What Are My Rights in a Neighbour Dispute in Scotland?

Who this guide is for

People in Scotland who have a problem with a neighbour: noise or another nuisance, a high hedge, branches or roots coming over from next door, or antisocial behaviour. It covers the steps to take first, what the council and the police can do, and when court is the last resort.

What this guide does not cover

• England, Wales or Northern Ireland: see the England and Wales guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• A problem with your own landlord, such as repairs or a notice to leave your home: use the tenant rights checker.
• Where the boundary is, shared walls and building work next door: ask Citizens Advice Scotland or a solicitor. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is England and Wales law and does not apply in Scotland.
• Planning permission, including how high a fence or wall can be and extensions: ask your council's planning department.
• Right to light, rights of way, invasive plants spreading onto your land, and claiming money for damage caused by a neighbour's tree or hedge: ask Citizens Advice Scotland or a solicitor.
• CCTV or doorbell cameras pointing at your home: the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has guidance.
• Court orders to stop harassment: ask a solicitor.
• Appeals against a council's high hedge decision: the decision explains any right of appeal. This guide does not cover them.
• The amount of any fine, fee or compensation. This guide gives no amounts.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Where do you live? Scotland: this guide. England, Wales or Northern Ireland: see that nation's guide.
2. What is the problem? Noise or another nuisance, a high hedge, trees or roots, or antisocial behaviour. Each has its own route below. Boundaries and building work next door are not covered.
3. Has your neighbour threatened you, been violent or harassed you? Yes: do not approach them; contact the police or your council. No: start with the informal steps.
4. Does your neighbour rent their home? Yes: you can also talk to their landlord, which could be the council, a housing association or a private landlord.
5. What have you already tried? A high hedge application must include evidence of the steps you took to resolve it first.

First steps: talk, write, landlord, mediation

• If you feel comfortable, speak to your neighbour. Take a note of the time and date you spoke to them, in case you need it as evidence later.
• If you have not been able to speak to them, write a letter. Describe the problem and the action you would like them to take. Keep a copy of any letter you send. You can use our free noise letter to a neighbour.
• If your neighbour is a council or housing association tenant, contact a housing officer or the housing department. They could contact your neighbour, take steps to end the tenancy, or apply to court for an antisocial behaviour order.
• A residents' or tenants' association may support you. If more people complain, the conflict is less personal.
• Mediation: you can find a trained mediator through Scottish Mediation. SACRO also provides community mediation services. You might have to pay for mediation, depending on the provider; tell them if you are on a low income.
• The council can help to solve disputes between neighbours, even if the neighbours do not live in council housing.

Noise and other nuisances: the council

• Contact your council's environmental health department about noise, rubbish, smells, leaks or insects coming from a neighbour's home. An officer will usually contact your neighbour and try to reach a solution.
• If the council decides there is a statutory nuisance, it can serve an abatement notice on your neighbour requiring them to stop or limit the problem. If the notice is not complied with, the person responsible can be prosecuted and fined in the sheriff court.
• Antisocial noise: councils that have adopted Part 5 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 work with Police Scotland to investigate noise, tell the person to reduce it and, in some cases, give a fixed penalty notice or seize the noise-making equipment.
• The police also have powers to deal with excessive noise. They might fine people who have not stopped making excessive noise after being asked to, or take away the equipment. Call 101 if it is not an emergency.
• Building work noise: each council has recommended times for building work. Contact your council to find out when it is allowed.
• Keep a diary of the dates, times and type of noise. The council may ask for it, or use equipment to record the noise.

High hedges

• The High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 came into force on 1 April 2014. It lets the owner or occupier of a home apply to the council for a high hedge notice.
• A high hedge is formed wholly or mainly by a row of 2 or more trees or shrubs, rises to more than 2 metres above ground level, and forms a barrier to light. Gaps that significantly reduce its effect as a barrier above 2 metres mean it does not count.
• All types of hedge are covered, whether evergreen, semi-evergreen or deciduous.
• Single trees are not covered, well-spaced lines of trees are not generally a hedge, and the roots are not taken into account.
• You must take all reasonable steps to resolve the problem before you apply, for example talking or writing to the hedge owner or mediation, and send evidence of those steps with your application.
• A fee is payable. Each council sets its own fee and publishes when it will refund it.

Trees and roots from next door

• The owner of a tree or hedge has no general duty to cut or prune it, however much a neighbour objects.
• You may cut back branches and roots that come onto your property, but only up to the boundary. It is courteous to ask the owner first.
• If the tree is protected by a tree preservation order or is in a conservation area, permission is needed before any work. Check with the council first.
• The branches you remove, and any fruit on them, belong to the tree's owner and should be offered back. If the owner does not want them, you must dispose of them responsibly.
• Do not leave the tree unstable or dangerous: you could be liable for damage it causes later.
• If your neighbour will not deal with a tree that is affecting your property, ask a solicitor.

Antisocial behaviour, harassment and the police

• Do not approach your neighbour if they have acted with threats, violence or harassment. Contact your council or the police instead: 999 in an emergency, 101 if it is not an emergency.
• Record the dates and times of the behaviour and the effect it has on you, for example if you cannot sleep because of noise.
• If your neighbour rents from the council or a housing association, the landlord can take court action, including applying for an antisocial behaviour order. Contact your council's antisocial behaviour team to find out more.

Going to court

• Court is the last resort. For a claim for money, see the simple procedure guide for Scotland. For anything else, ask Citizens Advice Scotland or a solicitor.

Deadlines

• This guide gives no deadlines for Scotland. Ask Citizens Advice Scotland or a solicitor about any time limit, including for a court claim.

Money figures

• This guide gives no money figures. It cannot tell you the amount of any fine, fee or compensation. High hedge application fees are set by each council.

Traps

• Scotland's high hedge law covers deciduous hedges too. The England and Wales law covers only mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen hedges.
• Scotland's antisocial noise powers come from the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, where the council has adopted them. The Noise Act 1996 does not apply in Scotland.
• The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and the ASB Case Review (Community Trigger) are England and Wales rules. They do not apply in Scotland.
• Cutting a neighbour's tree beyond the boundary, or cutting a protected tree without permission, can get you into trouble even though the branches overhang your land.
• Employment tribunal time limits never apply to neighbour disputes.