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Noise ordinances › United Kingdom
Noise laws in the UK: legal noise times, night limits and how to complain
There is no UK noise curfew and no daytime decibel limit. In England and Wales, councils must investigate noise that may be a statutory nuisance at any hour. Between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. the Noise Act 1996 adds a number: 34 dBA (or 10 dBA above a louder background), measured inside the complainant's home. Ignoring a warning can bring a fixed penalty of up to £110 for a home or £500 for licensed premises.
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Two laws, two tests
Most UK noise complaints are decided under one of two laws, and they work differently.
Statutory nuisance, any time of day. Section 79(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes "noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance" a statutory nuisance, and adds "noise that is prejudicial to health or a nuisance and is emitted from or caused by a vehicle, machinery or equipment in a street". It puts a duty on every council, "where a complaint of a statutory nuisance is made to it by a person living within its area, to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to investigate the complaint". There is no decibel threshold. The government's guidance gives the test: the noise must "unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises" or "injure health or be likely to injure health".
The night-noise offence, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The Noise Act 1996 defines "night hours" as "the period beginning with 11 p.m. and ending with the following 7 a.m." During them a council officer may investigate a complaint that excessive noise is coming from another home or from licensed premises, and serve a warning notice if the noise, measured from within the complainant's home, would or might exceed the permitted level. Carrying on above that level after the notice is an offence.
The night limits and fines
| What | Rule | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Night hours | 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. | Noise Act 1996, s. 2(6) |
| Permitted level, quiet background | 34 dBA, if the underlying level is no more than 24 dBA | GOV.UK guidance |
| Permitted level, louder background | 10 dBA above the underlying level, if that is more than 24 dBA | GOV.UK guidance |
| Where it is measured | From within the complainant's dwelling | Noise Act 1996, s. 4(1) |
| Fixed penalty, a home | Up to £110 (£100 where the council sets no amount) | GOV.UK guidance; s. 8A |
| Fixed penalty, licensed premises | £500 | Noise Act 1996, s. 8A(2A) |
| On conviction, a home | Up to £1,000 | GOV.UK guidance; s. 4(3) |
| On conviction, licensed premises | Unlimited | GOV.UK guidance; s. 4A(2) |
The permitted level is set by government direction under section 5 of the Act rather than written into it; the figures above are the ones the government's guidance gives: "34 dBA (decibels adjusted) if the underlying level of noise is no more than 24 dBA" and "10 dBA above the underlying level of noise if this is more than 24 dBA". A warning notice must give the person at least 10 minutes to turn it down, and the period it covers must end by 7 a.m. A fixed penalty is an offer: pay within 14 days instead of being prosecuted.
For scale, 34 dBA is only a little above a quiet library, which sits around 30 dB (see how loud is 30 decibels). The limit is low because it is measured from your side of the wall, not at the source.
What the council does about a statutory nuisance
If the council agrees a statutory nuisance is happening or will happen, it must serve an abatement notice requiring the noise to stop or be restricted, for example to certain hours. For noise from premises the notice can be delayed up to 7 days while the council tries to settle it informally. Breaking an abatement notice is a criminal offence: section 80 of the 1990 Act sets a fine at level 5 for homes, with a further daily fine while it continues, and an unlimited fine for industrial, trade or business premises. The council can also seize equipment such as speakers.
The guidance lists what statutory noise nuisance does not cover: "traffic or planes (they do apply to model planes)", "political demonstrations and demonstrations about a cause", and "premises occupied by the armed forces or visiting forces". Councils decide their own level of service, including whether an officer is on call at night.
If the council will not act, section 82 lets "any person" who is "aggrieved by the existence of a statutory nuisance" complain directly to a magistrates' court (in Scotland, the sheriff), which can order the nuisance stopped and, in England and Wales, fine the person responsible.
Building work and construction noise
There are no national building hours. Under section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 a council may serve a notice on anyone carrying out building, demolition or road works that can "specify the hours during which the works may be carried out", the plant used and the noise level allowed; contractors can apply in advance for consent under section 61. Each council publishes its standard hours. Camden: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, and no noisy work on Sundays or bank holidays without authorisation. Canterbury: 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, no work on Sundays or bank holidays. Breaking a section 60 notice is an offence, with an unlimited fine and further fines for each day it continues, per the guidance.
