Teaching From Home, Legal Implications Options

[tonyteech]

Has anyone had any problems teaching from home
I have been teaching for 4 years Recently a neighbour has complained about the noise level Apparently she has tenants who sleep in during the day and have objected to me playing the piano at 11 on a weekday morning

I start teaching at weekends at 10 and finish at about 5 or 6

I teach voice piano and guitar and bass

I understand councils can come down heavily on you for this and I am thinking of seeking separate premises or soundproofing the teaching room

Any experiences greatly welcomed

[Malone]

My great aunt had some problems with practicing her piano during the day and early evenings. She got that particular room soundproofed, it does make the room a bit smaller though. I would agree with noodle though, you could try moving the piano to a different wall, or the other side of the house??

- So glad I live in a remote farmhouse! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[sbhoa]

I've been told that up to 8 hours a week is ok but after that you might need to get permission from the local council to use your home for business.
This may vary from council to council and also It's probably ok if the neighbours don't put in a complaint.

[Leana]

I teach piano part time from 4pm-8pm Mon to Thurs. My previous neighbour made a comment to me one day that she loved to hear the tinkle on an evening, so I moved the piano to the opposite wall (it was previously on the wall between the 2 houses) and this seemed to do the trick. At the end of the day, the noise made is no more than a TV or a hoover going. I don't think its unreasonable to begin teaching at 11am, and anyway, the only room you should be able to hear the piano in, is the room directly adjoined to the room you teach in, and as I can only assume you don't teach in an upstairs room or a bedroom, I don't see how your neighbour can claim it is keeping her tenants awake!

[salrec]

You surely couldn't be criticised for playing the piano at 11 am any more than you could be criticised for mowing the grass or driving a car down the road. But you may need to check out the legalities of the situation, and if moving the piano is possible or would be helpful, do it.

I would also strongly recommend getting insurance cover for your business. Hopefully nobody will have an accident, and wouldn't sue you if they did, but I've got a policy which covers me up to (I think) £5 million. This covers all of my work, both at home and elsewhere so is worth it.

[TSax]

I believe, from a musician playing friend who has personal experience in these matters, that a couple of hours a day at reasonable times (and 11am is certainly reasonable) is deemed acceptable by the noise police. If it's more than a couple of hours a day then they may take some action.

I think it's a good idea to look at it from both sides - what do you think would be reasonable to put up with from your neighbour. Truthfully, if it is 8 hours a day for most of the weekend, as a neighbour however much I would want to support musical endeavours, I think I would start to get a bit fed up with it. In London we all end up living on top of each other (often literally) which means some give and take from neighbours is necessary, but the line between "reasonable" and "drives me stir crazy" can be a very thin one.