From barking dogs, to the unwanted sound of power tools, or even loud music at a party that runs into the wee hours – noise can be a real nuisance.
“Some people underestimate the impact that it can have on people’s lives, particularly for sleep disturbance,” says Elaine Just, a senior noise scientist at Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
“There’s enough evidence now that says if you’re continually not getting enough sleep, it has flow-on health impacts to your life.”
Noise can be particularly painful for the growing number of people who call apartments home — where there’s not much of a buffer between each person’s living space.
According to the 2021 census, that’s more than 2.5 million Australians, or 10.3 per cent of the population.
Unfortunately, you can’t demand complete silence from your neighbours — but there are rules and regulations in place.
And if neighbours are in breach of those rules, there are a few things you can do.
What is reasonable noise?
Dr Just says noise is generally referred to as unwanted sound.
“Some sounds are pleasant and some sounds are unpleasant,” she says.
“So if you find a sound that’s unpleasant and interferes with your life, that’s generally referred to as noise.”
Under Victoria’s Environment Protection Act, it is an offence to make unreasonable noise at a residence.
The EPA characterises unreasonable noise by the volume and intensity of the sound, the time of the day it takes place, how long it continues for, how often it occurs and the circumstances around it.
A noise that occurs during prohibited hours set by the EPA and can be heard by someone in any other residence is considered unreasonable.
The use of electric power tools, for example, is prohibited before 7am and after 8pm during the week, or before 9am and after 8pm on weekends and public holidays.
Noise restrictions apply to musical instruments or things like radios and TVs outside the hours of 7am and 10pm Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, the situation is slightly more lenient, with restrictions starting after 11pm.
“There can be some variation on that, but it’s around being quiet and being reasonable during the night periods so that people can sleep,” Dr Just says.
“So that’s not playing loud music, if you’ve got a party on, try to get your guests to leave quietly, those sorts of things.”
While the EPA determines residential noise regulations, it’s up to each individual council to enforce them.
How is noise measured?
The Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) is a government organisation that deals with an array of complaints, including noise.
In the past year, it received 400 noise complaints – almost double from the year before.
“The most common noise complaint is when another neighbour’s activity impacts a person’s sleep,” a spokesperson says.
In a residential dispute setting, the context in which the noise is heard has to be taken into consideration.
That includes things like how long the noise goes on for and how far it spreads, what it sounds like – such as a banging sound or squealing sound – and how loud it is.
Generally speaking, noise that is about five decibels above the background noise starts to get intrusive, Dr Just says.
She says things like the quality of a build and the choice of flooring can be contributing factors in apartments.
Other factors that are considered are whether or not it is a sound that is typical with residential activity, such as a car starting up and driving out of a driveway.
What do you do if you receive a complaint?
Neighbours should try to resolve any noise issues between themselves first.
“Face to face tends to be better if you can, because then you can have a conversation,” Dr Just says.
“It’s good to be specific about what the problem is, and how it affects you.”
If a neighbour is coming to you with a complaint, Dr Just says it’s important to “try to be reasonable and listen”.
“Actually listen to what the concerns are without getting angry first. Try to understand and ask questions about what specifically the concern is.”
Asking questions like ‘When am I noisy?’ or ‘What does it sound like?’ can help to better understand what is causing the problem.
“And then, what we would like to happen is that the person that’s being complained about actually makes changes to their behaviour, or their property, so that the impact doesn’t happen to their neighbours,” Dr Just says.
Those changes could be as simple as turning the TV volume down after dark, or choosing a different time to vacuum floors. Or you might need to make changes to your home to stop the sound from travelling.
“There’s underlays that you can put under your hard flooring that will reduce the noise or carpeting, so soft flooring, thin rugs – they reduce the impact of footfall,” Dr Just says.
“Essentially, you need to take measures to make sure you’re not putting out noise that is unreasonable when it is too loud and poses a risk to somebody else’s health.”
Often, she says, the person making the noise doesn’t realise their activity is too loud or having an impact on their neighbours.
What to do if a conversation doesn’t resolve the issue
If a direct conversation with a noisy neighbour fails to result in any changes, residents in apartment blocks can file a complaint with their owners’ corporation or a local council officer.
“Where noise issues impact a community member’s health and wellbeing, Council’s team will investigate according to the relevant state legislation,” a City of Melbourne spokesperson says.
That investigation can include a telephone call where the complainant may be required to keep a diary to document the noise, or a site visit where a council officer will listen to the sound and determine where it can be heard from and between which times.
The issue can also be resolved with mediation through the DSCV.
If all else fails, the final step is to consider legal advice, to determine whether you have a case to pursue in the courts.
Experts say this can be costly, time-consuming and can ruin relationships between neighbours, so should be left as a last resort.
Remember, noise is part of living but it shouldn’t interfere with someone else’s reasonable enjoyment of their apartment.
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Depending on times and if it is continuous you can buy noise cancelling headphones now or use earplugs to dull the noise. There are so many shift workers that it is impossible not to upset someone about noise, especially construction or kids playing, dogs barking, etc.. Now our area is regenerating and more younger people have moved in there is more noise. If people are having parties, just let neighbours know by even a leaflet drop if you don’t get to see them. You are never going to satisfy everyone, but as long as you keep to the council rules you should be ok.