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Hoping you can help. I am not new to apartment living (25 years plus) but only recently a homeowner, bought a second floor unit in a large complex NSW, 5 buildings all 4-5 levels. Building manager and active (and seemingly sensible) OC.
We experienced barely any noise from the upstairs neighbours for over 6 months, then the last couple of months lots of noise – thumping, stomping, scraping furniture and rolling wheels on floor. They have a small child, either they are new residents or they had a baby who started walking! I spoke to them once as it sounded like there was a dance party going on, they apologised at the time. But it continues every day, primarily early morning and late afternoon to early evening, but sometimes carries on late (above our bedroom, presumably the parents walking around). Due to lockdown restrictions I left a politely worded letter in their mailbox (and asked them to let us know if we caused any issues). No change. So I wrote to Strata and made a noise complaint, they respond quickly to things like complaints about barking dogs etc. However their decision in the minutes is to write to both of us saying that we can get an acoustic test and if it passes we have to pay, if it doesn’t then the upstairs owners have to. It’s been over two weeks and I haven’t received a letter.
We have two bylaws that I thought would apply, 1 re: Noise, and 14 re: floor coverings being sufficient to prevent transmission of noise. It’s not just noise as sometimes it’s vibration from heavy footfalls. I do believe it’s a combo of hard flooring and resident behaviour, as some of the noise is cupboard doors and banging on walls. I also think the flooring would pass the bylaws’ stated acoustic requirements (48?), and there is no evidence that they have replaced the flooring (we’ve been working from home since we moved in). What should we do next?
1. Do we have to get an acoustic report? If it were to pass we’re still stuck with the issue.
2. The next SC meeting is next week – should I write again and request it be dealt with under bylaws 1 and 14? Ie send them a letter and request a Notice to Comply be considered at the next meeting?
3. Would living underneath a toddler negate the complaint? (because kids are kids – mind you we have a kid and timber floors and he’s not allowed to run and jump inside)
4. Do I need to suck it up and speak to the upstairs neighbours again?
5. Lastly, should I join the Strata Committee – building manager asked if I would. Large (100+) unit complex, 70% owner occupied. Would this be a lot of work??
Thank you.
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There are two issues here.
1. You are having problems with your upstairs neighbour and
2. You want the strata committee to fix it for you.
While there is a principle in NSW strata law that the Owners Corporation has a duty to enforce its by-laws (implicit in section 232.2) if you go down that road, you first have to have a fight with the SC and then expect them to come in on your side when you win and they lose.
The worrying thing in this is that an acoustic test can only reveal the potential transmission of sound and doesn’t take into account actual experienced behaviour which, as you are discovering, can be a huge part of the problem.
However, I would be asking the committee for a commitment to take action, should the sound insulation prove inadequate, to insist that it be remedied (carpet and underlay is the simplest solution).
Alternatively, if the acoustic insulation is within the parameters set in the by-law, to take action to moderate the behaviour of the residents.
Then you can get the acoustic test done, but only to establish where the fault truly lies. I’m not sure about the committee’s insistence on “loser pays”. The floor, slab and ceiling are common property and therefor their responsibility.
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I have recently had a similar (not children) issue with a unit we had in Brisbane.
Our building manager reluctantly agreed to a sound test, indicating all previous tests had resulted in success for the hard-floor owning owner and failure for the complainant. The OC had always paid for the tests $1500.
Invariably the tests passed at the required level for when the building was built but failed the more recent, and more strict, levels. And so it was with my case.
Interestingly, up until this point, about two years ago, the approval process required to lay down hard floors never appeared to be applied as, for the past 12 years of my ownership, I had never received notice of any application to do so.
About 18 months ago, as a result of changes to by-laws and the OC/Strata Manager placing more focus on the approvals process with floor-change, notices appear now every month or-so.
Also interestingly, the owner above me was able to provide a specifications sheet appearing to indicate that hard flooring had been part of the original fitout and so was judged under the less stringent requirements. Also, by-laws have been changed again to place responsibility for payment of noise testing onto the losing party in any subsequent dispute.
How does this all relate to the problem here?
1/ You can reasonably ask the above owner/tenant to place carpet/rugs down which will help the situation but if the resident is a tenant and not an owner then you will be going through this process every time there is a turn-over of tenant.
2/ Hind-sight. When purchasing any below-penthouse unit, and prior to final committment, ask to see all original and subsequent strata documentation relating to the unit above PLUS check all/any old sales photos of said unit, which in my case showed the hard flooring had been changed at some point with who-knows-what level of sound proofing and with not strata records to cover it.
How was my situation resolved?
After going through the mentioning, asking, pleading with subsequent tenants/new owners, building manager, strata manager and committee….we sold.
Problem solved.
I think you should have a noise diary to clearly identify how serious the noise issue is. Mostly to clearly identify duration, timing, intensity, type of noise etc. also how the specific noise level impacts on your quiet enjoyment ( reading , watching tv, conversations, working, resting , sleeping etc)
Refer to the link as a guide:
https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/report-issue/resolve-neighbourhood-noise-issues
You need to ask your OC for the specific behavioural changes you want from your upstairs neighbours. And ask if the members of the committee (chair/secretary) are willing to facilitate a conversation with your neighbour.
For a structural change of replacing hard flooring with carpet+underlay you have to be prepared to go to NCAT. So good records & noise diary is important.
if acoustic testing is a condition for flooring installation in your By-Laws ask for a copy of that report. Unreasonable for OC to say that you May have to pay for acoustic report- as apartment noise comes from a combination of poor design, structure or behaviours, and possible that it “passes” acoustic tests and is still unreasonable noise.
Join the committee to persuade others on it of your viewpoint.