10pm noise law

queenm

I know this has been discussed many times before but I can't find a definitive answer to my question so:

Can someone direct me to the actual legislation which states it's ok to play loud obnoxious noise ( I can't call it music) that disturbs all manner of man, woman and child in a nearby radius up until 10 oc at night? I can find loads of mentions of this "law" but no actual proof or links to the statute book.

Usual story, noisey and rude neighbours who when asked to turn down music (note: we asked only for them to turn it down, not even off!) say they don't have to until after 10pm.

Any help greatly appreciated.

raymon

Basically you are powerless - The Green Party proposed a bill in 2006 and again in 2009 however I havent seen any laws changed .
What a useless waste of space John Gormley is !!

The only action you can take is to ask your neighbours to stop .

not even wrong

There appears to be no specific cutoff time, as far as I can see you can complain about excessive noise occurring at any time of day if it's enough to disturb or cause annoyance:

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1992/en/act/pub/0007/sec0108.html#zza7y1992s108

Since you've already done the "ask them nicely to turn it down" thing, your next step would be to contact their landlord (if they're renting) or management company (if it's an apartment). If their landlord isn't interested you can make a complaint to the PRTB.

The last resort is to bring them to court.

A good thing to start doing would be to keep a log of all disturbances and maybe invest in a decibel meter/tape recorder. Also find out if other neighbours are beign disturbed as well.

queenm

I actually recorded some of it on my phone recently! Are you saying that this 10pm thing doesn't exist so? Where are they all getting this information from??

not even wrong

queenm wrote: »

I actually recorded some of it on my phone recently! Are you saying that this 10pm thing doesn't exist so? Where are they all getting this information from??

A lot of leases will include a "no noise after 10pm" clause. However that doesn't give an entitlement to make unlimited quantities of noise during the day.

queenm

So that's where the 10pm thing is coming from??!! Their lease from the landlord? Well that makes it a bit easier - off the the PRTB with me and if they aren't registered I'll start by reporting that fact!! Thank you, that actually helps!

ztoical

queenm wrote: »

I actually recorded some of it on my phone recently! Are you saying that this 10pm thing doesn't exist so? Where are they all getting this information from??

Yes the 10pm thing does not exist. The law concerning noise regulation in Ireland is (Section 108) of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 and the Environmental Protection Agency Act (Noise) Regulations 1994 (SI No. 179 of 1994). The law states that you can bring someone to court over noise issues IF it is continuous, repeated, loud and occurring at such times and of such duration that it affects the quality of life of the person There is no level stated for how loud a noise needs to be only that if it is effecting your quality of life. You need to speak with who ever is making the noise and try and resolve the issue yourselves. If that fails you can then approach the council/local authority.

Most apartment buildings have rules that state no loud nose after certain times [it's usually 11 not 10] which may be were people are getting the no noise after X time thing from.

seamus

11pm - 7am is usually the time that it's generally accepted as being "quiet time".

I imagine the basis comes from various court rulings, judgements, or county council rules in regards to carrying out roadworks. The rules of the road used to state that you should not use your horn between 11pm and 7am, so people probably adopted this to suit all forms of noise.

As regards the OP, the law usually doesn't tell you what is legal, it usually tells you what's not legal. So therefore you will not find a law which says it is legal to play music loudly during the day. In general, unless you can find a law which says that something is illegal, then it is usually perfectly legal.

In this case, there is nothing illegal about playing music loudly in public. As pointed out above though there are laws in relation to noise pollution which aversely affects the quality of life of other people, regardless of the time of day.

House rules and lease rules are separate matters entirely and have nothing to do with the law.

BC

The gardai usually won't deal with this either they will tell you to contact your local authority.

320d

I believe that any industrial site must keep the noise below 45dB at night time (10pm - 8am) - not sure if this is any help!:)

athtrasna

Our leases (contract signed at "purchase") say 10pm...any breach of this is a breach of contract the "owner" signed at purchase...and it's up to the owner to enforce the 10pm time if they choose to rent the unit out.