Noise after hours from a commercial premises

hobie21

Hi,


I live above a restaurant. I have no problems with noise from it before 12pm. I know that they are trying to run a business. My problem is when they use it as their personal after hours party spot. They use it regularly from 12 until 5/6am as a drinking den for themselves (restaurant staff) and mates. The noise makes it impossible to sleep.



What is the best way to tackle this issue? Are there council regulations regarding improper use of a commercial premises. What should my next steps be? Any advice much appreciated.



Best Regards
Shane

MicktheMan

Try this mad idea:):
Call into the business during business hours and ask to speak with the manager. Introduce yourself & explain where you live, what the issue is and ask that the manager does what they can to address the issue.

hobie21

MicktheMan wrote: »

Try this mad idea:):
Call into the business during business hours and ask to speak with the manager. Introduce yourself & explain where you live, what the issue is and ask that the manager does what they can to address the issue.

Very sensible. I have done this for years. It would quieten down for a while but always start again.

hobie21

Also the manager is often the problem.

Goose76

take to their social media pages.

hobie21

Goose76 wrote: »

take to their social media pages.

Not feasible. Anything I could do legally. Surely drinking in a licenced premises after hours is breaking some laws.

Toots

Could you contact the owner, instead of the manager?

Car99

If they are making too much noise can you not call the Gardai

hobie21

Car99 wrote: »

If they are making too much noise can you not call the Gardai

The Gardai will call and just tell them to cut it out, that is if they show up at all.

Donutz

hobie21 wrote:

The Gardai will call and just tell them to cut it out, that is if they show up at all.

If they are drinking on a licenced premises after hours they are breaking the law. The gardai should be prosecuting.

VeryTerry

If they are unwilling to cooperate I would fight fire with fire. Blast music when they are open, stand outside and tell customers what they are at etc. They will soon stop.

Mrs OBumble

Donutz wrote: »

If they are drinking on a licenced premises after hours they are breaking the law. The gardai should be prosecuting.

If it's staff from other pubs etc, then the guards usually take a more realistic approach: they know that the people are winding down after work, and didn't get a chance to drink during the evening.

Talk to the owner or manager. Resign yourself to repeating the conversation every 2-3 months.

the_syco

Donutz wrote: »

If they are drinking on a licenced premises after hours they are breaking the law. The gardai should be prosecuting.

AFAIK; only if they are purchasing the alcohol.

cursai

the_syco wrote: »

AFAIK; only if they are purchasing the alcohol.

Correct. You can consume alcohol on the premises as long as none is being sold.

imp1

How long has the place been operating, can you find the planning permission on line, and check what conditions (if any) are attached, re noise.

eponymous cowherd

hobie21 wrote: »

What is the best way to tackle this issue? Are there council regulations regarding improper use of a commercial premises. What should my next steps be? Any advice much appreciated.

You can lodge a complaint under Section 108 of the Environmental Protection Agent Act.
irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1992/act/7/section/108/enacted/en/html

This will result in a court date before a Judge in the District Court, where you can argue your case. But a commercial entity will likely want to settle before the actual case.

You can file this yourself by going to your local District Court office (for example Four Courts building in Dublin City).
Cost is €80 to file and around another €25 to have a commissioner for oaths witness the form. You then serve a copy of the form to the business in question.

Recommendation:
* Keep a log of the disturbances e.g. dates/times/duration
* Sound recording if possible
* You can buy a cheap decibel meter from Amazon - this will measure the peak sound intensity

Background:
I had a similar problem. Commercial premises in a mixed use apartment block that was having noisy bins collection every night at midnight. Went to speak them politely and they fobbed me off.

Served them the notice and they were then magically able to change the collections to a more friendly time in under 2 weeks.
Finally struck the case out myself in the District court.

Donutz

cursai wrote:

Correct. You can consume alcohol on the premises as long as none is being sold.

I remember a case about 10 years ago where staff were drinking on the premises after hours. The pub was taking to court and fined. They were told that even though it was only the bar staff and no money was being taken, it was still against the law. Have tried to search for the story but can't find it. It was a long time ago so maybe the law has changed since then.

Gumbo

Make a complaint in writing to the Planning Enforcement Section of the Council.
They most likely have restrictions on opening hours as per their planning.

The noise, music and drinking, for all you know are customers.
Also talk to the Environmental Health section of the council.

CrankyHaus

Talk to the local Garda Sergeant. They usually deal with licensing matters in the area. These are generally taken seriously and a Garda is required to state "no objection" in businesses' applications in the licensing court (just a special sitting of the district Court).

Therefore businesses that depend on being able to serve drink to customers do not want to get on the wring side of the local Gardai. You can always explain this to the manager (or better yet owner) of the restaurant first and you'll probably get what you want.

frag420

Is any of your property above the front door of the restaurant?

If so then hang a giant white sheet out your window telling all customers that the restaurant regularly breaks the law by allowing drinking to continue to 6am and the noise is keeping you awake every night. The customers may not care but I bet the business will.

I know its petty but sometimes this is required...

AndrewJRenko

What's the story with pubs having speakers at an outdoor area? Is there any special licence or permit required for these?