Commercial Landlords Can Be Dragged Into Legal Proceedings As Neighbours From Hell, Avoid It...

In the last few years the issue of nuisance neighbours has steadily crept up the news agenda, with sometimes shocking stories hitting the headlines. For many the misery of noisy or anti social behaviour is now being properly addressed by the law. So how do you as commercial landlords avoid falling foul of laws designed to protect people from nuisances and noise?

Cutting corners is always tempting, but what goes around comes around, and the British courts have wide parameters on what constitutes a nuisance or 'noisy neighbour.' So sticking within the guidelines or local bye laws is in the interest of any commercial landlord.

It is usually a requirement that evidence of noise pollution is required before a court will actually prosecute against the landlord of a commercial property, and so these cases can go on for some time before anything is done.

Landlords who own commercial property should therefore understand exactly what constitutes a nuisance and how they can ensure they do not fall foul of the laws in this regard.

The common word and link between most cases of being a bad neighbour seems to be one magic word, unreasonable. One of the easiest and keys ways this is established is if access is being hindered or blocked to other premises or properties unfairly.

Sights, sounds and smells from a commercial property that have been deemed to be unreasonable could also cause headaches for a commercial landlord. A classic example of this is the pub at closing time or the late night take away. They both tend to suffer from problems with loud and drunken customers making a lot of noise. In the case of a late night takeaway, a lot of debris and mess from chip papers and takeaway boxes etc is frequently generated. It is down to a court to judge how much of an impact these businesses have on the wider community.

Whilst this issue might particularly affect anyone selling alcohol, the laws regulate all kinds of commercial activity and the landlord, not the tenant can be hit with a hefty fine.. In the case of late night licensees, magistrates around the country, along with police forces, are taking a profoundly dim view of the problems created by drunken and anti social behaviour, and many commercial property owners are now falling foul of a crackdown.

Trying to avoid nuisance is all fine and well, but the law now contains a catch all clause that can cause commercial landlords who are ignorant of it a lot of trouble. The law states that they may not cause a nuisance 'or annoyance' The problem of annoyance is illustrated by the case of a developer in 2008 who completed a three storey extension, compliant with planning permission. Locals who were not happy with the development complained and took the landlord to court. He was found not guilty of having created a nuisance, but the extension was deemed to have breached his responsibility not o cause an annoyance.

So as you can guess there is much more scope to prosecute under the annoyance clause than there is under a nuisance. To the laymen the two words mean the same thing, but under law and the justice system they are two very different meanings and it is interpretations like this that commercial landlords fail to recognise and refuse to understand.

The best way for commercial landlords to avoid falling foul of the law is to build a positive relationship with the neighbours of the business. Landlords should always be prepared to seek feedback about concerns or problems and work together to iron out any problems. By working in partnership with residential neighbours, landlords can ensure that they avoid the problems and costs of legal claims.