Good Lawyer Guide's response

It all depends on how bad the noise is. If it really is excessive then you will almost certainly be able to do something about it. But, if it is just slightly noisy, then it will be very difficult.

In practice, the best advice is to talk to the local council, they will almost certainly have a Noise Officer (in the Environmental Health Department). It may be a good idea to keep a diary for a few weeks, in which you note the times of the noise (eg is it at anti-social hours – for instance in the middle of the night), and some indication of how loud it was (eg you could not hear your own TV; you could not properly carry on a conversation with someone on the other side of the room). Having a log of that sort could prove very useful.

Most cases are not so extreme. Often the noise is not caused by the neighbour being unreasonable, but simply because the wall between the two properties is too thin. Plus, of course, the position might be aggravated if your neighbour is hard of hearing (eg elderly).

What you really want to do is to avoid getting lawyers involved. Getting a solicitors to write a letter to the noisy neighbour should be a last resort. Whilst you may have to do it if the noise is really bad, and the council cannot help you, it is something to be done as a last resort – ‘neighbour disputes’ can be very difficult, and generate a lot of bad feelings (which can lead to even worse problems between the neighbours!).