How to resolve a neighbour dispute
Approach your neighbour
If you feel comfortable, you should approach your neighbour to discuss the problem. However, you shouldn't approach your neighbour if they have acted with threats, violence or harassment. Instead you should contact your local council or call the police.
To resolve a dispute, you can:
- speak to your neighbour - take a note of the time and date you spoke to them, in case you need it for evidence later.
- write your neighbour a letter, if you haven't been able to speak to them.
Describe the problem and the action you'd like them to take. If appropriate, you should also explain when you'd like them to resolve the problem by and what you'll do to help.
Think about what you're asking your neighbour to do. The more reasonable you are, the more likely it is that they will take action.
If you’re writing a letter, you can use our template letter [ 130 kb] to guide you. Remember to keep a copy of any letter you send.
Talk to your neighbour's landlord
If your neighbour is a tenant, you can talk to their landlord. This could be the local council, a housing association or a private landlord.
If your neighbour is a local council or housing association tenant
You should contact a housing officer or the housing department of the local council or housing association. They could:
- contact your neighbour to help resolve the problem
- take steps to end the tenancy
- apply to court for an antisocial behaviour order.
If you're also a social housing tenant, they might be able to rehouse you.
If there's antisocial behaviour
Officials should take reports of antisocial behaviour seriously. To help build your case, you can provide evidence by recording the dates and times of the behaviour and the effect it has on you - for example, if you can't sleep because of loud noise they're making.
If you think discrimination is involved in a neighbour dispute, make sure your landlord knows. Read more about discrimination in housing.
If your neighbour is a private tenant
If you don't know who your neighbour's landlord is, you can find out by searching the Scottish Landlord Register.
When you write to the landlord, provide evidence of the dates and times of your neighbour's behaviour and the effect it has on you - for example, if you can't sleep because of loud noise they're making.
A private landlord can:
- talk to the tenant about the problem
- take court action against a tenant who is causing the problem
- take steps to end the tenancy.
If there's antisocial behaviour
Landlords should take reports of antisocial behaviour seriously and take steps to address it.
If the landlord doesn't take action
If you've asked a private landlord to deal with antisocial behaviour in their property and they haven't taken reasonable steps to deal with the problem, you should contact your local council.
The local council can then serve an antisocial behaviour notice (ASBN) on the landlord. An ASBN will set out steps that the landlord must take to tackle the antisocial behaviour. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
If the landlord doesn't take the action listed in the ASBN, they might eventually lose their landlord registration.
Get support from a residents' or tenants' association
If there's a residents' or tenants' association where you live, you could get their support. If more people complain, the conflict will be less personal and you're more likely to be successful. To find your local residents' or tenants' association, contact your local council. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
Get help from a mediation service
Mediators are independent and will listen to both sides to help you reach an agreement.
You might have to pay for mediation, depending on the provider. Let them know if you're on a low income as you might be eligible for a reduced rate.
You can find a trained mediator through Scottish Mediation.
SACRO also provides community mediation services. You can find out if there's a local service on the SACRO website.
Contact your local council
The local council can help to solve disputes between neighbours - even if the neighbours are not living in local council housing.
If there's antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour is acting in a way that causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress. To be antisocial, the behaviour must be persistent.
Antisocial behaviour can include:
- shouting, swearing and fighting
- intimidation of neighbours and others through threats or violence
- vandalism, property damage and graffiti.
Read more about what you can do about antisocial behaviour.
Your local council will have an antisocial behaviour strategy. They can take court action to stop the behaviour. You should contact your local council's antisocial behaviour department to find out more. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
If there's a problem with noise, pollution, rubbish or pests
You can contact your local council's environmental health department if there’s a problem with:
- noise - for example, loud music
- rubbish - for example, piles of rubbish in a shared garden
- odours - for example, a lack of cleanliness in your neighbour's home leading to bad smells
- leaks - for example, water coming through the ceiling from the property above
- insects - for example, a wasp nest in your neighbour's garden.
