Current Page

[Jimmy-T]

QUESTION: A new-ish owner/occupier is severely inconveniencing the owner/occupiers of the next door townhouse – the properties are joined by a common wall. The principal issues are:

previously carpeted floors have been tiled, resulting in footsteps, especially the owner’s high heels, being heard through until late at night.

The owner’s adult son, who lives with her and who she describes as having ‘special needs’, and the owner herself engage in yelling matches, which include slamming doors. These outbursts occur mostly at night, given that the owner is out of home at work during the day.

Personal appeals by the next door neighbours and phone calls from them when the noise prevents them from sleeping are effective only until the next time, which often is later the same week.

What approach would you recommend the Executive Committee take to address this situation, please?

ANSWER: There are a lot of aspects to this, the first being whether the tiles are in compliance with the by-laws of the scheme.  If not, fixing that would be a major step forward in reducing the noise transferrance.

The next issue is behavioural and that is trickier since excessive noise is, to some extent, in the ear of the listener.  What is excessive to one person may be fine to another although there is a point where is is unreasonable to anyone but the stone deaf.

So to answer the question, first find out if the tiles are compliant and if they aren’t the EC should write to the owners and tell them that the carpet must be restored (with action at Fair Trading and NCAT to follow, if not).

The second issue has to be handled a little more delicately but a letter from the EC pointing out what the by-laws of the building are, as well as state laws on noise, plus the possible penalties that might be applied for failure to adhere to them, might moderate the behaviour.

The penalties range from fines for breaching by-laws, through involvement of police, to noise abatement orders from a court.  You can find out more about them HERE.

A polite letter followed by a chat might be all it takes, but if the resident has a letter from the EC outlining the steps that could be taken – and the laws and by-laws that are being breached – , she has no excuse if action is taken against her.

If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.

Topic