Lawyer Joanne Ellis, partner and specialist in dispute resolution at Stephensons Solicitors, has outlined the legal position for people whose neighbours repeatedly put rubbish in their bins. A previous Churchill Home Insurance survey, reported by Aviva, found that 5.8 million Brits (11%) had argued with neighbours over rubbish in a 12-month period.
What counts as unreasonable interference?
Ellis said a one-off incident is unlikely to justify legal action, but repeated behaviour could potentially be classed as an unreasonable interference. She explained: "Most people would not be happy to discover a neighbour is regularly using their bin without permission, particularly if it leaves them struggling for space themselves."
She added: "While an isolated incident is unlikely to justify legal action, repeated behaviour can understandably cause disputes and may raise issues around trespass, nuisance or anti-social behaviour depending on the circumstances."
Best approach to resolve disputes
Ellis advised that the best approach is to address the issue directly with your neighbour at an early stage, if you feel comfortable doing so. This could be done by writing a letter to avoid face-to-face confrontation, with the hope of improving the situation "before frustration builds and relationships deteriorate further."
The same approach applies if a neighbour's bin causes a bad smell. She said: "Persistent bad smells can quickly become a source of tension between neighbours, particularly during the warmer weather. Ongoing smells from rubbish, waste or poor property maintenance may amount to a legal nuisance if they unreasonably interfere with someone’s use or enjoyment of their home."
When to involve the council
Ellis noted that where a neighbour is not taking reasonable steps to address the problem, the local authority may be able to investigate and, in appropriate cases, take enforcement action. She added: "The question is whether the issue goes beyond everyday inconvenience and becomes an unreasonable interference with someone else's use and enjoyment of their property."
Official guidance recommends speaking to your neighbour first if you have a bin dispute, before involving the council. If the problem continues, keeping photographs and a record of when the issue occurs could help support any investigation.
What qualifies as unreasonable interference?
Ellis explained: "Generally, this means that a person's actions go beyond what neighbours can reasonably be expected to tolerate. These are things that substantially affect another person's ability to use their home or land normally." She added: "So for instance, if your neighbour was consistently deciding to play loud music at 1am in the morning or had set up a new business operating loud machinery at all hours of the day. The difficulty sometimes is that this is an objective not subjective test and is always a balancing exercise for the court."
Commenting on the Aviva survey findings, Martin Scott, head of Churchill home insurance, said: "Living next to a poorly maintained property or a pile of rubbish can not only have an impact on you both emotionally and financially, but could also affect the long-term value of your home if you were to sell in the future. Council enforcement of environmental regulations is crucial to ensure the actions of antisocial neighbours don’t blight the lives of others. If a direct and reasonable conversation isn’t able to resolve the situation, it could be worth contacting your local council to either arrange mediation or put in place an enforcement order so your neighbours clean up their act."
