What to do with noisy neighbours?

CrystalLettuce · 14-05-2011 3:59am #1

Around once or week or so, the nextdoors neighbours play music so loudly it audibly distorts. They do not answer their door when knocked on during these parties, probably because they can't hear anything. The sound goes through the whole house and I imagine can be heard for some distance.

This just isn't sustainable. There are many times when I have to be up early at weekends to catch a train up to dublin. Noise can destroy the quality of someone's life completley yet me have no laws against it, it is a disgrace.

Upstairs in the house are bad too, regular banging most friday/saturdays, sounds like they're playing football up there. Incredibly, loud, bassy bangs, absolutely impossible to sleep, and of course goes on until 6 in the morning.

Shield · 14-05-2011 4:14am

Depending on where you are, have you made a noise complaint with your local council? Keep a dairy of events, contact Citizen's Advice, and they should be able to point you in the right direction for how things work in your area.

ztoical · 14-05-2011 10:46am

CrystalLettuce wrote: »

Noise can destroy the quality of someone's life completley yet me have no laws against it, it is a disgrace.

Eh? There are laws against noise pollution, you need to speak to your local authority.

CrystalLettuce · 14-05-2011 2:07pm

I was told to contact the council when I rang the guards, but I couldn't find where on the Cork County Council website to do so. ALl the other county councils seemed to have a section...

ztoical · 14-05-2011 4:37pm

CrystalLettuce wrote: »

I was told to contact the council when I rang the guards, but I couldn't find where on the Cork County Council website to do so. ALl the other county councils seemed to have a section...

Google is your friend

Atlantic Dawn · 15-05-2011 10:47am

What you need to do is wait until the music has stopped for 1 hour and then you turn on your music as loud as they had it, this will resolve the problem quickly.

CrystalLettuce · 15-05-2011 1:41pm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

What you need to do is wait until the music has stopped for 1 hour and then you turn on your music as loud as they had it, this will resolve the problem quickly.

I don't have anything that can produce the same volume they can, at that distance.

CrystalLettuce · 04-06-2011 4:30am

They're doing it again. Who do I contact about this? When I rang the Gards they said the "council" but that's very vague. Where do I go to in specific with noise complaints? This is seriously eating into my quality of life. It is impossible to sleep while they are making noise.

not even wrong · 04-06-2011 7:16am

CrystalLettuce wrote: »

They're doing it again. Who do I contact about this? When I rang the Gards they said the "council" but that's very vague. Where do I go to in specific with noise complaints?

http://www.dublincity.ie/WaterWasteEnvironment/AirQualityMonitoringandNoiseControl/NoisePollution/Pages/NoisyNeighbourComplaint.aspx

Basically you can either take a case against them in the District Court or go via the PRTB if they're renting, the second option is likely to be easier.

CrystalLettuce · 04-06-2011 7:50pm

I'm in Cork, not Dublin...

ABajaninCork · 04-06-2011 11:16pm

Isn't it Environmental Health that deals with this?

I'd call the City Council main switch on Monday am, and ask to be put through to the relevant department. Have you been keeping a diary of events??

AceHi · 04-06-2011 11:22pm

Did you try waiting till the music is down so they can hear you and have a word? They might appreciate it if you try talk directly with them before getting the guards etc involved. We don't want them to try wind you up even more with it!

CrystalLettuce · 05-06-2011 1:04am

AceHi wrote: »

Did you try waiting till the music is down so they can hear you and have a word? They might appreciate it if you try talk directly with them before getting the guards etc involved. We don't want them to try wind you up even more with it!

One of them came out, asked them to turn it down, ignored me. They know full well what they're doing.

CrystalLettuce · 25-06-2011 3:43am

Still no idea what to do

Lyn256 · 25-06-2011 5:43am

Have a suggestion for you that worked for us in a previous house-do you have a drill??
Get yourself a drill and if you can get your hands on a large building block-at 8am set the block up against a wall that joins the house with noise and start drilling-the noise will almost shake the house and will make a point to your neighbours about noise

We did it in a previous house when the teenage kids threw parties when parents went away-parties stopped immediately

Aprilmay · 25-06-2011 3:32pm

Lyn256 wrote: »

Have a suggestion for you that worked for us in a previous house-do you have a drill??
Get yourself a drill and if you can get your hands on a large building block-at 8am set the block up against a wall that joins the house with noise and start drilling-the noise will almost shake the house and will make a point to your neighbours about noise

We did it in a previous house when the teenage kids threw parties when parents went away-parties stopped immediately

This will work (the drill) Or- my brother had a similar problem with his neighbours so the next day when they were recovering he allowed his daughter to cycle her bike around and around the ajoining bedroom (they had wooden floors ) and ring the bell on the bike , they also got the others kids from the road in the house and as much noise as possible.Ever try nursing a hangover with screaming kids????:D

CrystalLettuce · 25-06-2011 9:55pm

The problem is other people will be affected by it - if the people upstairs are kept up all night by it and they're woken up 3 hours later, they're going to be pretty ****ed. It's also unlikely I'd be physically able to get out of bed after being forcibly kept awake so long.

someuser905 · 26-06-2011 1:05pm

Looks like you have lost the war then :rolleyes:

The council or prtb will be slow and ineffective - but do it anyway

You need to buy speakers and leave them on when you go to work. Yes, there will be collateral damage, but it'll only be short term until they get the message

Also, i love the drill idea

Graces7 · 27-06-2011 8:49am

There is an organisation called EPA, as in Environmental Protection Agency.. online. We had great help from them over a serious noise issue. They cannot act, BUT they will contact the local council and force them to respond and investigate.

