Dealing with nuisance

Portsmouth City Council can help investigate problems like:

• noise complaints
• antisocial behaviour
• fly-tipping

Sometimes we may not be able to take action, especially if there isn’t enough evidence. If that happens, or if you’d rather deal with the issue yourself, this page explains how to do that.

• What counts as a nuisance
• What to do when dealing with a nuisance
• Applying to court
• Court hearing
• What might happen
• If the problem continues
• More support

A nuisance is something that affects your comfort or quality of life. It could be noise, dust, unhygienic conditions, or other problems.

It can happen during the day or night, and might be constant or come and go.

Everyone lives differently, so it’s only a nuisance when something becomes unreasonable and interferes with your life.

1. Find out where the problem is coming from and who is responsible. If it’s a rented property, the tenant may not be responsible for things like poor soundproofing.
2. Talk to the person causing the problem. Courts expect you to try to sort things out informally first.
3. Keep a record of when you spoke to them and what was said. This helps your case if you go to court.

Before going to court

• get advice from Citizens Advice – they may offer free legal help
• speak to a solicitor if needed
• talk to your neighbours – if they’re affected too, they may act as witnesses

Taking legal action

If you decide to take action, you must give the person causing the problem a written notice.

The notice should explain the issue and give them time to fix it:

• 3 days for noise problems
• 21 days for other issues

Send the notice by post or hand. Keep a copy with the date.

Contact the Magistrates’ Court and say you want to make a complaint under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

You’ll need to pay a small fee and provide evidence showing:

• how often the problem happens
• how long it lasts
• what time of day it occurs

The court will look at your evidence and decide if a summons should be issued.

When your court hearing takes place, you and any witnesses will need to go to court and give evidence.

You can choose to:

• speak for yourself
• use a solicitor to present your case

If you speak for yourself, the court clerk may give you some basic advice. You can also get help from Citizens Advice.

The person you’re complaining about will likely come to defend themselves. They may also make counter-claims, and you might be asked questions under oath.

During the hearing

The court will decide how to deal with the case depending on the circumstances:

• if the person admits they caused the nuisance, the court will usually deal with the case that day – You’ll be asked to give a statement to support your claim
• if the person doesn’t attend and hasn’t sent a plea by post, the court will usually postpone the case – but if the court believes they got the summons, it may go ahead without them
• if the person attends but denies causing the nuisance, the court may hear the case that day, or postpone it to another date – depending on how much time is available

If the court agrees that a nuisance exists:

• they’ll make an order against the person responsible
• they may give a fine of up to £5,000

You can ask for reasonable costs to be paid, such as lost earnings.

If you lose the case, you may have to pay the other person’s costs. Get legal advice if you’re unsure.

If the nuisance continues after the court order, go back to the same court and ask for a summons for failure to comply. You don’t need to tell the person responsible.

If found guilty, they may face further fines.

The court clerk may offer advice after court sessions.

You may also be able to take civil action in the county court for a private nuisance – get legal advice first.