Nasty noisy neighbour causing issues

[LynnLynn]

Hi all,
This is my first post on the forum. I am not feeling well mentally recently, and I just want to share this story and see if I can get some advice from you.

I live in a townhouse block and have been tolerating late night noises from my neighbours next door for almost a year. Most of them work in a takeaway restaurant and finish work after midnight. They love to use a subwoofer/ speaker with bass effect after midnight, and often the noises persist throughout the night until the morning.
The noises have impacted my sleep significantly. I have purchased sound-absorbing curtains and used earplugs in the night, but neither would block the vibration and bass effect sounds.
I have tried many ways to communicate with them, send them a txt message; put a note in the mailbox; write a letter to them. Nothing resolved the issues. I have tried to communicate with them again recently, face to face. The conversation did not go well. They said I am the problem been complaint too much and said they put back the bass effect on and play music deliberately after midnight because I complained to their real estate agent and the police.
When I made the complaint to the real estate agent, I made a dairy/ spreadsheet that documented all incidents that happened and attached with videos/ recordings as evidence. The real estate agent didn't care much about this, kept saying they will talk to the tenants, but nothing changed. The agent asked me to get information from other neighbours/ close by residents this is affecting. However, my neighbours are the first lot in this townhouse block and I am the second. I am the only one who shares the same wall with them. I've been given the runaround.
Now I constantly worry about hearing the noises again and feel difficult to fall asleep every night. I also feel a bit of self-doubt about maybe I shouldn't be obsessive about the noises and shouldn't make complaints. I also worry that they may do something more outrageous if I continue to make complaints when noises occur in unreasonable hours. just feel sad and unfair about all this...

Any suggestions on what should I do next?

Thanks.

[jemma09]

Hi LynnLynn

I am so glad you reached out here, it is a super supportive place and I hope you find some comfort from being part of this forum.

Feeling constantly worried can be so exhausting and I am sorry it's impacting your daily life and sleep. I think it is completely okay to feel what is happening is unfair and sad - from what I read of your post.

I know from my personal experience that I'll share - In my council area, there are rules on what it okay and not okay for residents to be doing. Such as: rules about times music and parties can occur (and these times are different on weekdays and weekends for example). I can speak from a personal experience, I had neighbours that had very disruptive barking that would disturb my family's daily life and sleep. We kept a diary and then approached neighbours with a polite letter. We allowed time for them to try to train their dogs but it unfortunately wasn't corrected. I checked my rights on my local council website and I contacted my council for advice. I ended up making a complaint. Since then all has been well. I understand feeling that worry, I went through the same and wondered if I had done the right thing or if it would cause more problems.

It appears that you took your steps gently first then working your way up to allow your neighbours time to understand and be aware. If they were to do something outrageous now and you feel concerned for your safety - you can feel free to call the police. That is what they are there for. And if contact with your neighbours is strained, perhaps you can communicate through the real estate agent or a representative only?

For further information you can check your local council website. You can also check your rights/responsibilities and your neighbour's rights/responsibilities with the real estate agent and also on websites such as REIWA or your state's relevant government website (like Department of Commerce, Housing or Tenancy etc). And you can always meet with a representative like an attorney if you need to as they can also have straightforward advice and can give information on rights and laws. These are just some personal ideas, I am definitely not an expert - hence why I suggested these other avenues to find lawful and correct advice 🙂

I hope you feel better soon and take care! All the best!

- Jemma

[Myer]

Hi LynnLynn

Sorry to hear your story.

We had the same problem last year. The noise was almost whole day everyday, sometimes it was up to 3am in the morning for more than a month. We tried everything as what you have done and things got worse. We knocked their door and kindly told them to lower the noise in the night. The neighbour complained us to strata management that we disturbed their life as we knocked their door. We finally had to call police. Police came and spoke to them. Things got a lot better. The noise did not totally stop, but better than before.

Please try to call police. It would be good if you can record the noise before you call police. Hope my advice can help you.

[LynnLynn]

Hi Jemma,

Thank you for your post. I have contacted the local council, and the council will send an officer to investigate the noise incidents. It is just hard to get things moving forward due to the holiday season.

I kept telling myself to be patient and stay positive. I definitely feel better after reading your post. Thanks for all your advice.

LynnLynn

[LynnLynn]

Hi Myer,

Thanks for your post. I have tried the police before, and the police have spoken with my neighbours. Unfortunately, the police cannot issue any fines or warnings if they stop the noises when the police have arrived. My neighbours literally told me, they don't care about the police appearance as there will be no punishment issued, aka the police don't care (I disagree...). It is not pleasant at all to deal with people with such attitudes. I am now trying an alternative way with the local council, hope things will get better.

Thanks for your advice.

LynnLynn

[duchess_of_meh]

Get their address and run it through google. If they are renters, you can contact the real estate as well as any information you have about the police visits. You might have to ring the police to get a reference number. Because I have had to do this with my neighbours for loud and stupid things they have done. You can also put letters in peoples letter boxes letting them know your having drama's. For some reason over the years, we have found Australian's will not reach out and they will just deal with it thinking it is just them enduring it.