Survey Reveals The Most Common Neighbour Disputes

The people living on your street can make a huge difference in the quality of your day-to-day life. 

Great neighbours can become great friends – and many life-long relationships have been forged on the premise of borrowing a cup of sugar, or returning a football that’s accidentally made it over the garden fence. 

Unfortunately, this also has the potential to swing the other way; having nosy, loud or inconsiderate neighbours has the potential to make your life unbearable. 

The UK’s almost two-year long pandemic drastically changed the amount of time many of us spend at our own homes. The majority of us spent much more time than usual within close proximity to our neighbours during the period’s ‘stay at home’ orders and social distancing measures. But how as a nation did this impact the way we perceive and interact with people living near us?

To answer this question, Art Windows and Doors’ research team conducted a survey of 100 adults, to find out the answer to this question. 

Methodology 

We conducted a public survey, which asked 100 respondents eight questions about their neighbours. 

These gave them a multiple choice answer, allowing the team to gain an insight into the most common issues respondents face with their neighbours. 

Key Findings 

• According to the survey, 9 out 10 people have had an issue with their neighbour during the last 18 months
• Disruptive and loud parties and/or social gatherings were the most common issue with neighbours according to the report; more than three quarters (76%) said they had experienced this issue over the last 18 months. 
• Loud and/or concerning conversations were the second most prevalent issue according to the survey; 71% of respondents said they had experienced this issue duringissue in during the last 18 months.
• According to the latest England survey from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the number of noise complaints in 89 local authorities have increased by 54% between 2019/20 and 2020/21. 
• Disputes and issues related to shared bins and recycling areas were the least common issue according to the survey; only 15 of the 100 respondents said they had experienced this as an issue over the last 18 months. 
• 2 out of every 5 people have experienced a ‘nosy neighbour’ during the past 18 months. 
• Over two thirds (67%) of respondents said they had “formerly reported” a neighbour during the past 18 months, while a further 15% said they “had come close” to reporting a neighbour during the same period. 
• Wales was the most common place for respondents, with almost half (47%) of all respondents saying they were based here. 

Our Findings

The questions, and respondent answers, are as follows: 

1. During the last 18 months, have you ever had an issue with any of your neighbours? 

Of 100 respondents, 96 answered yes to this question, while 4 answered no. No respondents skipped this question. 

2. (Over the past 18 months) have you ever had a ‘nosy neighbour’ (e.g someone who takes too much interest in your personal life)? 

60 respondents answered no to this question, while 40 answered yes. 

3. Have you ever had a dispute, disagreement or issue involving shared bins? 

Bins were one of the least common issues with neighbours according to the survey – with 85 respondents answering no to this question and 15 answering yes. 

4. Have you ever had a neighbour with a disruptively loud pet?

Loud pets were slightly more prevalent than bin disputes according to the survey. Results showed 71 respondents answered no to this question, while 29 answered yes. 

5. Have you ever had a neighbour with disruptively loud children? 

74 respondents said they had not had a neighbour with disruptively loud children, with 25 saying they had. One respondent skipped this question. 

6. Have you ever had a neighbour who had disruptively loud parties or social gatherings?

Parties and loud social gatherings were the most common issue reported with neighbours, according to the survey. Of 100 respondents, 76 said yes to this question, while 24 answered no. 

7. Have you ever had a neighbour who had disruptively loud and/or concerning arguments or conversations?

Of 100 respondents, 71 said they had experienced overly loud and/or concerning conversations from their neighbours, while 29 said they had not, making this the second most common issue according to the survey. 

8. Have you ever formally reported a neighbour (e.g to your landlord, council or the police)?

The survey showed that 67 of 100 respondents had, at some point in the last 18 months, reported their neighbours formally – to a landlord, council representative, or to the police. 

Meanwhile, 18 selected that they “had come close, but had not moved forward with the complaint”, while 15 said they had not formallyformerly reported their neighbour. 

9. Which country are you from?

Of the 100 respondents, 47 said they were based in Wales, 33 in England, 18 in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. One respondent answered ‘other’ for this question.