main content Are you affected by dog barking?

It is natural for dogs to bark, but when it is happening often or goes on for a long time, it can be annoying and upsetting.

It is reasonable if a dog barks to warn its owner of strange visitors but it is not reasonable if a dog barks at the slightest disturbance or because it is left alone for long periods.

Every year the we receive numerous complaints about dog barking. We will investigate each report and try to work with the complainant and owner to find a solution.

People should think carefully before they buy a dog. They require a lot of care and attention and for individuals who are out of their house a lot of the time, getting a dog probably is not a good idea. However, with a little thought and training leaving a dog for a short time should not result in excessive barking.

If the noise is coming from a tenanted property it is possible that the noise or the number of dogs being kept is causing tenancy or letting conditions to be breached (if the house in question is not in owner occupation) or that there is a breach of the property's covenants.

Details

Before taking any action ensure you have correctly identified the dog causing the problem as there may be several in your area.

1. Try approaching your neighbour to discuss the problem. They may be unaware there is an issue. Alternatively you could write a polite, tactful note describing what is happening. Give your neighbour the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming they know but do not care. Expect your neighbour to be defensive and be prepared to calmly answer any complaints about your own behaviour. Try to work together in finding a solution that satisfies both of you.  It may be useful to keep a written record of when the barking occurs and of the requests you have made to your neighbour to stop the barking.
2. If you feel you are unable to approach your neighbour, or have already tried with no success, contact us with details of the frequency of the problem and the address where the dog is kept.
3. The officer dealing with your case will provide you with Incident Record Forms (IRF’s) which you will be asked to complete over a 2-3 week period. You will be required to provide details of the barking such as; the date, duration and description of the incident. Notes on how the noise affected you are also useful e.g. “I was unable to sleep”.
4. At this stage the officer will also send a letter to the owner of the dog notifying them that a complaint has been received and asking that they take all necessary steps to ensure that the dog(s) does/do not cause a nuisance to local neighbours. Often this is successful in resolving the issue. It is important to note that your details will not be disclosed to the subject of the complaint; however you should be aware that if the case goes to court you may be required to give further evidence.
5. If, upon receiving your completed IRF’s, the Officer thinks it likely that a statutory nuisance exists they will want to gather further evidence either by installing noise monitoring equipment in your home (which you will be required to operate) or witnessing the noise in person. If there is insufficient evidence contained within your IRF’s the Council may be unable to take further action. You will be supplied with details on taking your own action under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
6. Once the Officer concludes their investigation; if they determine that the noise constitutes a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 they are required to serve an Abatement Notice on the person(s) responsible for the noise. This means the owner is required to stop the dog making the noise and stop the nuisance happening again.

Failure to comply with an Abatement Notice is an offence and the person responsible will be prosecuted and can be fined up to £5000. The person receiving the Notice can appeal against it to the Magistrates Court and you may be required to give evidence in addition to that provided by the Council.

It is important to note that legally, we cannot take anonymous complaints, so we need your personal details, including name, address and a contact telephone number. Be assured, your personal details will be treated as confidential. If you call us outside normal working hours you should use the out of hours emergency number. 

Contacts

Report online: Use the online noise report form to notify us, please provide your contact details in case we need to contact you
Telephone: 020 8313 4830
Out-of-Hours-Emergency: 020 8464 4848 (5pm-8.30am and weekends)
Fax: 020 8313 4450
E-mail: ehts.customer@bromley.gov.uk  
Address: Community Safety and Public Protection, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH.