What can you do about nuisance caused by your neighbours?
What would you like help with?
Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Not every inconvenience is legally unlawful. The duration, severity, local circumstances and measures taken are important. A clear record of events helps avoid a dispute based only on one person's word against another's.
General information about Dutch law · Reviewed on · How we work
On this page
- Document the nuisance objectively
- Ask for a concrete solution
- Immediate danger or need the police?
- Persistent nuisance from a home
- Noise from a business or event?
- Which court is appropriate for your claim?
- Prepare a safe conversation
- Building noise, investigation and care
- Complaint about the landlord’s response
- Are you accused of nuisance?
- Your checklist
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources and further information
Document the nuisance objectively
Record the date, time, duration, type of nuisance and consequences. Keep messages, reports and statements. Make recordings only if this is lawful and genuinely necessary.
Ask for a concrete solution
Calmly discuss which behaviour causes nuisance and which arrangement could help. Briefly confirm arrangements in writing. Neighbourhood mediation can often resolve a conflict sooner than legal proceedings.
Immediate danger or need the police?
Call 112 for an immediate threat or danger; do not wait for discussions or a complete file. No emergency, but police are needed, for example for an offence or disturbance of public order? Call 0900-8844. An ordinary noise report does not automatically lead to police intervention.
Politie — geluid uit woningenPolitie — bedrijven en evenementenPersistent nuisance from a home
Report to your landlord if you rent, or the owners’ association (VvE) if you own a home in a building. Check your municipality’s official website for its local residential-nuisance reporting route. Ask the municipality or neighbourhood team about mediation if safe discussions do not help. Keep the report number. For continuing nuisance, legal help can assess the appropriate court procedure; see below.
Politie — geluid uit woningenPolitie — bedrijven en evenementenNoise from a business or event?
Report industrial noise to the environmental service (omgevingsdienst). For hospitality venues or events, the route depends on the location: check the official municipal website for the municipality or environmental service responsible. Give the source, location and times. Safety problems or public-order disturbances belong with the police; call 112 for an immediate threat.
Politie — geluid uit woningenPolitie — bedrijven en evenementenWhich court is appropriate for your claim?
Do you want your neighbour to do something or stop doing something, for example stop filming your garden? Such an independent claim generally goes to the civil court, and you need a lawyer for that. If you claim only money up to and including € 25,000, the subdistrict court generally has jurisdiction and a lawyer is not mandatory. Have the correct procedure assessed for combined claims or urgent matters.
Prepare a safe conversation
Check that the noise really comes from these neighbours; pipes can transmit sound. Choose a calm time, describe events and effects without accusation and listen. Agree a workable measure, costs and review date; confirm it together in writing. If a diary becomes overwhelming, seek help with evidence. Neighbourhood mediation is usually free and requires both parties’ willingness; professional mediation may cost money. Threats do not require waiting for this conversation.
Building noise, investigation and care
There is no nationwide permission for unlimited DIY during fixed hours. Check municipal and building rules and the type of work; warn neighbours of times and duration. Permitted hours do not exclude unlawful nuisance. Before technical sound testing, obtain a price and agree payment; the landlord does not automatically pay. For suspected confusion or self-neglect, use the official concerning-behaviour reporting service; danger belongs with police. VvE penalties need a valid regulatory basis.
Complaint about the landlord’s response
Report specific nuisance and requested measures in writing, especially where both homes share a landlord. Where competent, the Huurcommissie can assess the landlord’s behaviour, not directly order the neighbour to stop. Complain internally first; housing corporations then have an independent complaints committee. Under the current procedure, the event complained about must be no more than one year old. Assessment does not automatically reduce rent, award damages or fines, or compel a solution; court proceedings are separate. Check jurisdiction and fees. The announced abolition is not yet effective on19October2026.
Are you accused of nuisance?
Ask for the facts and supporting documents and access to your personal data; others’ rights can justify redaction. Answer specific inaccuracies in writing with evidence. A disputed opinion need not automatically be erased. If the complaint is correct, agree practical changes. A landlord’s letter does not automatically terminate the tenancy lawfully or permit immediate eviction; obtain timely advice on a notice or summons. A claim against your landlord is a tenancy matter, unlike a standalone injunction against a neighbour.
Your checklist
Prepare your next stepFill in and save · Word
Tick what you have checked or collected. Note what is missing and take your overview to a meeting.
Unless saved in My overview: Your entries stay only on this screen. Download before leaving; closing or reloading clears them. Do not enter identity numbers, passwords or unnecessary personal details.
What do you still need for your next step?
Item 1 / 6 · Where do you stand with this item?
Nuisance log
This overview follows your own answers. It does not assess your rights or guarantee that your file is complete.
Your choices stay here. Use the buttons below if you want to save or download.
View all details, notes and timeline
Your timeline and evidence
List events and contacts. Note where you keep the evidence; no upload is needed.
What goes in my timeline?
Record what happened, when, the response and where to find the letter, message or photo. Mark uncertain dates.
Is my evidence sent?
No. You only note where it is kept. No files are uploaded or sent automatically.
How do I save my timeline?
Your entries are not saved automatically. Choose Save and continue later to store this preparation, including your timeline, in My overview. Wait for confirmation and save new changes again. You can also download a Word file without an account.
Up to 20 events. Choose a different position for an event to change the order.
0 / 6 · Checked or collected
For each event, note the date, what happened and where the evidence is kept. Example: 3 October — letter received — correspondence folder.
Describe the solution you would like, such as an explanation of a deduction and repayment of the outstanding amount.
For example: which document is missing, who can provide it and what should I do first?
Record the date and its source. If unknown, note this and check promptly. This tool does not calculate or monitor deadlines.
After your conversation
These are your own notes. Confirm agreements with the other person; these notes do not prove their agreement.
This is your preparation, not a submitted request, objection or legally reviewed document. A tick records only your own progress. Check the procedure and deadline in the original letter.
Save and continue later
Clear entries
Download anything you want to keep first. Clearing cannot be undone.
- Nuisance log
- Messages to the neighbours
- Photos or lawful recordings
- Witnesses
- Reports and case numbers
- Tenancy agreement or owners' association regulations
Frequently asked questions
Is noise always allowed during the day?
No. Nuisance can also be unlawful during the day, but this depends on the circumstances and severity.
Can I go directly to court?
Sometimes you can, but evidence and demonstrable attempts to resolve the problem strengthen your position.