Noisy, loathsome neighbours

[larabell]

The man in the flat upstairs from me is constantly doing loud DIY projects (banging, sawing, drilling) - this is all day, every day. I work from home and it is getting increasingly hard to get any writing done. Today - the last straw - he cut my electricity for 5 minutes while "rewiring", losing me a morning's work and making me so livid I am still shaking. What are my rights? What can I do? I don't want to make a formal complaint that may affect the resale of my flat.

[ravenhair]

Assuming you have tried to reason with the man to no avail, I believe you then have to contact your local Environmental Health officer, who will come round and take a decibel reading (obviously this means catching your neighbour while he's being noisy, but it sounds as if it's a pretty regular occurrence). If the noise level is judged too high, then they will give your neighbour a formal notice to put a sock in it.