An environmental health officer will usually contact your neighbour and try to reach a solution. If they agree there's a statutory nuisance, for example if it's damaging to your health or disruptive to you, they can serve a notice on your neighbour. This means your neighbour must stop or prevent the problem.
The environmental health department can also enforce action to repair leaks. If they have a warrant, they can enter properties to carry out the necessary work.
Find contact details for your local council's environmental health department on mygov.scot.
If there's a common repairs problem
A common repair is a repair to any parts of a property which owners share the responsibility to fix and pay for.
In a tenement, this will usually include the common stairs, lifts and roof.
A common repair is also called a joint maintenance responsibility.
If one neighbour has refused to cooperate with a common repair, you can contact your local council, which might put you in contact with the building control department. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
After an inspection, the building control department can serve a notice on all owners responsible for that part of the property. This means they must do the repair in a certain time period. Your local council can only carry out an inspection if they think your property is a danger. The procedure will be different for each local council.
Some local councils will also mediate between owners and might help with payments for missing shares. Contact your local council for more information.
Read more about damages and repairs.
If there's a building work problem
Whether planning permission is needed will depend on the change being made. For example, you might need planning permission to build a conservatory or large extension.
Permission usually depends on the height of the extension and how close it will come to a boundary. If you think there's been a breach of planning control, you can contact the local council's planning department. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
The local council can investigate and issue an enforcement notice if your neighbour has carried out building work without permission or is using the land for an unauthorised purpose. An enforcement notice will explain the regulations that have been broken and the steps that must be taken to fix it. This can include removing a structure that was put up without permission.
It can take some time for the planning department to complete its investigation.
PAS is an impartial and confidential planning advice service that might be able to help if you want to object to a planning proposal. There's more information about this free service on the PAS website.
You can find guidance on changes that can be made without planning permission on the Scottish government website.
If the building work is disruptive
Each local council has recommended times for building work. To find out when building work noise is permitted, contact your local council. Find your local council on mygov.scot.
Contact a local councillor or MSP
You can contact a local councillor or a member of the Scottish parliament (MSP) if you haven't been able to resolve your dispute by speaking to your neighbour or the council.
You can find out who your local councillors are on GOV.UK. Find out who your MSP is on the Scottish Parliament website.
You can use this example letter to contact your local councillor or MSP [ 120 kb]. You can send this letter in the post or attached it to an email. Remember to keep a copy of any letter you send.
It might also be possible to give details of the dispute to the councillors sitting on a relevant committee, for example the planning committee, if there’s been a breach of planning regulations.
Contact the police
You can contact the police if a criminal offence is being committed - for example, if your neighbour is:
- being violent or harassing you - find out more about the action police can take against antisocial behaviour
- making excessive noise - the police can visit the neighbour or issue fines to people who have failed to stop the noise after being asked to do so, or they can confiscate sound producing equipment.
If you're not sure whether what your neighbour is doing is a crime, contact your local council, phone 101 or contact your local police station for advice.
You can find out more about nuisance neighbours on the Police Scotland website.
Consult a lawyer
You can send your neighbour a letter from a solicitor to show that you're serious about your complaint.
A letter from a solicitor might help to explain the legal position in a dispute, for example if neighbours can't agree about the position of a boundary.
However, it can be expensive to seek legal advice. Find out more about using a solicitor.
Take legal action
Legal action should be a last resort after you've tried speaking to your neighbour and taking action through your local council. Going to court might resolve the dispute but damage your relationship with your neighbours. It's also expensive unless you're eligible for legal aid or are using the simple procedure.
For example, if you can prove that your neighbour owes you money and the debt is less than £5,000, you might be able to take court action without using a lawyer by using the simple procedure.
If you're thinking of taking court action for a neighbour dispute, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. An adviser can't give you legal advice but can give information on how to find legal advice and help you to find out if you're eligible for legal aid.