The UK's biggest neighbour disputes – and the worst areas for it

From House Beautiful

Noise, parties, and overgrown trees are the main causes of neighbour disputes, according to a new survey.

Regulated property buyers, Good Move, commissioned a new study looking at the UK’s biggest neighbour disputes and the worst areas for it. The survey of 1,000 UK homeowners reveals two-thirds (64 per cent) have had arguments with their neighbours, with noise being their biggest bugbear, including music, loud parties and noisy children.

But territories and shared boundary walls have also proved to be problematic, with arguments typically occurring about overgrown trees and the garden fence. Parking boundaries have been the cause of disputes too.

Take a look at the top 10 reasons for neighbour disputes:

1) Playing music loudly (28 per cent)

2) Having loud parties (26 per cent)

3) Plants/trees overgrowing into their property (19 per cent)

4) They park over their driveway or in their spot (17 per cent)

5) They put their rubbish in their bin (16 per cent)

6) They cut their trees down (15 per cent)

7) They don’t take their bins out (15 per cent)

8) They keep knocking things into their garden (13 per cent)

9) They won’t pay for their half of the garden fence (13 per cent)

10) Noisy children (13 per cent)

Other reasons that fall out of the top 10 include loud sex, smoking drugs in the garden and howling dogs.

In the same survey, Good Move also looked at locality to see if there was any significant peaks across the country, with Wales unveiled as the location where the most neighbour disputes take place. The top 5 areas are:

1. Wales (72 per cent)

2. Northern England (70 per cent)

3. South West England (69 per cent)

4. South East England (63 per cent)

5. Scotland (60 per cent)

'If you’re experiencing issues with your neighbour, I’d always advise to try and discuss the problem with your neighbour first,' says Nima Ghasri, director at Good Move. 'If you’re worried about approaching them, maybe write a letter and explain the problem clearly. If, however, the problems become serious, I’d recommend making a formal complaint to your local council.'

Have you recently been involved in a neighbour dispute? Read this guide on what steps to take if you're faced with disruptive pets, a clash over boundaries or anti-social behaviour, and how to resolve them.

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