Advice to Home Owners / Occupiers
If you occupy a home that you do not own and are not satisfied with the sound insulation between you and any adjoining homes, we advise you to inform the homeowner and refer to the advice below.
Where homeowners/occupiers of newly constructed attached dwellings feel that the construction does not provide the required level of sound insulation, we offer the following advice:
- Refer your concerns directly to the builder in writing. The builder is responsible for ensuring that the property complies with Building Regulations, which includes the requirements relating to sound insulation
- If your home is covered by a new homes warranty, we recommend that you liaise, or continue to liaise with the warranty provider, particularly if the builder fails to satisfactorily address your concerns, as the warranty provider may be able to assist in resolving the issue.
RDL does not have any legal enforcement powers in the event of a non-compliance. However, you could consider referring your case to the relevant building control authority as we understand that it has a duty to take reasonable steps to satisfy itself that the builder has met the required standards.
Alternatively, if the matter might be attributed to noise pollution rather than failure of the construction used, you may wish to consider contacting the Local Authority Environmental Health Officer.
We sincerely hope that by following the above course of action, concerns can be appropriately resolved. If a more detailed explanation of how RDL fits in this process is required, please contact us.
