Love thy neighbour - Fact or fiction?

One of the various joys of homeownership is not only having good neighbours but being one yourself. Especially considering just how common it is to have rows with the people you share your property borders with.  

Disputes between neighbours can be over just about anything, but one of the most common irritants is having to share the same environment with loud, inconsiderate, and noisy people. The last thing you want to deal with is drawn out legal disputes over belligerence so understanding the various rules surrounding local noise levels will put you in the right nine times out of ten.

The Passive Approach: Dealing with noisy neighbours 

From screaming children and loud parties to properties with incessant barking dogs, it's difficult to love our neighbours and be a good one ourselves. The best possible course of action is to remain calm, civil, and straightforward. Nobody likes having to hear someone complain to them but it's very difficult to get annoyed with people who are polite and respectful.

Incessant Barking Dogs

Most of the time your neighbours do not know that their dogs bark non-stop when they are not at home. Sometimes, even when they are home they can not hear the noise due to being on the other side of the house or having music or the tv on too loud. Being polite and cordial when addressing the issue with them is the only way forward. 

Communication Breakdown

Try approaching your neighbours after the fact and avoid the obvious conflict that arises from trying to address noise in the heat of the moment. People, in general, do not respond well to aggression and may act to simply spite you. Be sure to also keep all engagements face to face, outside the home, and avoid the seemingly passive-aggressive tone of leaving messages under the postbox or texts. If they refuse to chat with you, a politely worded legal letter probably won't do you much good anyway, the last step before a protracted legal battle is to appoint a mediator to help settle the issue. Mediators uphold the civil line of discourse and act as a witness to aid you when there is no other alternative. A penalty of R20,000 or jail time to up to two years awaits anyone on the losing side of a legal case of this nature.

Private, public, and zoning noise rules 

According to the Environmental Conservation Act, 73 of 1989, the particulars of noise rules are based on zoning. Any source of sound that exceeds that level for over ten minutes is liable for fines and legal action. This also includes time zones demarcated for the week and weekend. Whereby a stricter noise limit is imposed from 00:00 to 06:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 22:00 to 06:00 from Sunday to Thursday.

Private property noise rules are somewhat different. Although governed by the same national laws, they may set additional rules based on their location, tenants, or governing body. A private homeowner in a suburban area has little regulation to worry about outside public laws and the tolerance level of their neighbours, however, if you live near churches you are by law required to keep the noise levels low.

Things become more complicated when living in a complex or an apartment. Estates or properties zoned for multiple tenants are governed by a body corporate which utilises the Homeowner's Association Rules as a guideline. In these zones, homeowners and tenants are obliged to follow the code of conduct set out for occupancy as stated by the body corporate.

Legal rights

In South Africa, the law makes a clear distinction between "noise nuisance" and "noise disturbance". The latter being an objectively measurable level of disturbance such as rowdy parties and can be solved by simple police call. Whereas the former refers to disturbances that affect the level of peace and neighbourhood civility such as the barking dog issue and requires a defter touch.

Be sure to keep these legal concerns in mind when confronting noise issues and beware of crossing beyond the realms of what is an acceptable response. The last thing you want is an escalating neighbourhood feud propelled by constant attempts to get back at each other.

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