The Sunday Times - UK (2022-02-13

18 February 13, 2022The Sunday Times

Home

provided that they take action

to remove the tenants, to defer

court action to allow them

time to do so.

Another option lies in the

law of nuisance — you may be

able to apply to court for an

injunction to stop the noise

and disruption. The

seriousness of noise nuisance

is illustrated by the case of

Fouladi v Darout Ltd and

others in which a flat-owner

was held liable in nuisance to

the flat below for causing

excessive noise.

Also consider renewing

your complaint to the local

authority, which has the

power to inspect and issue

noise abatement notices.

It may also be possible

to make an application

to the magistrates’ court

under section 82 of the

Environmental Protection Act

1990. You would have to prove
      that the noise interference is
      substantial and is having a
      negative impact on the
      enjoyment of your home. If
      successful the court has the
      power to make a “noise
      abatement order” and to issue
      a fine. Continue to keep a
      record of the instances of
      noise disturbance and all
      correspondence as this
      will be useful evidence in
      any future case.
      A longer-term solution:
      apply to the First-tier
      Tribunal, which has the power
      to appoint a manager to take
      over the management
      obligations under the lease.
      Also consider the possibility
      of acquiring the freehold by
      court order — take separate
      advice on this.

Simon Painter, property

disputes partner at BDB Pitmans

Send questions to

homehelp@sunday-

times.co.uk. Advice is given

without responsibility

ARE LANDLORDS

RESPONSIBLE

FOR NOISY

NEIGHBOURS?

Q

I have the

lease on the

upstairs flat in

a two-storey Victorian

terrace conversion. The

freeholder has disappeared.

The downstairs flat is

sublet, despite my lease

saying my flat is for the

leaseholder only.

The owner of the

downstairs flat lets the flat

and ignores any problems.

I have had to cope with

tenants who have been

noisy, disrupted my wi-fi

and been responsible for

antisocial behaviour. I have

complained to the tenants,

the landlord, the council

and the letting agent. My

complaints have been

ignored. I was living in a

constant state of anxiety

until I received medical

help. I have kept written

notes and sound

recordings. With a missing

freeholder I have no one to

turn to. Any advice?

Anonymous

A

Notwithstanding the

missing landlord, you do

have legal options. You

should seek advice both on the

terms of the neighbour’s lease

and your own lease. There

may be covenants in the lease

that you can enforce directly

against the owners — a typical

covenant would be not to

cause a nuisance, noise or

annoyance to neighbouring

owners. Sometimes there are

covenants not to sublet

property. Even if no such

covenants exist, you should

still consider writing to the

neighbouring owners again, or

hire a solicitor to do so, stating

that unless the problem is

resolved you will take court

action. You could offer,

HOME

HELP

READERS’ CLINIC

HOW DO I REMOVE ALL OF THE PLASTIC FILM

ON READY MEALS?

Film remains on

the edge, which

I am worried may

melt into the dish.

Any tips?

Thomas

Dowthwaite

Cut out all the film. Place a

plate over the top and invert

so the frozen meal comes

out. Place your own cooking

dish over the top of the plate

and invert. Now your meal is

in a plastic-free container.

Linda McBride

Reader tip: When my bras

come out of the washing

machine and the fabric

around the hook is all curled

up, I simply curl those parts

in the opposite direction and

clasp them firmly with sturdy

washing pegs. Leave

pegs in place

overnight.

Norma Neville,

London

FUTURE QUESTION:

Our cat wrecked the stair

carpet with her claws,

despite having numerous

scratch pads/trees and a

garden. We may replace the

carpet with wood, but are

worried about slippery

stairs. Any advice on cat-

friendly, non-slippy floor

coverings or how to prevent

this problem?

Laura, Birmingham

Send tips and questions to

homehelp@sunday-

times.co.uk. Advice given

without responsibility.

TIME AND SPACE THE WAY WE LIVE NOW

JANE GOODALL

The eco-pioneer on her childhood

home and returning to the chimps

STUART CLARKE/THE SUNDAY TIMES; HUGO VAN LAWICK/THE JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE; IAN WOOL/GETTY IMAGES

What’s your daily routine?

I’m up around 7am and try to get

through emails. Then there are up to

five Zoom sessions a day — seven days

a week, even on Christmas Day. I’ve

never worked as hard or been as

exhausted in my whole life! In the

middle of the day I take 30 minutes to

sit under the beech tree in the garden,

as I used to do as a child. And every

day I’m joined by a blackbird and a

robin and I sing nonsense to them. In

the evenings I have supper with my

sister in the sitting room.

Do you cook?

No. I can, and used to in Dar and in

Gombe, but my niece is a great cook.

I’m not allowed to touch anything in

the kitchen. I’ve been vegetarian since

the end of the 1960s, and vegan since

the pandemic. I hadn’t realised the

cruelty of dairy and chicken farms.

What is your most prized

possession?

Other than my health, it’s probably

Mr H, a stuffed monkey. He was given

to me 28 years ago by a man called

Gary Haun, who became a magician

and taught himself to paint after he

was blinded at the age of 21. Gary

thought he was giving me a chimp, but

the “chimp” had a tail. The monkey

represents the indomitable human

spirit overcoming obstacles and has

accompanied me to 61 of the 63

countries I’ve visited.

Is there any single item you

consider indispensable to a home?

Unfortunately these days it would be

a laptop.

Are your surroundings important

to you?

No, except I get very uneasy when I’m

put up in swanky hotels on lecture

tours. Because we waste, waste, waste

energy — we live an unsustainable

lifestyle. Never would I travel by

private jet. I try to live as simple a life

as possible. I’m happiest in Gombe, in

our brick house with a tin roof and a

solar panel, where we don’t even have

running water.

Are you hopeful your conservation

message is getting through?

There are now 26 independent

Jane Goodall Institutes, but Roots

& Shoots, which has young members

from kindergarten to university,

is my main reason for hope. It is

now in more than 60 countries,

and growing. I believe young

people are understanding they can

make a difference.

Interview by Teresa Levonian Cole

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for

an Endangered Planet by Jane Goodall

and Douglas Abrams (Viking, £16.99)

W

hen I was four my

father wanted my

sister, Judy, and

me to learn

French, so he

rented a house in Le Touquet.

Within three months the Second

World War broke out, so in 1939 we

returned to England to live in my

maternal grandmother’s house in

Bournemouth. It has been home ever

since. I lived and worked in Tanzania

until 1986 and have been on the road

most of the time since then [lecturing

on conservation], but always returned

between trips. Covid has kept me here

for two years, but as soon as I’m able

I’ll be on the road again.

What is the house like?

A rather ramshackle red-brick

Victorian house with old-fashioned

sash windows and cream-coloured

walls. It has two storeys and an attic,

which I converted into my haven,

where I work. It’s quite simple — I

don’t have a style; I don’t really care.

There are books in every room, and in

the long passages to the loos.

Do you live alone?

My sister, who is four years younger

than me, lives here permanently with

her daughter and two grown-up

grandsons, and we will soon be joined

by my youngest grandson. There’s

also a very aged whippet, called Bean.

Goodall has lived in Bournemouth,

above, since 1939. Below: the

primatologist with a chimp in

Gombe National Park, Tanzania,

in about 1965