I know; the site looks as if it will not take noise in to account, but just email them. We were getting nowhere with a noise issue and the council were playing dumb; when they had a mail from EPA they arrived fast and investigated and got it stopped. And they will advise you what you can do.

This noise is illegal of course. But they will think that no one will bothe or has the power to do anything; they are wrong of course!

Try the EPA, please. (Poor connection so cannot get the site up)

snickerpuss · 27-06-2011 5:25pm

Aprilmay wrote: »

This will work (the drill) Or- my brother had a similar problem with his neighbours so the next day when they were recovering he allowed his daughter to cycle her bike around and around the ajoining bedroom (they had wooden floors ) and ring the bell on the bike , they also got the others kids from the road in the house and as much noise as possible.Ever try nursing a hangover with screaming kids????:D

Can I just say that I hate this kind of thinking? When I've been kept up half the night because some inconsiderate person is playing music too loudly I do not want some other inconsiderate neighbour thinking that the solution is to start blasting crap music/drilling at them in revenge the following morning.

Great! Now I can't even catch up on the sleep I've lost and as far as I'm concerned you're just punishing everyone else who lives there who was also affected by the music. Both are as inconsiderate as the other. Argh! :mad:

Ray Palmer · 27-06-2011 5:26pm

Graces7 wrote: »

This noise is illegal of course.

This is not true. People like to assume legislation makes something an illegal act but it doesn't.

If you are going to make a complaint make sure you can prove you have tried to discuss the matter with the neighbours first. A registered leter will sufice. That way you won't seem like a crank to whoever you go to first.

I PRTB will be a great help if the place is rented but if not you need to deal with this through the right agency. Bare in mind if they own the place you will see them for a along time.

Aprilmay · 27-06-2011 5:51pm

snickerpuss wrote: »

Can I just say that I hate this kind of thinking? When I've been kept up half the night because some inconsiderate person is playing music too loudly I do not want some other inconsiderate neighbour thinking that the solution is to start blasting crap music/drilling at them in revenge the following morning.

Great! Now I can't even catch up on the sleep I've lost and as far as I'm concerned you're just punishing everyone else who lives there who was also affected by the music. Both are as inconsiderate as the other. Argh! :mad:

In fairness my brother exhausted every avenue with this person in question and I know some of the other neighbours did too- but it did give him something to think about.And they didn't live in a apartment block either it was a quiet cul de sac where most of the people had small children -the guy in question was one of these that drove at high speed into the area with music blaring and vibrating from the car and had parties a couple of times a week.So you see the noisy kids playing in the house the next morning only affected him and his party goers

CrystalLettuce · 02-10-2011 4:13am

This is still happen... contacted council, no help at all, couldn't refer me to the right people

ABajaninCork · 02-10-2011 10:44am

CrystalLettuce wrote: »

This is still happen... contacted council, no help at all, couldn't refer me to the right people

Who did you speak to at the council? Surely this is down to Environmental Health and they should deal. Try the EPA as well like Grace7 said.

Don't give up - keep at them.

fun247 · 02-10-2011 11:04am

CrystalLettuce,

You've already been given the correct advice by a previous poster, but here goes again....
1) if the property is rented you should contact the PRTB who will be able to advise you on pursuing the matter under the residential tenancies act
2) If the property is not rented you should contact your local council who may be in a position to deal with it. Many councils do not deal with neighbour noise issues, if that is the case, then...
3) you should pursue the matter yourself to the district court under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. Contact the courts office directly for more advice on forms to fill in etc.

There is no need to create a noise nuisance to resolve a noise nuisance or you may also find yourself in court... :rolleyes:

zyndacyclone · 02-10-2011 11:34am

Here's a link to the 1992 EPA act (Sect. 4, clearly lists noise):
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1992/en/act/pub/0007/index.html

The Citizen's Information Center has a clear explanation of types of noise covered by the act and how to take the matter to district court (and yes, it covers all of Ireland):
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/noise_regulations.html

The maximum penalties are E3000 and/or 12 months in prison.

Your neighbors might also find it fun reading

04-10-2011 4:56pm

I don't know about settling for the gardaí just ignoring it. I had a similar problem for a long time and after asking the neighbours a few times to stop, I went to the landlord directly and he sorted them out once or twice but wasn't willing to lose the tenants over it.

I simply started calling the gardaí- loud music late at night is anti-social behaviour and they are obliged to deal with it. If the guard at the desk is unco-operative ask them to make a note that you registered a complaint at the time and ask for their name. To be fair to my local guards, I never had to do this, they were happy to send a car round and have a word. this happened twice and the landlord served notice.

I'd also point out that the local authority may well seek independent confirmation of noise complaints if you go to them- a log kept by yourself is fine but anyone can write that up in an afternoon. Having worked in housing myself, a register of complaints to the gardaí is always better in a situation like this- that's why I'd be sure to ask them to register your calls/complaints even if they can't spare anyone at the time.

hope it gets sorted. My quality of life has improved 100% since we got the animals we had next door moved on.

What to do with noisy neighbours?

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