Very noisy neighbours. HELP

I need some advise and possibly a lawyer. We live in a small town in the Cevennes, the house backs on to the central cour which is a large green and tranquil space unlike the front of the house which is filled with all the normal sounds you would expect from a town. Because of this we have our bedroom and my wife's office at the back.


Recently our old neighbours moved to America and they have rented their house to an American couple and we soon discovered that they are running it as a training centre/school . When the first group came in we discovered that there were about 25 people in total. At one point the two houses were connected so our bedroom and office is four metres from a covered terrace which they are using as a refectory area, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also overlook the garden and pool and at times, especially in the afternoon it seems to be overrun by very noisy American teenagers who age from 13 upwards. The noise at times is so loud due to the acoustic effect of the terrace, garden and courtyard that the noise reverberates throughout the house and you can not find a quiet corner anywhere. We have been told by the new that we can pretty much expect this level of noise all summer and that it is normal neighbourly noise! I have pointed out that its not normal to have 25 neighbours and that even though they are not being 'noisy' its the sheer number of people talking that is the problem. At times it is difficult for my wife to work and her clients are starting to complain and we are both incredibly upset with the situation.


So what to do? The Maire here are typically useless. We have talked to the neighbours and asked them to limit the times they use the outdoor space. Does anyone have any advise or know where I can access some so we can work out what are options are before we try and do something about it. All help gratefully receives.

Mark

Good luck with the "Mosquito", I am sure they will love it !!!.

On a more important note, I would watch out for any "flashback" ie. Scratching of vehicles, small but expensive acts of vandelisme, which will be hard to defend against, or even catch the offender in the first place.

Pettyminded criminals are the worst, and the most pathetic type of criminal to catch in the act, as they are sneaky good for nothing toe rags.

As well as the fact, that, IF you catch "them" in the act. It is very possible that they will be UNDERAGE. So at worst they will get a slap on the wrist.

http://youtu.be/jbCqwl2geQg or http://youtu.be/UW8UlY8eXCk -- I suggest two concert speakers, a pair of earplugs and volume set to 10.

Hi Mark.

I hope your problem with the Yanks next door is resolved. But If not, Terry is right about using a building as a "place of business", even if it exists under the Loi 1901!!.

Firstly try to find any publicity for the courses run there. Also, go to the chambre de commerce to find out if the building meets all the Fire Regulations. IE. Fire doors, alarms, secondary exits/Fire exits, "Fire notices" in all rooms,etc. Also if they are cooking on the premises for there "clients" ( no matter how many or what there age ) does the kitchen meet the hygiene, and safety laws.

It is not an issue if the Maire knows about, or even approves of this "school ". A simple visit from your local Fire Chief will soon have the place closed down !!!.

Still, if all is calm now, there is no point in "rocking the boat ".

All the best;

David

Wagner!!!!At 5am!

that is a shame.....its frustrating when your good nature is taken advantage of...I wonder if your neighbour would be doing the same if you were a 6ft 3inch Hells Angel!....maybe when you sell you could cherry pick your buyer......

Thank you Carol but I am in the unfortunate position of having one of the few remaining pieces of agricultural land in the village and am surrounded by houses and now a lottisement. Most of my neighbors are very good indeed but the simple case is that this particular neighbor is known to be at best a pillock and at worst aggressive. There are no farmers to support me around here and I do not feel I need to be outrightly contentious anymore. I have taken pictures, I have a friend writing a letter which states what has happened and when I sell the property and my land he will be in trouble as he has a very small part of my land on a handshake alone and he will be asked to take his damn fence down. As they say "the man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still". Also revenge is a dish best served cold and when it is not expected.

Drums of Passion by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji is highly recommended for “revenge noise.”

I had noisy neighbours for a while when I lived in an apartment in New York with thin walls and floors. They used to come back very late at night and put on music and the thump thump thump of the base would reverberate and wake me up. They were real shits and I was getting to work exhausted and cranky in the mornings. Finally someone suggested I get a white noise machine. It was a great idea. I had a large floor fan that I turned on and it completely blotted out the noise. You might try that.

We had as neigbours in London a (very) lovely lady who indulged in group fire walking which involved ritual chanting to fever pitch of "Cool, Wet, Grass". It didn't occur very often although the Beeb descended to film one seance. The same lady dug out the floor of her dining room and installed a huge jacuzzi which formed part of some other activity including group nakedness. Unfortunately the foundations subsided and I was called in to investigate. While I was there her group started to arrive and divest and I was invited in. It was at that point precisely that there was a very loud knock at the front door and my wife arrived to determine"Just what is going on?" Alas I shall never know, as I shall never know ahat happened when i was invited to become a Romany in the hills of Provence in the summer of '69 as I declined after a short but intense debate . But I digress. Neighboours SHOULD be interesting!

I bet the next Maire there will have some good opinions about the current one! It's the same the whole world over. Bring on "Rotten Boroughs"! I'm just dealing with another UK council that has wasted about £50k of a faith group's money on a town planning matter. They are all basically the same.......................... You can't trust most officers and as for councillors... please.....!!!!

do you know which sect? if so...look up on website and put in complaint to the main body... tell them how religious you are.....God fearing and you are less than pleased to hear all this noise from the children...whilst you are praying all day....? !

You might have the mayor, the council and the police on your side, but they have God on thier side and the certainty of salvation. Too many christians, too few lions.

Oh... are they? I wonder, are they the same ones who - we noticed - all have identical acne and shiny shoes... and the rucksacks? We actually thought they must be from another planet... But, of course they would need to be trained to recall spontaneously the reasonable sales pitch for their religion... so, if it is them, they could also quite easily be trained to be mindful of the simple needs of their neighbours like KEEPING it DOWN!

Religious training (white shirts and narrow ties too?) ... then you are seriously screwed.

Let the dogs and livestock loose, get the shotgun out and shoot them. ;0)

Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture with live cannon (suitably directed?). Am willing to advise on pyrotechnics and lighting - and even to conduct the London Phil if necessary!

I also live in a tiny village and my house is on the main square. There's a pretty solid pattern to the daily 'noise' and comings and goings of the villagers -- it was very predictable until 18 months ago when the ownership of the Bar changed. The new owner decided to forego the quarterly karaoke night (which lasted till wee hours) and began to have regualr events which he forgot to get permission from the mairie nor post the obligatory notices.

Of course all the neighbors have gone to Monsieur le Maire pleading for help -- and the attendees at these

'events' are from other villages not ours --- and NOTHING HAPPENED to correct the situation.

This spring, the disco/karaoke/rap fests became so frequent. So i too used the Iphone DB app. It gave me evidence but i decided that it was not enough to convince the Mairie.

So using my iphone and Ipad I recorded video from within my house -- showing the DB meter and actually recodring the noise effect from within our four walls.

Playing this evidence back for the mairie WORKED LIKE MAGIC -- he saw and heard visual and auditory evidence and the we were all shocked to actually see the mayor pay a 'house call' to the bar owner.

I think if you 'show' the neighbor -- in the nicest possible way, unemotionally, the impact they are having within your home, even if it's unintentional, it might do the trick. The DB meter is only part of the solution. The ipad video of the DB meter and parallel noise recording all in one picture really solved the issue for us.

bon Courage!

Mahler's 8th, The Symphony of a Thousand! All that noise!

and a parrot...we had a lovely French au pair 25 years ago...her father was a professor at a uni in Paris, they had 20 parrots living in their house...not in cages...free flying around! one of them came via a brothel and had a filthy...beak! try getting one and training it to swear all day long...fix it up with a microphone and put it on the terrace....that might work!