Bad neighbours drag property prices down by tens of thousands

Bad or nuisance neighbourbrings the value of the house next door down by 8.2%– or £17,321 based on the price of an average house - according toresearch by Privilege Home Insurance.

Some 92% of estate agents surveyed said that having a bad neighbour has a serious negative impact on the value of the houses around them and what buyers are prepared to pay.

By contrast, the experts questioned by Privilege assessed that a good neighbour next door positively affects the value of your house by 9.4%, adding £19,856 to the average property.

This means the difference between having a good neighbour and a bad neighbour is worth £37,177 to the average British householder. In London, where the average house costs £472,163, having a bad neighbour instead of a good one could therefore affect sellers to the tune of just over £83,100.

Broken or boarded up windows are the worst thing the house next door can have – thought to wipe nearly £23,000 off the average house at current market value. This is followed by an unsightly extension and having rubbish or junk in the driveway or front garden.

The report also found that the worst neighbours are most likely to be a family living in London, where the parents are in their 40s and are unemployed. They are most likely to drive a Volkswagen and own a dog.

The best neighbours live in Plymouth, are retired 60 plus singletons who do not have a pet. They are most likely to drive a Nissan.

The top reason why people are unhappy or have argued with their neighbours is them being noisy (24 per cent), followed by being unfriendly (19 per cent) and having an untidy or overgrown front garden (17 per cent).

Top bad neighbourly behaviour

Of those questioned with bad neighbours, one in three (31%) said their neighbours make them want to move, and one in ten (12%) said they have tried to move or desperately want to as a result of their ongoing neighbourly feud.

Those in London are most likely to want to move away from their bad neighbours (18%), followed by the West Midlands (16%) and Yorkshire and Humber (14%).

Dan Simson, head of Privilege home insurance said: “Our increasingly hectic lives can mean that household maintenance falls to the bottom of the priorities list – especially for busy families. Yet this study shows that a poorly kept home can affect not just the value of your own property, but the value of those around you too.

“Sometimes fixing something like a broken window can seem like a burden both on time and finances, but it can also have a negative impact on the area as a whole. Most home insurance policies cover you for accidental damage, so people should check their documents – it might be an easier job than they think.”

Bad Neighbours by Region