30 Aug 2011

1 in 20 have called police to complain about a neighbour

Neighbours who are nosey, chatty, have children and pets, or who steal our parking spaces are among Britain's biggest bugbears, reveals new research by HSBC.

While the biggest complaint Brits have with their neighbours unsurprisingly relates to their levels of noise at unsociable hours (28%) or playing loud music or learning a musical instrument (23%), for one in five (19%) neighbours being nosey or interfering was a particular bugbear. Indeed, one in ten find their neighbours annoying just for wanting to speak to them!

"Stealing" favourite car parking spaces (20%), children who are noisy on trampolines or kick balls over the fence (15%) and pets (14%) also make the top 10 irritations we have with those living next door.

Top 10 Grievances with Neighbours

1. Being noisy early in the morning or late at night (28%)
2. Playing loud music or learning musical instruments (23%)
3. Stealing parking place on road (20%)
4. Being nosey / interfering (19%)
5. Poor upkeep on their gardens / house exterior (18%)
6. Being noisy in their garden (18%)
7. Having parties (16%)
8. Noisy children / trampolines / balls coming over fence (15%)
9. Pets (14%)
10. Always wanting to speak to me when I'd rather not (11%)

Indeed, one in six (16%) of people have complained to their neighbours directly about a grievance, one in ten (10%) have complained about one of their neighbours to other neighbours and more than one in twenty (6%) have gone so far as to call the police to complain about them.

Martjin Van Der Heijden, Head of Lending at HSBC comments:

"We can choose our friends but one thing we have little control over is who moves in next door to us. While some people choose to strike a friendship up with their neighbours, living in close proximity can also cause its fair share of irritations.  For those who do have a nuisance neighbour or a problem that cannot be resolved directly, there are a number of ways to settle these including the help of an independent mediator.

"If you're looking for a new house, it's worth knocking on the door and introducing yourself to the neighbours when you're viewing, to ensure there are no nasty surprises further down the line."

To find a mediator you can consult the Directory of UK Mediation on the ADRNow website at: www.adrnow.org.uk.

Regional Findings:

• Parking wars are the biggest bugbear for people in the East Midlands, 36% of people in the region say their neighbours stealing a parking space is their biggest grievance, followed by poor maintenance of their garden (29%).
• People in the South West are most likely to complain that they have nosey neighbours, 24% say this is a nuisance.
• Noise is the biggest neighbour nuisance for the Welsh, 44% say being noisy at unsociable hours ifs a pain while a further 31% are annoyed by neighbours learning a musical instrument.
• Scots are most likely to have proactively complained about neighbours, a quarter (25%) has complained directly to the neighbour while 11% have gone a step further and complained to the police.

Notes to editors:

The One Poll survey was carried out between the 26^th and 31^st May 2011 for HSBC and questioned 2000 adults over 18.

For further information please contact:

Melissa Jobson - 020 7992 1558 melissa.jobson@HSBC.com  

Suman Hughes / Hugh Murphy - 020 7427 1400 s.hughes@wriglesworth.com

HSBC Bank plc: HSBC serves 16.1 million customers in the UK and employs approximately 52,000 people.  In the UK, HSBC offers a complete range of personal, premier and private banking services including bank accounts and mortgages. It also provides commercial banking for small to media businesses and corporate and institutional banking services. HSBC Bank plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc. 

The HSBC Group: HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,455bn at 31 December 2010, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world's local bank'.