› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Neighbour noise › Is strata the solution for noisy neighbours? VIC › Current Page
@peaceandquiet said:
I was wondering if moving into a strata place with a strict body corp might protect us from noisy / malicious neighbours?
In the great (and rather tiresome) debate over whether living in a house is better than living in an apartment, I often cite exactly this issue as support for the latter.
It may be that you are more likely to be disturbed by noisy neighbours – due to more people living in close proximity – but it’s also the case that you are less likely to be the only one who suffers.
And if you are not alone, you are less likely to be singles out for retribution if you complain.
In reality, it’s not the laws and by-laws that matter as much as the diligence with which they are enforced, and that changes from building to building.
I would not buy or rent in an apartment block without making sure of how many complaints about noise they’d had and how they had been dealt with.
No evidence of noise complaints could mean two things – either everyone is well-behaved or the committee, building manager or strata manager don’t take complaints seriously (especially if they are frequent).
The only way you will get an true answer is by asking a question in the block you are interested in. But if you find a block where antisocial behaviour is jumped on and dealt with effectively, grab it.
Other buildings will tolerate disturbance because it suits the majority of residents’ lifestyles. Others won’t and that’s where you want to be.