It’s party time! And for apartment dwellers, that means a couple of months of getting to know your neighbours better or, in some cases, finding out which ones are selfish, stupid and rude. But if you think having someone in your building who makes a noise is a problem, how much worse is it if they’re in another building over which you have absolutely no control.QUESTION: What are the regulations in regard to residents of a neighbouring building using their roof top for loud parties from afternoon to the early hours of the morning, disturbing residents in surrounding buildings? The offending building is lower than two very close buildings, with noise from their parties going straight into three floors of bedrooms and living rooms in ours.Can they get away with this? Can residents in other buildings take action to stop the use of a roof top for social occasions?
Over it, Potts Point
ANSWER: They obviously don’t come under your strata by-laws but under normal circumstances, whether a persistently noisy neighbour is in strata or not, you can go to your local magistrates court and ask for a noise abatement order against them.
In your case, it’s hard to know which resident is the culprit. Get legal advice first, but the roof will almost certainly be common property so it could be the owners corporation of the building that you go after.
Signed complaints from tenants and owners in both adversely affected buildings, video recordings of the bad behaviour and copies of letters of complaints to the OC of the neighbouring building, will all help when it comes to presenting your case.
Once you get a noise abatement order, it becomes a criminal rather than a civil matter if they breach it. If the magistrates court allows it, it will then be up to the owners of the offending building to make sure that their residents are not annoying the residents of your building (presumably by restricting access to the roof).
There is also State law that forbids the playing of musical equipment after midnight (about to be reduced to 10pm) so loudly that it can be heard in any adjacent home. If that is happening you can call the police.