Agony Aunt: A resident keeps making noise complaints, but these are unenforceable
Today, Inside Housing Management launches a fortnightly Agony Aunt column, to help housing management staff tackle some of their trickiest work problems. We kick off with a question to Kelly Street, one of our five Agony Aunts, about noise complaints and how to deal with them. Illustration by Pong
Agony Aunt: A resident keeps making noise complaints, but these are unenforceable #UKhousingThe dilemma
A customer has been complaining about noise from their upstairs neighbour, but it’s not noise that constitutes a breach of tenancy.
The customer has kept a very specific log of noises, including the exact times and dates that doors are opened and closed, and when a toilet lid is slammed. The log is so lengthy that I can’t possibly get through all of these recordings, even if the noise was enforceable.
My organisation tried installing our own recording equipment in the customer’s house, but he hasn’t made any recordings, even when we moved it between rooms after he said the noise had moved.
I appreciate that this is a very real issue for the customer, but I’m not sure if there is anything we can do about it. The customer won’t accept this.
This is a common problem for my team – we often struggle to manage customers’ expectations or resolve these noise issues, and then they can become neighbour disputes.
Agony Aunt Kelly Street’s reply
I guarantee you there isn’t a housing professional who hasn’t dealt with a mirror image of this problem in their career. Low-level, persistent noise issues are impactful on the victim and really hard for housing staff to deal with. Both you and the victim have my every sympathy!
I can see that you recognise it is a top priority to manage the customer’s expectations, which is good – but this is going to become increasingly difficult with no clear resolution in sight.
I find it easier to manage someone’s expectations when you stop assuming what they want and ask them directly: “What is it you would like us to do to help you with this problem?”
They may surprise you. In my own experience, the answer to this question has varied considerably from, “Please may I have some ear defenders I can wear at home?” to my personal favourite, “Please may I have a detached bungalow in a field with no people within a 100 metre radius?”
We are all different, and what works for one person won’t work for another. Therefore it is important to have an open and honest conversation about your limitations, as well as theirs, when supporting victims of noise issues.
Think about how you can tailor your responses to victims accordingly, based on their situation. If it’s clear that they struggle to live in a flat/apartment, could you support them to find a mutual exchange? Would they meet your internal moves policy? If they don’t, then don’t be afraid to say, “I’m sorry, that’s not something I can do.”
But be open to exploring options with them in a transparent and respectful way.
With noise issues, communication is key – be clear about what the issue is, what you have done to try to address it and what you can both do to find a solution.
Kelly Street is interim head of communities at Places for People. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the social housing sector, and worked in lettings and as a housing officer before developing numerous specialisms. These include community investment, community safety, safeguarding, domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour, tenancy fraud and leadership.
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