At Irwell Valley Homes we are committed to supporting customers to build good relationships with their neighbours to help create a safe and welcoming neighbourhood for all.
Our Good Neighbour Toolkit – developed with our Customer Communications Group - provides advice about what you can do when a neighbour’s behaviour causes upset or frustration.
It is designed to help neighbours work together to recognise and deal with tensions early on and prevent issues progressing into more serious anti-social behaviour (ASB).
Some of the situations covered here may also be escalated as part of an ASB case – each situation is different and we’ll assess on a case-by-case basis.
Along with tips and recommendations about how to resolve an issue with a neighbour, this toolkit sets out how Irwell Valley Homes can support you with neighbourly challenges if you experience them
Neighbours
As the toolkit highlights, accepting each other's lifestyles is important and can help people to get along.
But we recognise that differing opinions or lifestyles can cause tensions. If this happens, we encourage you to talk to them first, if you feel it’s safe to do so. They might not realise their behaviour is causing a problem for you.
The steps below can help, and we have also produced a Dear Neighbour card – which you can access here. This provides a way of letting your neighbour know about the impact the behaviour has had, if speaking to them face to face isn’t possible.
Tips for approaching a neighbour
- Do it when you feel calm. Being angry can cause more problems.
- Think through what you want to say and stick to it.
- Try to deal with the issue face to face and informally first.
- Explain what the issue is and how it is affecting you.
- Listen to their response - they may have a good reason, or it might have been a one-off.
- Try to reach a solution you are both happy with.
- If anyone is getting angry – walk away.
- If the issue involves children, speak to their parents if you can, don’t approach them directly.
No home is totally soundproof, so everyone can expect to hear some noise from neighbours, but there are things we encourage you to do to help everyone get along.
- Keep TVs and music to a reasonable level - especially in the summer when doors and windows are open.
- If you're having a party, give your neighbours plenty of notice, so that they are prepared, and let them know when it is likely to finish.
- Be respectful when leaving your home late at night or early in the morning.
- Avoid doing noisy chores - like vacuuming or cutting the grass late at night or early mornings if you can.
If you are experiencing a problem with a neighbour that you’ve been unable to resolve between yourselves, we are here to help.
Contact your Neighbourhood Officer today who can help.
As well as support from your Neighbourhood Officer, we offer a Neighbour Mediation Service. This helps to prevent an issue from escalating into a bigger problem.
This service provides an independent person who works with everyone involved in an informal and confidential environment to work through issues and reach a solution. Your Neighbourhood Officer can arrange this, please contact them if you would benefit from this support.