Report a smoke or air quality nuisance

You should talk to the person or business creating the smoke or pollution first, if you can. They might not know they’re causing a problem.

Find more advice about resolving neighbour disputes on GOV.UK.

Citizens Advice also has information about complaining about your neighbour.

We do not investigate reports of: 

• food smells from neighbours
• dark smoke from chimneys or industrial plants
• pollution from military premises
• smoke from steam trains
• pollution or noise from London City Airport
• fumes from boats and ships

When we can help

We can investigate if a smoke or air quality problem:

• happens repeatedly or is significantly affecting a large area
• goes on for an unreasonably long time
• directly affects your use or enjoyment of your home

Report a smoke or air quality nuisance

You can tell us by phone or email. We’ll need to know:

• your name and contact details
• where the problem is coming from, if you know
• what's happening
• how the problem is affecting you

Call: 020 8921 8921

Email: pollution-regulation@royalgreenwich.gov.uk 

What happens next

We aim to get back to you within 5 working days. We’ll chat to you about the problem and give you advice.

We’ll try to contact the source of the problem if possible.

We may want to visit you to assess how the problem is affecting your use of the main inside areas of your home. For example, your living room or bedroom.

When we investigate a smoke or air quality problem, we’ll consider:

• how much smoke or pollution there is
• how often it happens and for how long
• if and how it affects your use or enjoyment of your home
• if it does or is likely to cause harm to health

If we decide that the problem is a ‘statutory nuisance’, we can use enforcement powers to stop or restrict it. This can include going to court.

Read about how we can deal with statutory smoke complaints (GOV.UK).