If a neighbour's dog is constantly barking or howling it can be extremely frustrating and ruin your enjoyment of your home. There is no specific law that forbids a neighbour from having a barking dog. However if the barking is constant and can be heard from inside your house, then you may be able to rely upon laws restricting noise nuisance.
Approach Your Neighbour First
As a first approach to the problem, it is always worth speaking to your neighbour; they may be unaware of the problem. If a chat doesn't work, or you've been unable to contact them, you might want to try an informal note, followed by a more formal letter. Our examples below should help:
Informal Note to Neighbour About Barking Dog(s)
Dear [name]
Just a quick note regarding dog barking. The constant barking is very frustrating and can be clearly heard inside [my/our] house.
If the dog belongs to you, please could you try to stop them barking as much? If not, [I/we] will do some further investigating to find the dog's owner.
Thanks for your help.
Best wishes,
[Name]
[Your house number]
Sound Meter and Noise Diary
Use your phone or computer to measure noise levels and keep a dated record with notes. Export as evidence for your council or environmental health officer. All data stays on your device.
Try our Sound Meter and Noise Diary free, here on this site →More Formal Letter to Neighbour About Dog Barking
[Your Address]
[Neighbour's name]
[Address / 'Delivered by hand']
[Date]
Dear [Neighbour's name]/[If unknown, just address as 'Dear Neighbour'],
Re: Dog barking
I live at [address], next door. I am writing in relation to a dog barking at your property. The specific dog barking seems to be a [colour and breed of dog].
The dog barking occurs: [select appropriate]
- During the night / during the day / during early morning hours before 7am
- When you go out and leave the dog alone for a period of time
- When you let the dog out early morning
- When someone walks past your property
- When I go out into my garden
You may have previously been unaware of this noise. However it affects me because it can be clearly heard in the habitable areas of my house [and prevents me from sleeping / prevents me from enjoying use of my garden].
If this issue is not resolved, the Environmental Health Department may take action to reduce the noise, which could result in you receiving a financial penalty.
I am keen to resolve this amicably; we are after all neighbours! I would therefore be grateful if you could [try to reduce any noise between 11pm and 7am / stop your dog from barking constantly at any time for more than 20 minutes / not let your dog outside when you are out of the house].
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Kind regards,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
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