My new neighbour’s leaf blower is driving me mad – what can I do?

A new family recently moved next door to us and appear to be very keen on leaf blowers.

Every or every other day, the man of the household puts on his safety goggles and ear defenders and fires up the leaf blower.

This seems to last for hours and can start before 8am in the morning. He even sometimes gives it a go when it’s dark outside in the late afternoon. 

We don’t get peace and quiet at the weekends either.

The family are new neighbours, so we don’t want to cause a major stink, but the noise is getting intolerable and disrupting our daily lives. 

Lots of the leaves also end up in our driveway which is inconvenient and messy.

How can I go about getting this resolved? Also, can someone please tell me what leaf blowers actually do and if they are effective? I can’t see the appeal and use a rake to clear up my leaves. 

Jane Denton, of This is Money, replies: Leaf blowers appear to have become extremely popular in recent years. I am unsure why. 

It’s not uncommon where I live to see people standing astride with their leaf blowers mindlessly whirring without making any progress with the leaves in question. Like you, I’m a fan of a rake, shovel and bin bags for the job. 

I can understand why you want to adopt a cautious approach with your new neighbour. That is a sensible idea and could help prevent problems later down the line. 

I’ve asked a solicitor and acoustics expert for their take on the problems you are facing.  

Manjinder Kaur Atwal, director of property law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, says: It is understandable that you want to tackle this situation sensitively, especially with new neighbours, as you do not want to get off on the wrong foot with them.

However, it is clear that the frequent use of the leaf blower needs to be tackled.

Leaf blowers can be useful tools for clearing debris from driveways and lawns, especially if you have gravel patches and the like, but they are often criticised for being noisy and disruptive.

Many local councils have regulations about noise levels and hours when noisy equipment can be used. 

For residential areas, noise nuisance laws often limit such activities to between 8am and 6pm on weekdays and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays. Sunday use is usually discouraged or restricted entirely.

It may simply be that your neighbour is unaware of the nuisance they are causing, and starting a friendly conversation may alert them. 

Calmly explain how the leaf blower use is affecting your family’s peace and daily routine. Perhaps suggest a compromise, such as agreeing on specific times or days for using the leaf blower.

If this approach does not resolve the issue, you could escalate the matter by contacting your local council.

Your council’s environmental health team can investigate persistent noise complaints to determine if they breach the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and take necessary action if needed. Additionally, many councils provide low-cost or free mediation services for resolving neighbour disputes, which could be helpful.

Regarding the leaves, politely ask your neighbour to adjust their blower to prevent debris from spreading onto your property.

Keep a detailed record of the noise, including dates, times, and duration, to support any complaints you raise with authorities. 

This issue falls under private nuisance law, which covers interference with the use and enjoyment of land, such as excessive noise. Councils often address these cases as statutory nuisances under property and environmental law.

If the situation escalates or requires legal action, it could also touch on neighbour disputes, an area of law that involves resolving conflicts between adjacent property owners.

If none of this helps, then a solicitors specialising in environmental or property law can advise in respect of private nuisance claims.

I do hope that though, a friendly chat will be enough to resolve the issue amicably. If further action is required, do not hesitate to seek assistance from your local council or get legal advice. 

Ed Clarke, managing director of Clarke Saunders Acoustics in Winchester, says: There seems to be quite a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with the leaf blower.

There’s a range of devices out there, with varying performance and noise levels, powered electrically or by petrol engines. Some blowers can also suck; shredding and gathering leaves in big bag rather than just blasting them around. These are also referred to as ‘garden vacuums’.

The noisiest blowers are the most powerful petrol models, larger ones being worn as a backpack, making the operator feel like a ghostbuster. These are the professional ones you’d see council contractors using in parks, whereas domestic models look like giant dust busters.

Battery and motor developments in the garden tool market mean electric models are pretty much up to the power of petrol models and are much quieter. That doesn’t make them completely silent, however, they’re still shoving a lot of air around which can’t be done without making some noise.

Moving on to your neighbour’s leaf blower usage. Operating a blower for several hours, multiple times a week seems excessive, but maybe he has a thing about keeping his pristine lawn leaf free at all times. It takes all sorts. 

I would think that the size of property that might genuinely require that level of leaf management would mean he’s some distance from your house at the end of a long drive much of the time. Or perhaps his blower is actually under-powered, which is why it takes so long.

As a noise expert I have spent a lot of time giving expert witness evidence in all manner of legal proceedings, and my strong recommendation on neighbour disputes is this; don’t have them. Disputes that is. Most of us are saddled with having to have neighbours. 

Your neighbour may not be aware of the intrusion he is causing, or he may not care, but the critical aspect here is how you communicate. 

‘Do you even realise how annoying you are’ and ‘for heaven’s sake do you need to do that all the time’ are good examples of approaches you should not take. 

I would go round one Saturday morning, rake in hand, and ask if the blower is really more effective – perhaps even ask to borrow it. Discuss how you’re better off getting the leaves off both drives than pushing them back and forth between them. 

You can then get on to how you notice how much blowing he does, because it’s loud. 

If he has an old noisy petrol blower you could even offer to go halves on a shiny new quiet battery powered one for Christmas.