Sometimes a neighbour or nearby business might do something that causes you upset or annoyance.

This could be anything from blocking access to your property, making a noise, or allowing their lights to shine into your home.

Falling out with a neighbour can make you feel uncomfortable living in your home, can cause you distress and may make you feel intimidated if you pass them in the street.

There are many things you can do to try and resolve the problem before it gets worse and spoils your relationship with your neighbour.

Talk to your neighbour

Often, the person or business does not know that they are causing you a problem - they may be able to fix the issue quickly and easily once they know about it.

If you can, try to discuss the situation in a friendly way before making a formal complaint. You could take someone with you for support.

Make sure you stick to the facts, explain the problem and let your neighbour know how it is affecting you. Listen to what they have to say and see if you can reach a compromise you are both happy with.

If you don't feel comfortable talking to your neighbour in person, you could write them a letter. You can download a template below that you can change to suit your situation.

Neighbour Letter Template

(Word 30 KB)

Contact their landlord

If your neighbour is a tenant you could contact their landlord and ask them to help. Your neighbour may rent their home from a housing association, a private landlord, or from us.

Contact our customer services team if your neighbour rents their home or business premises from Chesterfield Borough Council. You can also ask us for advice if you rent your home from us.

Use a mediation service

If you want to resolve the problem with your neighbour, but can't come to an agreement, you could get help from a professional mediator.

A mediator is someone that doesn’t know either you or your neighbour, and is trained to help people resolve disagreements.

Make a complaint

If you haven't been able to sort things out with your neighbour we may be able to help. Tell us about a problem with:

• dog fouling in your neighbour's garden
• dust or smoke
• high hedges
• light or noise nuisance
• nuisance vehicles
• smells and odours from business premises
• an untidy garden or land

Our Community Safety Partnership can also help with problems with anti-social behaviour and harassment.

You might also be interested in:

• taking your own private action
• get help from Citizens Advice
• Land Registry boundary information