The disgruntled homeowner claimed the neighbour’s noisy dogs wake them up during the night – what the law says
A homeowner has shared their anger online after their neighbour’s dogs woke them up three times in one night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the problem is an isolated incident. Posting on Mumsnet, the disgruntled neighbour explained how the ‘frequent’ noise is impacting their home life, to the point they have started telling the dogs to be quiet.
The resident claimed: “I moved into my new house in March – all great except for next door’s two barking dogs. They seem to bark for no reason whatsoever and one will set the other off.
“It’s often just a minute but is frequent through the day and night.” They added that they haven’t met the neighbour yet, but they think it might be time for a chat.
“I’ve met lots of other neighbours who are lovely but not spoken face to face with these ones. They keep themselves to themselves according to others. I’ve started to tell the dogs to be quiet as the owners don’t seem to,” the post continued.
Highlighting the most recent problem, the homeowner shared: “Tonight I’ve been drifting off 3 times and then woken by their barking. They must hear me telling their dogs to be quiet – is it time for a face to face chat?
“I would have thought they might come round to me but looks like they won’t. I’ve no wish to fall out with anyone but am I being unreasonable in expecting not to be barked at when I go into my garden – I’m grumpy and tired tonight so now is not the time although I’m sorely tempted.”
In response, commenters were quick to defend the homeowner’s position. One social media user said: “I completely sympathise with your situation for 2 years I lived in misery due to the non stop 3 barking spaniels across the street from 7 am to 1am it was utter hell. After asking nicely nothing changed so I reported them to the council I now enjoy peace & quiet & a full nights sleep my only regret is not reporting them sooner.”
Another thought: “It’s not at all unreasonable to expect your neighbours to keep their dogs quiet most of the time, especially at night. It’s not difficult to train the dogs to come in to the house as soon as called.”
What does the law say about barking dogs?
While dogs are expected to bark, if a neighbour’s dog is being too loud and barking consistently, there are ways to handle it legally, mainly through your local council or even taking legal steps if needed.
It’s best to try to sort things out with your neighbour first, but if that doesn’t work, the council can look into it and might give a noise abatement notice. Have a chat with your neighbour about the barking. They might not even realise how bad it is, or could be open to doing something about it.
If talking it out doesn’t help, consider using a mediation service, as suggested by GOV.UK, to help guide the conversation and find a solution. If your neighbour is renting, you might want to contact their landlord to let them know what’s going on.
It is an offence to cause a Statutory Nuisance to another resident under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and if the barking is noisy and regular, it may be a statutory nuisance. This is typically decided by a member of your council’s Environmental Health team, who will investigate the matter following a complaint.
Where a statutory nuisance occurs, the dog’s owner could be served with an abatement notice requiring them to stop the dog causing the nuisance within a set time period. Failure to act could result in legal action and fines up to £5,000.