Maybe you were enjoying a nice, fume-free existence, but you’re suddenly choking on smoke in your own garden. Or perhaps you’ve moved into a seemingly idyllic new cottage, winter has arrived and you’ve found yourself plagued by a neighbour’s wood burner fumes.
So you might be asking – can I complain about my neighbours wood burning stove? You could be well within your rights to make a complaint about your neighbour’s wood burning stove.
Whatever your grounds for objection, read on for plenty of handy, must-have information about when and how to make a complaint.
Are Wood Burners A Nuisance?
In the legal world, smoke or fumes emitted from a chimney can be classed as a “nuisance” if they’re interfering with someone else’s use or enjoyment of their own property. The potential of that smoke to damage the health of others is also taken into account.
So, while lighting a wood burner causes absolutely no bother to anyone, others can most definitely be defined as a nuisance.
Being the reasonable person that you are, you can probably see why your neighbour has chosen to have a wood burning stove in their home.
It can’t be denied that they look amazing and add a cosy ambience to any room. They also kick out a huge amount of heat, so your neighbour will feel wonderfully warm and snug. Add to that the elements of energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and reliability.
But you’re certainly not alone in feeling that wood burners are a nuisance. Over the past few years, there have been thousands of complaints to local councils in England about smoke emissions from wood burning stoves. Not so much about the noise.
Following an increase in the popularity of these appliances, a rise in the number of grievances seems inevitable.
There are even calls for wood burning stoves to be banned completely, which would obviously come as a massive blow to the millions of homeowners who have now invested in one.
Rather than upset a large swathe of the population, the government has brought in a few rules about what can and can’t be burnt as fuel.
Wet logs have been more or less phased out in favour of dry wood, as this cuts the smoke emissions by half. Coal is also on the chopping block, with plans to ban sales of this from 2023.
Some local councils have introduced “Smoke Control Areas”, where it’s actually illegal to emit smoke from a chimney.
However, even if you live in one of these areas, your neighbour can still install a wood burning stove – as long as it’s approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as having low emissions.
I Can Smell My Neighbour’s Wood Burner
If your neighbour has a wood burning stove, the chances are that you can smell it. That might be anything from a small whiff of smoke when the wind blows it your way, to an eye-watering cloud of smog that engulfs your whole garden.
Furthermore, if you’re planning to hang laundry out to dry in the garden, you’d better check that your neighbour’s stove isn’t lit!
Many unfortunate householders have found that their fresh-smelling clothes have turned stale and stinky after a day in the smoky air.
You have every right to enjoy your home and your garden. After all, it’s your sanctuary – a place where you should be able to relax, completely undisturbed.
Unwanted smoke drifting into your personal space is intrusive and can be just as annoying as loud music blasting out or litter flying over the fence.
Making A Complaint About Your Neighbour’s Wood Burner Fumes
The smoke from someone else’s wood burning stove can be extremely annoying. However, the main concern of many of those who choose to make an official complaint is the fumes that they emit.
Campaigners have called for the health secretary to ban wood burners because of the potential impact that their fumes can have on people’s health, particularly those who suffer from conditions such as asthma.
There are reports of individuals whose health has deteriorated after a neighbour has installed a wood burning stove.
If you feel strongly that you have grounds to make a complaint about your neighbour’s wood burner, you should contact your local council.
You can rest assured that they are obliged by law to investigate your grievance. You can usually lodge your complaint in one of three ways: over the phone, by letter or by email.
It will be really helpful if, upon deciding that smoke and fumes are a nuisance, you start to make a record of each time the problem occurs.
It might seem obvious, but you should also try and figure out what property the smoke is coming from so that you can put these details in your complaint.
If you’ve tried to speak to your neighbour about their wood burner, but failed to reach a resolution, this should be added to your report, along with details about how the smoke and fumes are impacting you.
Your council will ensure that your report is completely confidential.
However, if you’ve already tried to talk to your neighbour about your issues with their wood burning stove, they might guess that it’s you who has complained, so be prepared for this.
You’ll be asked to keep a log of the issues you’re experiencing. This will usually be for a couple of weeks. The council will write to your neighbour around this time, letting them know that a complaint has been made. Sometimes, this makes an impression and can result in an improvement in the situation.
If nothing changes and you’re still despairing over the smoke and fumes coming your way, then the council will pay you a visit at home so that they can see for themselves the extent of the problem and how it’s affecting you.
If they agree that your neighbour’s wood burner is indeed a nuisance, they have the power to serve them with an Abatement Notice. If this happens, your neighbour will either have to limit the use of their stove or stop using it altogether.