Loudspeakers in the street
Section 62 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (England and Wales) bars operating a loudspeaker in a street "between the hours of nine in the evening and eight in the following morning, for any purpose", and at any time "for the purpose of advertising any entertainment, trade or business". Exceptions include the emergency services, public transport announcements and car stereos played so as not to annoy people nearby. Ice-cream van chimes are allowed only between noon and 7 p.m.
Noise at work
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (England, Wales and Scotland) set three pairs of values for an employee's daily or weekly personal exposure and peak sound pressure. At the lower values an employer must make hearing protectors available on request. At the upper values it must run a programme of measures to reduce exposure, provide hearing protectors and mark Hearing Protection Zones. The exposure limit values must not be exceeded, and they are the only ones that count the protection hearing protectors give.
| Value | Daily or weekly exposure | Peak sound pressure |
|---|---|---|
| Lower exposure action values | 80 dB(A) | 135 dB(C) |
| Upper exposure action values | 85 dB(A) | 137 dB(C) |
| Exposure limit values | 87 dB(A) | 140 dB(C) |
For what 85 dB sounds like and how long is safe, see how loud is 85 decibels and the US workplace limits for comparison.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland has the statutory nuisance regime of the 1990 Act, but not the Noise Act's fixed night hours. Under Part 5 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 the night-noise powers apply to a council's area "only if the authority has so resolved", and the council chooses the "periods of the week during which noise is to be controlled", which may be the whole week. Where a council has adopted them, it must investigate a complaint made during a controlled period, and breaching a warning notice is an offence with a fine at level 3.
Northern Ireland's district councils use the Noise Act 1996's night procedure, which Part 6 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 amended for Northern Ireland; Part 7 of the same Act is Northern Ireland's statutory nuisance law.
How to complain
The government's advice is to talk to your neighbour first, then their landlord or a mediation service, and then the council. Find your council from your postcode on GOV.UK's noise complaint page. Keep a diary as you go: the date, the start and end time, what the noise was and how it affected you. Councils decide their own out-of-hours service, so ask whether an officer can come out at night while the noise is happening. If a neighbour is threatening or violent, contact the police.
A reading helps your diary but is not the evidence. The council measures with an approved, calibrated device. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing; it is an uncalibrated estimate of about ±10 dB, and phone microphones are least accurate in very quiet rooms, which is exactly where a 34 dBA night limit sits. Use it to show a pattern of loud evenings, not to prove a number. The noise complaints guide covers what to log.
Sources
Noise Act 1996, sections 2, 4, 4A, 5 and 8A; Environmental Protection Act 1990, sections 79, 80 and 82; Control of Pollution Act 1974, sections 60 and 62; Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4; Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, sections 41 to 47; Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, Parts 6 and 7. All read in their current revised form on legislation.gov.uk on 2026-09-27. Permitted levels, fixed penalty amounts and exclusions quoted from Noise nuisances: how councils deal with complaints (GOV.UK). Building hours from Camden Council's and Canterbury City Council's own pages, read the same day. This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice; the legislation and your council's decisions control.
What time do neighbours have to be quiet in the UK?
There is no general curfew. In England and Wales the Noise Act 1996 defines night hours as 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and during them a council can act on noise from a home that exceeds the permitted level measured inside the complainant's home. At any other time the test is whether the noise is a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which councils can investigate day or night.
Is there a legal noise limit during the day?
Not a decibel number. Daytime noise from homes is judged by the statutory nuisance test: whether it unreasonably and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of a home, or injures or is likely to injure health. Councils can investigate a statutory nuisance at any time of day or night, so daytime noise is not automatically lawful.
Are there different noise rules at weekends or on Sundays?
Not in the national law: the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. night hours and the statutory nuisance test apply every day. Weekends matter for building work, because councils set construction hours locally and most allow no noisy work on Sundays or bank holidays and only a morning on Saturdays.
What hours can builders work in the UK?
Each council sets them, using its power under section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to specify the hours works may be carried out. Camden allows noisy building work 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays; Canterbury starts at 7.30 a.m. on weekdays. Both allow none on Sundays or bank holidays. Check your own council's page.
How much is the fine for noise at night?
If a home keeps exceeding the permitted level after a warning notice, the council can offer a fixed penalty of up to £110 (the default is £100) or prosecute, with a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction. For licensed premises the fixed penalty is £500 and the fine on conviction is unlimited.
