Getting along with the neighbors can sometimes be…challenging. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll get to know the neighbors personally, and they might even become your friends, which leads to organizing events together in the neighborhood and having fun.
But if you don’t know your neighbors well, or you simply don’t get along, then living right next door to them can sometimes lead to some frustrating occasions.
One of the biggest and most common conflicts that arise amongst neighbors is music volume. If your neighbors are having a big party, but it’s a one in a lifetime sort of occasion…then sure, you can let them off.
You’ll have a bad night’s sleep, but as it is the only time it happens, you can’t really have a massive go at them. But neighbors that constantly play loud music on a regular basis?
Now that kind of neighbor, you can certainly complain about, and you can definitely start to take action so that it stops.
But how loud is too loud when it comes to neighbors’ music? One thing is you being annoyed because they’re playing music all day, and another is the music actually being way too loud so that you’re entitled to be annoyed and are allowed to take some legal action.
Do you know? It’s important to know where the line is, so you can call them out when they actually cross it.
The exact legal volume after which a neighbor’s music is considered too loud depends on each location. Every single city and area will have its own ordinance and set of specific rules.
These will include specific times within which loud music is accepted, and when not. As well as including a specific range of loudness (measured in dB), within which noise is acceptable, or against the law.
So the first thing you need to do is look up these loud noise regulations within your council website so that you can figure out what the range of loudness is, and what the acceptable times are.
For example, during the day noise will be far more accepted, while during the night a certain degree of silence and peace is required by law.
During the day, it is very hard to complain about a neighbor’s music, because most levels of music will be accepted and within the law. That is unless it is excessively loud and can lead to hearing damage.
However, as soon as it becomes nighttime, the rules change, and loud music is not allowed as it will be considered to be a disturbance in the peace of the neighborhood. As we said, each city will have its own regulations, but on average, loud music between 11 pm and 6 am can be complained about and stopped.
As for the average range of noise, the usual regulations tend to state that the neighbor will be in violation if the music is above 60dB. One of the most common ways to check whether you can complain about your neighbor’s music or not is to put on a vacuum cleaner.
If you can still hear the music, over the noise of your own vacuum cleaner, then the noise is almost certainly above 60 dB, and you are within your right to complain about it.
What can you do if the neighbor’s music is too loud?
If the neighbor is playing music really loud, and you have done the vacuum cleaner test and have determined that it is above 60 dB (which is the average limit for loud noise in a residential area), then the music is definitely too loud and you are in your right to do something about it.
But what can you do?
First of all, you need to check the regulations depending on the time of day. If this is occurring during the day, then it is likely that you won’t be able to do anything, and you will just have to put up with it until it becomes late and they (hopefully) stop.
However, if it is during the night, and you are within the window of time within which it is “illegal” to play loud noises, then you can report the violation.
When a noise violation is reported, usually by phoning the police, a few agents will come over to the address and they will measure the loudness with a decibel reader. If it is indeed above the limit, they will put a stop to the music, by warning the neighbors.
You might also be able to call a specific hotline for loud noise complaints, which you can look up on your local council’s official website.
So yeah, basically you notify the authorities, and the authorities make the neighbors put their music down, or turn it off. Then you can get back to the peace and quiet you deserve!
