Neighbour’s business from home

A hair salon in the front room, a workshop in the garage, a treatment room or an online shop with a courier van outside every day: working from home is perfectly normal, and for your neighbours it is their income. It gets difficult when the business spills outside, with customers parking across your drive, early-morning deliveries, a humming machine or the smell of hairspray through your open window.

Say that you understand it is their work, describe specifically what you notice and ask for one realistic arrangement: set hours for customers, parking on their own drive, deliveries at one time, extraction or machinery only in the daytime. Avoid words like ‘illegal’; whether it is allowed is for the council to decide.

The example messages and the incident diary help you talk this through calmly and keep track of what you agree. Only use facts you have observed yourself and leave room for your neighbours’ interests.

What do the rules say?

In England, running a business from home does not usually need planning permission as long as the house remains mainly a private home. Permission is likely to be needed if there is a material change of use, for example a marked rise in traffic or callers, activities unusual in a residential area, or disturbance at unreasonable hours or through noise or smells; the council can investigate. A tenancy agreement or lease may contain terms too, and serious noise or smells can be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

How to approach it

1. Note for a few weeks what you notice: how many customers or vans, where they were, what noise or smell and what the effect was.

2. Send a friendly message that shows understanding and suggests one specific arrangement.

3. Agree a date to check together whether it helps, and put the arrangement briefly in writing.

4. Nothing changes? Send a reminder and consider community mediation or asking the council.

Tips for your message

Don’t accuse; describe what you notice. A sentence like ‘I can see the salon is doing well; could you ask customers to keep our drive clear?’ usually works better than ‘Your business doesn’t belong here’. Don’t record number plates or customers’ names, or decibels you measured yourself.

This is general information, not legal advice.