Landlord liability for noisy tenants?

[Mr Pointy]

Can anyone advise if the landlord of a rented property has any liability for nuisance caused by noisy tenants? My sister has an issue with ther next door neighbour which she cannot resolve with them. Does the landlord have any responsibility for resolving continuing long term noise issues created by their tenants?

[2Btoo]

It entirely depends upon what the tenancy agreement says, and she isn't likely to get to see it (unfortunately).

Does she know who the landlord is? Does she have his contact details? Or does she know which agent it is let through?

[timbo999]

Not directly no... this was confirmed to me by the local authority when a tenant of mine was annoying the neighbours by playing his electric guitar (not well as I understand it!) with the doors and windows open.

Having said that, the tenancy agreement should have a clause about 'quiet enjoyment' or some such that could be used (in extremis) to evict the tenant.. but is probably best used to point out to the tenant their responsibilities.

[timbo999]

If you don't who the letting agent is, it might be worth searching for the property on-line as many sites (Zoopla, Rightmove) retain historic adverts and might give you a clue.

[XFRFred]

timbo999 said:

Not directly no... this was confirmed to me by the local authority when a tenant of mine was annoying the neighbours by playing his electric guitar (not well as I understand it!) with the doors and windows open.

Having said that, the tenancy agreement should have a clause about 'quiet enjoyment' or some such that could be used (in extremis) to evict the tenant.. but is probably best used to point out to the tenant their responsibilities.

"Quiet enjoyment" has nothing to do with noise levels, but rather the tenants right to not be disturbed by the landlord/letting agent.

There is however normally a clause in the AST, that the tenants need to be aware of the noise levels around certain times of the day.
I can't recall the exact wording, but i'll see if i can dig it out from the AST's that i've seen in the past.

[Mr Pointy]

Thanks for the replies so far. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the 'tenants' are two gentlemen in an assisted living situation & an assistant, who is there 24/7 but changes every day on a rota basis. I don't suppose the two gentlemen are the actual tenants since they lack mental capacity but I haven't been able to find out who the actual tenant is - maybe it is the company that provides the assistant service. Obviously the assistants (who are they only point of contact) aren't very interested in supplying any information. I suppose these placements are under the control the the local authority but I don't know if they rent the house & place people or if there is another company involved.

The noise issue is with one of the gentlemen & one of the regular assistants & to be blunt I dont belive the house is suitable for the gentleman in question. I'm trying to find the owner of the the house from the Land Registry so that my sister can approach the landlklord if necessary, hence my question. However it seems the landlord may not have any responsibilty anyway so it might not help.

[WaferThinHam]

We had a dealer move in to a flat in the same building as me. The letting agent wasn't interested in the noise and hassle this caused (ignored emails, phone calls etc.) Their final advise was have I tried talking with them. It wasn't so bad as he seemed to disappear for weeks at a time, then re-appear again.

Fortunately the actual owner of the property was decent and put pressure on the letting agent to get rid. This took around 8-9 months if I remember rightly. FWIW it wasn't just myself complaining about his, I think everyone in the building was fed up with him. I was able to get the owner's details from the land registry and a combination of online stalking lead to an email address to get in touch with him.

Personally I'd find out who owns the properly first and get in touch expressing your concerns. Letting agent won't be interested as long as they're getting paid.

[Wings]

One's local Council Authority Environmental department will deal with noise issues, anti social behaviour etc.etc. The same will possibly fall under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. The department can serve an abatement Notice on the tenant, being Breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or noise
nuisance.

Once such a Notice is served on the tenant, then if breached the Courts must grant possession to the landlord, the same under ground 7A of the Housing Act 1988

[bladebloke]

2Btoo said:

It entirely depends upon what the tenancy agreement says, and she isn't likely to get to see it (unfortunately).

Does she know who the landlord is? Does she have his contact details? Or does she know which agent it is let through?

No it doesn’t. The tenancy agreement is between the landlord and the tenant - a neighbour won’t have any rights to enforce its terms.

OP, even with a lack of legal rights against them, the landlord might be willing to help to avoid pissing off the neighbours. Might be worth a £3 Land Registry download to get their name and address and then a polite letter.

[2Btoo]

bladebloke said:

2Btoo said:

It entirely depends upon what the tenancy agreement says, and she isn't likely to get to see it (unfortunately).

Does she know who the landlord is? Does she have his contact details? Or does she know which agent it is let through?

No it doesn’t. The tenancy agreement is between the landlord and the tenant - a neighbour won’t have any rights to enforce its terms.

You're right, but if there is a "don't make a nuisance of yourself with the neighbours" clause AND you can get hold of the landlord AND he is the helpful type then you may have some hope of progress. However this is all more than a little unlikely - hence my comment about the person in question not likely to be able to see the AST.