Noisy Neighbour Fixing Trailers in Front Garden

foggy_lad

I have a neighbour across the street who seems to make some extra cash by fixing up very large industrial trailers in his front garden in the evenings and at weekends.

this creates quite a lot of noise and there are often two large trailers in his garden which becomes a workshop of sorts, the trailers are clearly visible from the street as there is no walls or hedging.

Are there any planning restrictions on what type of work can be carried on in your front garden and would the council be able to do anything about this nuisance?

The trailers are very large usually tri-axle tipper trailers, This afternoon there are two people hammering drilling and grinding away at the two trailers that are being worked on this week.

zagmund

I can't remember the specifics offhand, but I remember something on the planning front about the maximum number of vehicles allowed to be parked on a property before it was assumed that commercial use was involved. I'll see if I can dig it out.

z

foggy_lad

These are not just parked there though and would not be classed as vehicles either, they are being refurbished/cleaned up for sale.

Are householders allowed to turn their front garden into a workshop?

TheQuietFella

If you have the deeds to your property they should have details of what you

can or cannot do but either way you're going to have approach the

neighbour & let him know the effect it is having.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/noise_regulations.html

apoeiguq3094y

foggy_lad wrote: »

I have a neighbour across the street who seems to make some extra cash by fixing up very large industrial trailers in his front garden in the evenings and at weekends.

this creates quite a lot of noise and there are often two large trailers in his garden which becomes a workshop of sorts, the trailers are clearly visible from the street as there is no walls or hedging.

Are there any planning restrictions on what type of work can be carried on in your front garden and would the council be able to do anything about this nuisance?

The trailers are very large usually tri-axle tipper trailers, This afternoon there are two people hammering drilling and grinding away at the two trailers that are being worked on this week.

If he is doing it outside of his own working hours, there's a reasonable chance he is doing it for cash on the side. You could have a friendly word with him first about the noise, if there's no compromise you could ask him if Revenue know about his extra work. If he doesn't budge at all you could ring the revenue and dump him in it.

If he is running a business from home, I think he would also be liable for commercial rates?

mikom

How is his house insurance set up for running a business, I wonder.

zagmund

foggy_lad wrote: »

These are not just parked there though and would not be classed as vehicles either, they are being refurbished/cleaned up for sale.

Grand so, I won't look it up for you.

z

handlemaster

thats annoying. Do you know this neighbour to speak with ? If not he might get the hump if you say to him about the noise. Just note the address and pass to revenue. That way he will shape up or shut down. Either way he will come under as a business and have to comply, by moving from operating a business on public property by parking on the street etc

foggy_lad

handlemaster wrote: »

thats annoying. Do you know this neighbour to speak with ? If not he might get the hump if you say to him about the noise. Just note the address and pass to revenue. That way he will shape up or shut down. Either way he will come under as a business and have to comply, by moving from operating a business on public property by parking on the street etc

I don't know them to speak to, The house is rented.

Galway K9 wrote: »

Mod Snip

They are Eastern European(former soviet socialist republic) afaik but that would hardly make a difference?


I do also have a concern that these trailers could be stolen and that identifying features were being removed and the trailers sold but while this is possible it is improbable?

The_Morrigan

Folks stay on topic and lay off the generalisations about whether it's any particular race or ethnic group.

ABajaninCork

If the house is rented, can you not speak to the landlord?

garhjw

OP, have you spoken to any other neighbours about it? Is it also bothering them? If so, have a word in person or drop a letter in. If that doesn't work, contact the landlord.

PauloMN

Yeah talk to the other neighbours, more power in numbers. If other neighbours also have a grievance, then maybe take the matter to your local residents association if you have one. Better that a letter come from a group of people rather than an individual.

Quite often, a local councillor might be able to get in touch with the landlord on your behalf.

The Revenue idea is something you should be cautious with, it's not something I'd personally recommend and could end up back-firing on you.

If he's running a business from his front garden, he shouldn't be.... and even if this is some sort of "hobby" of his, it's pretty inconsiderate. That sort of thing is very common these days though, especially in high rental areas.

Gumbo

You can make a complaint to the Planning Enforcement section of your local county council.
Your details are confidential and cannot be released even under an FOI request.

You have to complain in writing or by email outlining Al the issues including working outside of normal hours, carrying out a business from a residential unit etc and all leave your contact details.

The Enforcement section will carry out their own investigation and contact the home owner.

They will also keep you in the loop.

foggy_lad

kceire wrote: »

You can make a complaint to the Planning Enforcement section of your local county council.
Your details are confidential and cannot be released even under an FOI request.

You have to complain in writing or by email outlining Al the issues including working outside of normal hours, carrying out a business from a residential unit etc and all leave your contact details.

The Enforcement section will carry out their own investigation and contact the home owner.

They will also keep you in the loop.

Thanks, this sounds like the best option for me as it doesn't involve upsetting the neighbours or any bad feeling afterwards.

dori_dormer

Most landlords will have a clause in the lease to say a business can't be run from the property. Contact him and it'll be stopped asap

Mrs OBumble

The OP asked:

Are there any planning restrictions on what type of work can be carried on in your front garden and would the council be able to do anything about this nuisance?

And the answer to this is "it depends on the planning permission for the site, and the zoning". But the council is absolutely the enforcement agency for planning issues.

All this talk of Revenue and house insurance is irrelevant, the OP doesn't know the neighbour PPSN, and most likely doesn't even know how to spell his name or insurance company. So dobbing him in to them is probably a non-runner, and doesn't address the real issue.

