• Introduce yourself. Communities are more secure when people know who lives around them.
• Exchange contact details. If there’s a problem, it’s better if people can get in touch easily.
• Keep them in mind. Do you have neighbours in a wheelchair? Don’t obstruct pavements with bins / bin bags any longer than you have to. Neighbours with small children? Clean up any broken glass and keep the pavement around your home safe. Student neighbours? Don’t throw a party the night before their exams.

People around you will have different lifestyles. Young families, elderly people, people doing 9-5 jobs, students on other courses – they all have different schedules.

• Loud music, videogames/TVs and late night noise are the most common causes for complaints. When listening to music at home, consider using headphones. Don’t use subwoofers regularly.
• Street noise. When you’re returning from a night out, do so without waking up the entire street.
• Noise inside your house may travel. If you can hear your neighbours, they can hear you too. Shouting, running, using noisy appliances such as washing machines and banging doors can probably be heard next door. Some noises, such as the washing machine, are unavoidable, but you can limit these to daytime.
• Guests can be noisy even if you aren’t. Ask your guests to be considerate. Encourage them to be quiet when leaving your home.

• Rubbish and Recycling can clutter up pavements, become obstacles to people with impaired mobility or prams, attract vermin, and trigger fines if you get things wrong.
• Don’t just leave bulky waste in the street when you move out. Make the right arrangements for it to be collected.

• Burglars find student areas attractive. Students own a lot of gadgets, and are sometimes lax about security.
• Obvious student houses can put neighbourhoods at higher risk of crime. Piling up empty bottles in windows or putting out posters and banners lets criminals know that this is a student house.
• Holiday security is vital: criminals know that many students go home for the holidays. Secure your home when you are going away.

If you are living with other students, you still cannot assume they have the same tolerance for noise as you do, or that they are following the same study / free time pattern. Excessive noise levels in halls are taken seriously. 

We want the University to be a valued part of our local communities, please always park considerately and legally. Many places near our campuses have parking restricted to residents, specific businesses or special permit holders, and students should respect this.

Student Parking.

Resolving neighbour disputes can be stressful. The best way to address a problem is to talk to the people directly in a polite manner. Hopefully, they will take all reasonable steps to resolve the issue. The same would be expected of you, should a neighbour contact you.

If you don’t live in halls and matters don’t resolve easily, visit your council’s website to find out who can solve community problems for you.