AnnoyZneighbour
Sounds like the boys living in the apartment below us have invited 20 of their closest friends over for a video-game tournament. A glorious symphony of hollering, electronic gunshots, and explosions play for the next six hours.
Later, an important hockey game is on and the volume is cranked so loud the boys have to shout to be heard. By the end of the game, all twenty boys are sufficiently medicated.
We can’t imagine what they are doing, but it sounds like the demolition phase of a renovation. Except for those boys who have wandered outside and are shouting, chucking beer cans and urinating off the balcony.
Sleep isn’t friendly tonight. However, seven AM still comes early.
The two little girls who live in the apartment above us are practicing their gymnastics routines. Their Dad doesn’t like being woken up either. He yells at the children to be quiet. But Mom doesn’t quite approve.
Hence Mom and Dad’s argument, that eventually becomes heated. Screaming, stomping, slamming cupboard doors, punctuated with a slamming bedroom door.
We can hear the children crying.
Your knee-jerk reaction throughout is to pound on their doors and make it stop.
Never do that!
Never Let Your Noisy Neighbours Know It Was You!
Never approach your neighbours when they’re being noisy. While at first glance, this might seem cowardly, it’s not. You’re already angry, and this will only escalate during the confrontation.
Even if you’re able to remain calm, all subsequent complaints, whether or not they’re made by you, will be blamed on you. Criticizing your neighbours (even constructively and diplomatically) can cause at best, a cold relationship. Or at worst, you and your family to become the target of ongoing bullying. You’ll regret it for the length of time you continue to be neighbours.
Furthermore, you could be placing yourself in a dangerous situation. News articles have cited people beaten or even killed while trying to break up noisy parties.
You don’t know who these people are. You aren’t privy to their transgressions or past experiences. Even an educated psychologist can’t predict how people will react. Are they under duress? Stimulants? Don’t make yourself a target!
Unfortunately, short term, your best bet is to endure your neighbours’ noise … this time.
Isn’t it Neighbourly to Have a Friendly Chat First?
It’s true. Your neighbours may not know their noise is bothering you. They may not even realize you can hear them.
So should you forgo the anonymous noise complaint? Every blog, article or website I’ve read certainly advises to have a friendly chat with your noisy neighbours first.
I disagree … vehemently! Protecting yourself and your family is more important than being neighbourly.
Serving several years on strata council destroyed my belief that most folks are good at heart. Thinking your neighbours are rational human beings who actually care about your well being is a hit or miss assumption.
In fact, I became so appalled at how residents treated one another regarding noise pollution and noise complaints, I wrote these articles.
Use My Experience To Your Benefit
Upon receiving a noise complaint, the majority of the defendants reacted with these four steps:
- Being defensive. “We were only … blah, blah, blah.”
- The indignant attitude that no one had the right to tell them what to do.
- Demanding to meet their accusers. (The answer was always no.)
- Insults and threats. According to the defendant(s), anyone who preferred peace and quiet in their own home was an uptight, conservative prude who just needed an attitude adjustment.
The defendant(s) couldn’t care less about the inconvenience they caused their neighbours. More important was carrying on exactly as they pleased without having to edit themselves.
When people live in a manner that negatively affects their neighbours on a continuous basis, it’s a way of life. Bad habits are notoriously difficult to break. Your noisy neighbours will not change their habits unless prompted to do so through levied fines or a court-ordered eviction.
Be clever from the start. Take the precautions necessary to keep your identity secret. You have no idea how far this situation might escalate.
There’s no advantage for your noisy neighbours to know who they’re bothering, only what they’re doing to be bothersome. Your best bet is a well-written anonymous noise complaint. The next day, slip it under their door, or into their mailbox.
Where’s The Noise Is Coming From?
But before you deliver that anonymous noise complaint, verify the source. Be certain the noise is definitely coming from the suspected neighbours.
Noise pollution can:
- Travel great distances
- Spread in all directions
- Be distorted by trees and other landscaping
- Strike a surface, reflect, and bounce until its energy dissipates.
Furthermore, sound can transmit:
- Vertically,
- Horizontally, and
- Even diagonally.
- From outside the building through the openings around plumbing, electrical and ventilation systems.
- From inside the building through solid surfaces or via the framing that extends throughout the structure.
This makes it difficult to pin-point exactly where noise is coming from.
Get out of your home, go for a walk, and make absolutely sure you peg the correct apartment, townhouse, or house. Even listen at the door of the suspected suite to ensure that’s indeed where the noise is coming from. Due diligence is your biggest key to success.
If the noise is ridiculous, call the police (non-emergency number) every single time. That’s only a short-term solution. You’ll need something that will help over the long haul.
Write Your Noisy Neighbour an Anonymous Noise Complaint
Delivering an anonymous note is fair. You haven’t made a formal complaint. You may not have even contacted the police. You’re giving your neighbours the benefit of the doubt they don’t know anyone can hear them.
Something like this:
(Date)
Dear (suite #) Residents,
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the barriers separating the apartments are not soundproof. I can hear you when you’re just talking.
Yesterday, I arrived home at about 8pm and had to endure your shouting and howling until around 1am. I even watched a movie with my earphones on and could still hear you! It made for an annoying evening.
Please realize that Saturday and Sunday are not “the weekend” for everyone. I must wake up at 6:30am for work on both days.
There are approximately 20 drinking establishments within walking distance. Please make use of them during visits with your friends. iPods and ear-buds are great for listening to loud music.
I really don’t want to resort to writing to the Council as the fines are now $200 per incident. Furthermore, once the Council gets started on a specific resident, they tend to go a little crazy and I don’t wish this on anyone.
However, as per both the city bylaws and the strata bylaws, it is your responsibility to ensure your noise stays within your suite.
Please be more respectful.
Thank you,
Your neighbour
Consequently, upon receiving this information, if your neighbours:
- Did not realize that anyone could hear them and
- Care about the well being of the people living around them,
Then this anonymous noise complaint will do the trick!
However, downright selfish people will disregard your warning. And when they do, it’s time to contact the authorities.
Do You Have Individual Questions or Concerns?
Your best bet for help with strata issues is to join the Facebook page entitled, Strata Council: Theft, Bullying & Unauthorized Decisions.
The Facebook page has almost two thousand members, many who are helpful, knowledgeable, and incredible people. To ward off bullying, the page is set to “private” so only members can see the posts.
Click on the link above and answer all four questions. Moderators will add you to the page, and you can get help with your concerns. Thank you and good luck!
– Sylvia Lorianne Leong
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters. Copyright 2010.