Remember if you can hear your neighbours, it is likely they can also hear you. A certain amount of noise is unavoidable when you live close by and you may not be aware that you are disturbing your neighbours. Here are some tips that can help you reduce your noise. If your neighbour's noise is causing you a nuisance, speak to them first as they may not know that their noise is affecting you. Let your neighbours know beforehand if you will be doing something noisy like DIY or holding a party that is likely to go on late. If people know it is going to happen, they are likely to be more tolerant. Don’t do DIY early in the morning especially over the weekend. Talk to your family and other people you live with and ask them to be aware of their neighbours and avoid things like shouting, slamming doors, children jumping around and heavy footfall. Don’t have frequent parties or late night noisy gatherings at your home. Don’t turn the sound up too much on televisions, pc, or tablets. Keep musical equipment volume down especially between 11pm and 7am. Wear headphones if necessary. Ask visitors to be aware of neighbours and not to cause a disturbance when entering and leaving. If you have a main entrance door make sure that you close it carefully and don’t slam it, especially at night time. Use stands for speakers and keep the bass low. Keep audio equipment away from walls shared with neighbours. If you own a dog, don’t leave it alone for a long time. Don’t let it bark, particularly at night. Remember some of our homes do not allow pets. Where we do, you need permission and this can be withdrawn if your pet is causing a nuisance. If you have people living underneath you, make sure hallways, stairs and floors are covered with a good quality underlay. This helps reduce noise. Carpets absorb more noise. Remember, if you have people living underneath you, laminate flooring will create a lot of noise. For this reason you need to ask our permission before you install it. Fit rubber or cork pads under chairs and tables to prevent them scraping noisily. Avoid walking in high heels as again this is very noisy. Be understanding if someone complains about the noise your household is making and listen to their point of view without getting angry. If you feel it would be appropriate consider mediation. Return to Graphics Version