.

“Anyone who has ever had a noisy neighbor knows that it is hell on earth. It is unrelenting.”

Sarah is not alone in her noisy neighbor battle.

A Good Move survey found that two-thirds (64 percent) of people have had an argument with their neighbors, with noise being their biggest bugbear, including music, loud parties and noisy children.

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While a 2021 flagship study for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) found that noise is the biggest issue of complaints to local authorities in Britain.

The World Health Organization says noise is a disease burden second only to air pollution.

Sarah has always been a private renter, but in 2021 she was served with an eviction notice under Article 21.

The law – known as a no-fault eviction – means a landlord can ask you to move out with two months’ notice, without needing to provide a specific reason.

I had a garbage war with my neighbor for two years

Gemma Smith and Sophie Wood were embroiled in a weekly row over their bins for a year.

When Gemma moved in next door to 34-year-old Sophie, who is unemployed, in November 2020, they were polite to each other.

Gemma, who is single and not working due to stress, said: “Sophie seemed nice and we stopped to exchange pleasantries.

“But it all changed at the beginning of 2022, when Sophie’s bin was full and she put her bin bag in mine.

“I took it out and put it on her box.

“It fell off, seagulls were pecking at it and there was rubbish everywhere.”

Both women refused to clean up the mess, claiming it was the other’s fault.

Gemma says: “I felt so angry.

“There was cat litter all over my driveway – it was absolutely disgusting and we ended up shouting at each other.

‘We were both as bad as each other. We walked past each other and I told her she was being lazy and that she should clean up after herself.

“We were shouting insults at each other.”

Within six months, Sophie had set up a CCTV camera and threatened to report Gemma to the council.

In retaliation, Gemma has set up the baby monitor – which can record video – to try to pin more misbehavior on Sophie.

Last July, Sophie saw Gemma standing on her doorstep in tears after a burglary at her home.

Gemma says: “Sophie came over straight away and asked if there was anything she could do.

“We are best friends now and help each other all the time.”

“It was during the third Covid lockdown,” she recalls.

“Nobody rented privately. I had to move to temporary private accommodation. Then I was homeless and didn’t sleep well.

“I had to beg and plead with the Cotswolds District Council for help. I was overjoyed when they offered me a corner apartment.

“It was a new start for me.”

However, within four weeks of getting her flat in December 2021, Sarah’s neighbour’s TV was blaring most evenings from 6pm, sometimes until 3am.

Sarah says she knocked on her neighbor’s door and politely asked if she could turn down the volume, but they denied they were the ones responsible.

“They told me it wasn’t their TV, but it happened night after night,” she says.

“I keep politely asking the neighbor to turn down the TV. One night, she and her boyfriend both told me to hurry up.”

I feared for my safety. I never thought it would still be a problem three years later

Sarah Manchipp

Just a few months after moving in, Sarah, desperate, went to the municipality and was put in touch with a ‘neighborhood coach’ from the municipality for advice.

Their job is to help council tenants settle into their homes and resolve any disputes.

“I followed the coach’s advice,” Sarah emphasizes.

“I’m always polite to my neighbor and my coach said they would talk to them, but it didn’t help.

“I called the police, but they said that because I was in a housing association, they had to rely on their guidance.”

Sarah, who is single and has a degree in teaching and forensics, started keeping a diary of the noise.

She recorded audio and video files on her phone to show the local authority’s housing team what was being done to her.

Now she is still trying to tackle the ongoing problem.

“I keep politely asking the neighbor to turn down the TV, but the response is sometimes aggressive,” she says.

“I feared for my safety. I never thought it would still be a problem three years later.”

Sarah knows many other housing association tenants who say their complaints about noisy neighbors to the council fall on deaf ears.

“Even when I played the tapes and showed the video, they seemed reluctant to do anything,” she says.

“Other tenants in other buildings say they are driven crazy by their own noisy neighbors.

“I was told to just try to deal with it.”

Sarah says she is on the home exchange council’s list and would move if she could find another council home.

She adds: “I get chased out of my flat because of noisy neighbours.

“There are no apartments that can be exchanged. The municipality thinks I am a serial complainant. My mental and physical health is at a breaking point. I know I’m not the only one.”

Sarah believes that councils across the country are putting noisy social housing or social housing in the ‘too hard basket’.

“The councils hope it will disappear. The rights of the noise abusers are more important than my rights as a vulnerable person,” she argues.

Sarah is now calling for a national review of the rules on noisy neighbors and for stricter rules on the rights of victims of so-called noisy neighbor abuse.

‘It’s enough to make you suicidal. “I’m terrified that someone will die because a noise dispute escalates and no one does anything about it,” she says.

“It’s time to take action. I followed the rules, and no one cares. Victims of noise pollution are clearly not shouting loudly enough.”

Fabulous has contacted Sarah’s council for a response.

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