Report an odour problem
We investigate odour from:
- boiler fumes
- bonfire or chimney smoke
- build-ups of waste (such as dog waste or food items)
- animals
- filthy premises
- industrial, trade or business premises
We do not investigate odour from domestic cooking.
If you are reporting odour from cannabis smoke, you must report this as anti-social behaviour.
You can report an odour problem to us if a smell is having a significant impact on you and your family.
Before you report an odour problem to us, you should try to speak to the person responsible for the odour.
You can find out about resolving neighbour disputes on GOV.UK.
If you can’t solve the problem by speaking to the person responsible, you can report it to us.
To report an odour problem, you will need to tell us:
- your name, address and contact details
- what the odour is
- where you think the odour is coming from
- how long the odour lasts for
- how often the odour occurs
- the time the odour usually happens
- how the odour is affecting you and your family
Once we receive your complaint, we will:
- acknowledge your complaint within three working days
- investigate your complaint and decide if the odour is causing a statutory nuisance
- inform you of our decision. As all complaints have their own complexities, we will keep you up to date with our investigations as they progress.
We will keep your details confidential, but in some cases, it may be obvious who has made the complaint.
We will send a letter to you and to the person responsible for the odour.
The letter to the person responsible for the odour will inform them of the alleged nuisance, and ask them to stop.
The letter to you will include an odour log.
If the odour continues after we have written to the person responsible, you will need to keep the log for 14 days.
The log includes:
- what the odour is
- the date of the odour
- the time the odour started
- the time the odour ended
- where in your property the odour affects you
We will use the information on your log to:
- help us to determine that the odour is a statutory nuisance
- help us identify the best time to visit to witness the odour
If the odour is a statutory nuisance, we will serve an abatement notice. The notice means that the person responsible for the odour has to stop.
If the person responsible for the odour does not stop, we will begin legal proceedings. We will notify you if we take legal proceedings, as we may have to reveal your identity.
You can find more information about odour nuisance on GOV.UK.