#25570
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    As a renter you have exactly the same rights as anyone else to the peaceful enjoyment of your home.  You can even initiate action at Fair Trading to resolve the issue through mediation.

    But getting back to basics, there are two parts to this problem.  The first is technical, the second behavioural.

    Starting with the technical side, many modern door closers have a two stage setting on them.  They close fast until the are almost at the jamb, then they slow down to avoid slamming.  They can be adjusted to vary both forces independently.  However, there are  fire safety people who will adjust them to maximum slam because that is theoretically safer (and they don’t care about the disruption that causes).

    But it’s nonsense to say they can’t be touched because of fire safety.  All fire regs require is that the door will close if left to its own devices. They can’t be removed but they can be adjusted.

    If the door closer can’t be adjusted and the neighbours can’t be persuaded to hold the door as it closes, then you may have to take action to force them to do so. You could ask your strata manager or strata committee to issue a Notice To Comply with whatever by-law you have covering noise nuisance.

    Now, you will hear all sorts of nonsense about the tenants being given so many warnings first.  This is all rubbish.  A Notice To Comply is simply an official warning that a resident is breaching such and such a by-law.  It warns that failure to comply with the warning in future could lead to further action and fines. In the case of tenants, breaches of by-laws can lead to eviction as they have broken the terms of their lease.

    However, if the strata committee or strata manager still won’t step up, you can seek orders at the Tribunal (NCAT) but first you would have to seek mediation at Fair Trading in the first instance, using this form.  Have a look at your by-laws and see which one you would pursue them under.

    You will get conflicting advice on this becasue there are three routes you can go down. One is to raise a complaint against your landlord, another is to raise a complaint against the strata committee/manager, the third is to raise the complaint against the noisy neighbour.

    If the committee isn’t interested, my preference would be to raise the issue with the neighbour.  The argument that you can’t control kids just doesn’t wash in strata.  If they really can’t get their kids to behave, then they shouldn’t be living in a unit.

    Now, if I were in your shoes I would wait until November 30 when the new strata laws come in and you can approach your strata committee and ask THEM to arrange mediation.  Then you can sit down with the neighbour in a less confronting environment and get them to see your point of view (while getting one stage closer to Tribunal action, if required).

    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.