The only other route is if you genuinely suspect that there may be stolen goods passing through your neighbours house, and you probably have a moral responsibility, if not a legal one, to report this to the guards. Various contact options here: http://garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=3430

mikom

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

All this talk of Revenue and house insurance is irrelevant, the OP doesn't know the neighbour PPSN, and most likely doesn't even know how to spell his name or insurance company. So dobbing him in to them is probably a non-runner, and doesn't address the real issue.

The house is a rental therefoe it has a landlord.
As a landlord would your house insurance cover fire caused by a renter welding steel trailers commercially?
Would you like to know this was going on?

enricoh

An anonymous letter to the address telling them they've a week or two to wrap up or your contacting revenue and the guards.
The type of trailer you posted there could easily be 5k new n literally get robbed every hour here. If I suspected they were stolen n changing tags, etc I wouldn't be bothering with the letter.
Are there fresh trailers there in the morning when u wake up? If so its highly likely they're stolen

Mrs OBumble

mikom wrote: »

The house is a rental therefoe it has a landlord.
As a landlord would your house insurance cover fire caused by a renter welding steel trailers commercially?
Would you like to know this was going on?

Agreed, the LL may be a route to go down, too.

But the OP's question was "Are there any planning restrictions on what type of work can be carried on in your front garden and would the council be able to do anything about this nuisance?"

And LL's can only enforce tenancy-related things, so will only be able to help if they have the right clauses in the lease.

foggy_lad

enricoh wrote: »

An anonymous letter to the address telling them they've a week or two to wrap up or your contacting revenue and the guards.
The type of trailer you posted there could easily be 5k new n literally get robbed every hour here. If I suspected they were stolen n changing tags, etc I wouldn't be bothering with the letter.
Are there fresh trailers there in the morning when u wake up? If so its highly likely they're stolen

He drives his car up during the week with a trailer and starts work on it a day or two later always in the evenings as he works somewhere else during the day so this is most likely a "nixer".

vrusinov

So this guy is working somewhere full time & also busy on evenings & weekends. Not a easy thing to do. And you are trying to make his life even harder by calling revenue/etc. Sure, it would be much better if he stops what he is doing and spend his time & energy in social welfare office instead.

Don't contact revenue or landlord. Speak to the guy first (or send a letter if you don't want to talk in person). See how he reacts - he might be not aware of how disturbing his small business.
If the guy is douche - yes, talk to landlord/etc. But asking nicely first may make everyone happier.

mikom

vrusinov wrote: »

Don't contact revenue or landlord. Speak to the guy first (or send a letter if you don't want to talk in person). See how he reacts - he might be not aware of how disturbing his small business.
If the guy is douche - yes, talk to landlord/etc. But asking nicely first may make everyone happier.

Remember, should he not respond well to your advances (most likely) and you finally set the revenue or landlord on him, then he will know you were behind it.
Make sure your own house and health insurance is up to date if you go down that route.

dutopia

OP please report back after speaking to him, would be curious to see what happens.

jacob2

buy some ear muffs so u wont hear the noise have they any bargains i looking for a new trailer

enricoh

ah, if hes working away to get a few quid extra in for the family i'd say fair play, especially outdoors on a sunday in january!. i read it as though its a shady outfit on the go.

foggy_lad

enricoh wrote: »

ah, if hes working away to get a few quid extra in for the family i'd say fair play, especially outdoors on a sunday in january!. i read it as though its a shady outfit on the go.

I normally would have no problem with a neighbour doing a bit of gardening or other jobs at any time but this is not normal household work it is industrial repair and refurbishment where air tools and grinders are used on sheet metal creating far too much noise for any morning or evening.

Several mornings I have been woken up by the noise even though my bedroom is at the back of my place and he is across the road.

AlekSmart

vrusinov wrote: »

So this guy is working somewhere full time & also busy on evenings & weekends. Not a easy thing to do. And you are trying to make his life even harder by calling revenue/etc. Sure, it would be much better if he stops what he is doing and spend his time & energy in social welfare office instead.

Don't contact revenue or landlord. Speak to the guy first (or send a letter if you don't want to talk in person). See how he reacts - he might be not aware of how disturbing his small business.
If the guy is douche - yes, talk to landlord/etc. But asking nicely first may make everyone happier.

Might also be worthwhile to engage with other residents of the area to get a sense of what support may be there for a complaint.

The OP lives "across the road",so I wonder what the next-door neighbours of this gentleman think of the situation.

With the OP having a good idea of the neighbours timetable,it may be possible to do the canvassing whlist the fellow is away ?

Tigger

foggy_lad wrote: »

Thanks, this sounds like the best option for me as it doesn't involve upsetting the neighbours or any bad feeling afterwards.

they will be able to find out it was you

allibastor

foggy_lad wrote: »

I don't know them to speak to, The house is rented.


They are Eastern European(former soviet socialist republic) afaik but that would hardly make a difference?


I do also have a concern that these trailers could be stolen and that identifying features were being removed and the trailers sold but while this is possible it is improbable?

I know a good few polish guys who do this, its nearly a social element to it. Better than the pub.

If the house is rented, speak to the guys first, then landlord. It is actually not allowed to run a business on private property with out registering it, and in this case insurance.

Gumbo

Tigger wrote: »

they will be able to find out it was you

How so? I'm curious to find out this.