Planning a Party: Respecting Your Neighbours

Most of us will want to let our hair down in our own homes from time to time and to hold a party of some kind. Unless this turns into a regular occurrence, most reasonable neighbours will not have any serious objections to this as long as you’re respectful towards them.

Tell Your Neighbours First

If you’re planning to hold a party on a certain date and time, go and visit your closest neighbours, especially those who live next door but it’s also useful to tell others who live in close proximity to you as it’s not necessarily only those next door who might be affected. You need to tell them the approximate time the party is going to start and when it’s likely to finish.

Knowing Your Neighbour’s Lifestyle

When planning a party, it’s quite useful if you’ve got to know a little about your neighbour’s particular lifestyle and regular ‘patterns’ of behaviour. For example, if you know they always go out on a Friday night but tend to stay in on a Saturday, it makes sense to have the party on the Friday evening when they’re probably not going to be there.

Similarly, if they work day/night shift patterns and alternate between the two each week, it’s better if you have the party when they’re on nights. If they have young children of school age, it’s obviously also going to be better if you have the party of a weekend so that any sleep disturbance which might result will not have as much of a negative impact if they do not have to get up early for school the following morning.

Information You Should Tell Your Guests

Your guests should also be told what time the party begins and, even more importantly, what time it’s going to end. Of course, nobody can always be completely certain of an ‘end’ time to a party. Very few house parties aren’t meant to be rigid in structure but even though it may go on longer than you anticipate, it’s important that you and your guests show some courtesy towards your neighbours as the night wears on.

For example, after about 11pm, you should ensure that any music is turned down to an acceptable level whereby it would have little or no bearing on your neighbours’ ability to enjoy their evening in peace, especially when it comes to them getting a good night’s sleep. Loud music might be the most commonly cited complaint but even loud conversation and boisterous behaviour needs to be tempered somewhat after around 11pm as that can be equally annoying to a neighbour.

You should also ask your guests to ensure they leave quietly when the party is over. Preferably, they’ll have come to the party and left their cars at home but if they’ve turned up in cars, advise your guests not to be revving engines and slamming car doors and not to linger outside the house having conversations but to leave quickly and as discreetly as possible.

Practical Things You Can Do

Keeping your windows closed whilst the party is in full swing is one of the most practical steps you can take to keep the noise levels down. In fact, before the party begins, a good test is to have one member of your family twiddling with the volume controls on the music system whilst another goes outside and walks down the driveway. Then, when that person can hardly hear the music, that’s the point at which anyone closer will be able to hear it so you can usually gauge an acceptable volume level that way.

As far as next door is concerned, don’t position your speakers against any adjoining walls. Move them to the furthest point from any partitioning walls and even suspending from the ceiling can often help. Pay attention to the bass control. It’s often the ‘thudding’ sound of the bass which will annoy neighbours the most so be aware of how high you have that.

Repercussions

If you do not pay attention to any of the above guidelines, there is a strong possibility that not only will you damage relations between you and your neighbours but you may also find that you get a visit from either your local environmental health department and/or maybe the police too. In some cases, this can lead to fines being imposed, further legal action being taken against you and you might also run the risk of having your sound equipment seized in extreme cases.

Parties Outdoors

You need to be even more aware of all of these guidelines if you’re planning on having a party outdoors – in the garden, for example. Noise travels much further and has an even greater impact. Of course, you might also consider inviting your neighbours to the party. Not only will that foster good relations, the effects of the party are far less likely to upset or annoy those living around you.

To ensure a problem-free party, following some of these simple measures will result in it being a success and it will pass off peacefully and without becoming a burden to neighbours living close by.