- There were only 8K cases where councils responded by sending legal notices
- And there were 577,562 complaints about bad behaviour to councils last year
- The Local Government Association, which represents councils, said using nuisance abatement orders and could be expensive and time-consuming
More than half a million people complained to town halls last year about the bad behaviour of their neighbours.
Nearly half of the protests were about noise, with others covering householders who failed to clear their rubbish or neglected a property.
But there were only just over 8,000 cases in which councils responded by sending out legal notices calling for a stop to the nuisance and carrying the threat of fines.
More than half a million people complained last year about their neighbours (stock image)
There were 577,562 complaints about bad behaviour to councils in the year ending on July 31 last year, said the report compiled by Churchill Home Insurance. In noise or nuisance cases, councils can send out abatement notices ordering the offender to stop making trouble.
Failure to obey an order can bring a painful fine – the average last year was £528.
However, in noise cases only 8,024 abatement notices were issued. Fewer than one in ten of the notices – 638 – were broken after they were issued.
Nearly half of the protests were about noise (stock image)
Martin Scott, of Churchill, said: ‘Council enforcement of environmental regulations is crucial to ensure the actions of inconsiderate individuals don’t blight the lives of others.’
The Local Government Association, which represents councils, said using nuisance abatement orders and prosecutions could be expensive and time-consuming.
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