Statutory noise and nuisance

What qualifies as a "Statutory Nuisance"?

The law of Statutory Nuisance is quite complex as it is based upon many years of case law. What is or is not a nuisance is based upon the opinion of the investigating officer. We will always be honest with you and tell you whether we think you have a good case or not and give you reasons why.

Key considerations:

• Location
• Time of day
• Duration
• Frequency
• Convention
• Importance and value to community of activity
• Difficulty in avoiding external effects of activity

A few points to note:

• Just because a noise is audible does not mean it is a nuisance
• If it is affecting you it may well be affecting others
• Something which is mildly irritating may not necessarily be a nuisance
• The problem must be excessive and annoying to qualify
• It can take weeks or even months to resolve a nuisance problem although we can help sort some problems out immediately
• We can not deal with rowdy people on the street

Do not despair:

We are here to help you and we will if we can. No matter how trivial your complaint may seem it is always worth talking it through with us before dismissing it. Take the following steps:

1. Talk the issue through with the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) responsible (remember to ask for the name of the EHO and their direct dial telephone number when you contact us).
2. Fill out the diary/log(pdf, 63KB), including as much detail as possible, and return them to us - we need your evidence as it shows how the problem affects you.
3. Call us out to witness the nuisance (the more often you do this the better).

If you wish to make a request for advice on noise nuisance, please use our online form or contact us directly.

Contact the Residential Housing Team

If you have any questions or comments please contact the Residential Housing Team

Room 118,
Civic Centre,
44 York Street,
Twickenham
TW1 3BZ

Telephone: 020 8487 5123
Fax: 020 8831 6404
Email: residentialeh@richmond.gov.uk