Everyone has the right to quiet enjoyment of their home. But what if your neighbour’s enjoyment is very noisy, ongoing, loud and intrusive? This isn’t fair and you shouldn’t have to put up with it.
It is one thing to have noisy neighbours, but in close living arrangements such as strata living, the impact is exacerbated.
The most common strata noise complaints in strata are typically music being played too loudly or late. Or children and babies crying, dogs barking or wooden floors and doors slamming.
You deserve to enjoy your strata living.
Strata noise can detract from:
- Peace and enjoyment
- Affect your quality of sleep
- Over prolonged periods can contribute to the deterioration of mental health and wellbeing.
However, this does not mean that whenever your neighbour is disrupting your peace you should yell at your neighbour, call the police, complain to the Owners Corporation, or threaten legal action.
As with all neighbourhood’s, dealing with noise in strata requires compromise. It is important to remember people are allowed to make noise during the day and it is expected. This can even extend into the evening. For the most part, problems arise when people have differing opinions on what time or what type of noise is acceptable.
Below we have provided some steps to deal with noisy neighbours:
1.Talk to them.
Bringing up the problem with your neighbour is the most effective way to resolve the issue. If you do not bring it up, they may think their behaviour is acceptable and the noise will continue. Sometimes, it can be as simple as they were not aware that the noise, they were making travels through into your home. Explain your frustrations gently.
Understandably, confronting a neighbour while sleep deprived, or with a raging headache from music, can be difficult. Make sure to remember to be patient and use common sense when talking to them.
2. Put it in writing.
The next step, if talking the issue out does not work, is to write it down on a note. Write clearly what your concerns are and articulate a possible solution. Do not be forceful or threatening with the note. Instead try to be specific about the noise, when it happens, how often and what the impact has on you. It can be effective to add words about how it would be great if the noise could be reduced at times of the day when it has the impact on you.
Hopefully, your noisy neighbour will understand the depth of the noise issue and change their ways.
3.Take to the Committee
If you are struggling to amend the situation yourself, it could be time to involve your building management. You can ask your committee or Strata Manager to talk to the neighbour or issue a breach notice if polite requests are ignored.
It is important to keep a diary of incidents and copies of correspondence can help in completing breach notices, and backing up your claim if it needs to progress further. You might even have emails from other fellow neighbours backing your claims up. If you are the committee, you might have a register of complaints about the noise or a report from the onsite manager about it.
For community living to be harmonious, owners, occupants and management need to work together. Tolerance, patience, and common sense need to prevail. The common goal should be making your community a place where people want to live, and you enjoy living.
If you have any questions on issues relating to noise or anti-social behaviour, please contact your Owners Corporation Manager or your Building Manager.
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