Holiday opening hours and service changes
View our opening hours and service changes for the Easter holiday period.
From April 2023, Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued for Noise Nuisance Offences evidenced through the Brent Noise App: £100 residential; £400 business and commercial.
A nuisance within the meaning of the law is a noise, smoke, dust, smell or artificial light, that really interferes with your right to enjoy your home
The person or organisation responsible for the nuisance must be acting unreasonably or unlawfully. For something to be a nuisance within the meaning of the law, it must be considered to be unreasonable to the “average person” and something that is more than an annoyance.
We can usually take action for persistent disturbance from:
You should use The Noise App to tell us about noise nuisance. Alternatively, complete and return a nuisance incident diary after a four-week period.
When you download the Noise App, you can:
Residents can download the app for free from their preferred app store.
To report a noise nuisance outside of regular hours, you can call 020 8937 1234 between 6pm and 2am, Friday to Sunday.
You should continue to keep a nuisance diary or noise app – recording the dates and times of the noise, how it affects you and start and end times.
The information you provide will not be passed onto the source of the noise without your consent.
Ignoring a Noise Abatement Notice is a criminal offence. You can be given a £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) for domestic noise offences and £400 for commercial noise offences.
You can pay online if you have received a penalty for causing noise nuisance within the meaning or the law.
Payment will discharge your liability to prosecution for the offence.
You can also pay by phone with a debit or credit card by calling: 020 8937 4994
Playing music too loudly, too often and for too long or at noise sensitive hours can cause nuisance to neighbours. The council may issue you with a noise abatement notice prohibiting such nuisance.
It also includes:
It is an offence to ignore the noise abatement notice by continuing to cause nuisance to others.
You have 21 days to appeal a Noise Abatement Notice through the Magistrates Court. There are no formal grounds of appeal against an FPN. If you feel there are mitigating circumstances you can make a representation in writing.
Please allow 21 days for your case to be reviewed. Your fixed penalty will be put on hold while this happens. Note that you may receive an automated reminder letter during this 21 day period.
We cannot accept a representation if you have already paid your FPN.
If you do not agree that you committed the offence, it will be for the court to decide on any penalty based on the evidence.
If you feel the investigating officer’s behaviour is unacceptable, please write to the address provided on your FPN and your complaint will be investigated.
Making a complaint is treated separately to the issue of the FPN. We recommend that you consider paying the penalty within the time limit provided to prevent any legal action being started for non-payment.
An FPN should be paid within 14 days of the date of issue.
Failure to pay a fixed penalty may result in prosecution where the maximum fine at a Magistrates’ Court is £2,500.
Other nuisances include:
You need to tell us:
You should use the online form to report nuisances that are not noise related. Alternatively, complete and return a nuisance incident diary after a four-week period.
To report an noise nuisance happening now, you can call:
You should continue to keep a nuisance diary – recording the dates and times of the nuisance, how it affects you and start and end times.
The information you provide will not be passed onto the source of the nuisance without your consent.
Simple acts can often be taken to prevent complaints being made about you. You should take the following guidance into consideration.
Before starting and during DIY works, you should:
If you are planning a party your neighbours are likely to be more understanding if you give them at least a weeks’ notice.
We recommend you do not keep cockerels as pets as they can often disturb neighbours with their ‘crowing
We recommend that you do not have bonfires as it is likely that the smoke will cause nuisance to your neighbours and contribute to local air pollution. Although it is not illegal to have a bonfire it is an offence to:
The council does not generally deal with odour or smoke associated with barbecues.
You should ensure you:
