If neighbors listen to music loudly day and night, what to do according to the law in 2021 and what constitutes a violation of law and order - these questions concern people in apartment buildings not only during self-isolation. How to hold neighbors accountable, what documents need to be collected, how to determine the noise threshold of loud music - you need to know all this in order to act in accordance with the law.
Playing a musical instrument
What the law says
The legislation provides for certain standards that all citizens, without exception, must comply with, regardless of where they live, in a private house or in an apartment building.
These norms can be studied by reading Federal Law No. 52, which is called “On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population.” This law mentions acceptable noise standards both within and outside the city limits. The law also contains sanitary standards that describe the permissible sound level inside and outside residential premises.
ATTENTION !!! The standard noise level outside residential premises at any time of the day is 60 dB. From 23:00 to 07:00 in the morning, noise inside a residential building should not exceed 30-45 dB. From 07:00 in the morning to 23:00 in the evening, noise levels of no more than 55 dB are allowed.
In some regions, the permissible noise standards may be slightly changed, but they should not completely contradict established legal acts. This suggests that noise, including music, is only acceptable if it does not cause too much disturbance to people and does not affect their functional behavior.
Club of Defenders of Silence
I lived in apartment hell for five long years, my neighbor was a driller and did repairs all these years at any time, there was a lot of struggle, with or without results, courts, fights, the police. As a result, I developed a phobia from sudden sounds, irritation to sounds. The most ironic thing is that from birth I have an excellent ear for music, I study music, and this turned out to be my curse. In general, I sold everything and bought a house in the Perm region.
After the move, at first everything was fine, I began to live normally, I couldn’t even believe it. There were neighbors only on one side across the road, they did not cause any discomfort. On the other three sides there were fields - beautiful! Moreover, the house is almost in the center of the village. But the joy of silence did not last long. Gradually, construction began on each of the three sides.
1) Construction sites, pounding.
Noise using the example of building a log house:
- The foundation is poured, a Kamaz truck arrives, there are corresponding vibrations in my house, then it all dries (a week or two of silence).
- Then they bring the timber and start throwing it with loud noises (usually on weekends).
- Then the house is assembled. The dowels are driven in (the sound of a hammer), and in parallel the timber is cut with a chainsaw (very loud).
- Assembling the roof. Everything is on nails, and not on corners and screws, and a terrible pounding begins for several days. Then the metal tiles are also mounted on nails (very strange, mine was done on self-tapping screws) - again and again using only metal hammers.
- The house is ready. But no! The caulking begins, the knocking is dull, but annoying, if done by one person, then for several days. Caulking can be done every year, because birds drag this flax constantly.
So one house was built on one side. After which they began to build with the second and third. And also timber. I think God hates me.
2) Dogs.
What is a private home without a dog! Personally, I have a German shepherd, but I worked with him, and he was raised in such a way that he will not yell at every passerby, but will simply bite the ass of someone who climbs over my fence without knowing it. But other people in the village have a different logic: get a dog, make an enclosure for it and feed it, that’s it. Those. no matter how you don’t need to deal with her. As a result, we get a mongrel that yells at EVERYTHING that moves, even the wind, airplanes, thunder and sparrows, not to mention passers-by and cars. Now try to sleep when such a creature lives under the window.
Another noise is stray dogs. More precisely, dogs let out by their owners for a walk. A Caucasian man was running once, a huge Great Dane (I remember the picture “don’t be afraid, he’s just playing”). The neighbor's grandmother got into the habit of feeding them. So the mongrel comes and yells at grandma’s window, saying, grandma, feed me, usually at night. When they bite some neighbor's child, a woman's revolt begins, and for a while there are fewer stray dogs. But after a while, everything starts again.
3) Music.
Neighbors can play music loudly all day long, weekdays and weekends. Remember the city morons who put speakers out the window in the 90s? This is the norm here. No soundproofing will help, the noise comes through the windows. Now imagine that it’s summer, it’s hot, it’s a day off, you want to open the window and ventilate the room - you open it, and there’s a disco there.
4) Pure summer noise.
Summer in the village is not a vacation (although almost no one gardens). It's BUILDING time! Everyone definitely needs to build another barn and a third bathhouse on the property! Nobody knows the word “screws”, only nails, a hammer and a chainsaw - only hardcore!
Has the grass grown in your garden? Everyone is fashionable - they all have petrol trimmers (braids). Who knows, it works much more annoying than a chainsaw. It happens that everyone starts mowing at the same time on Sunday morning.
It so happens that the road near my house (dirt, clay and gravel) is the best of all parallel roads. Naturally, everyone drives along it. The vibrations on the bed in the morning are indescribable! Although a ditch 40cm deep was dug parallel to the road and under the legs of the bed there are 3 layers of different anti-vibration pads. The noise from the trucks is appropriate.
Motoblocks. As everyone knows, they are used to make vehicles in the village. Attach the cart and hit the road! Summer is the season for walk-behind tractors. If you don't have a walk-behind tractor, you're a loser. Now imagine that 3 simultaneously operating chainsaws drive past your windows every half hour - this is a walk-behind tractor.
5) Firewood.
In the village they don’t know what gas or electricity is, no one cares about the environment. Everyone needs firewood (I remember the “need more gold!” meme). But sawn birch (and any) firewood is expensive. Therefore, everyone orders unsawn slabs (offcuts from making boards), and sawing with a chainsaw begins within a week, usually in the morning on weekends. If they order not croakers, but thick fir trees, the sawing is increased for a week.
6) God hates me.
Of course, I approached anyone I could and calmly asked, but the logic doesn’t help: “I’ve lived here all my life and do what I want.” One was punished in court for playing music at night, and for disturbing a couple of other neighbors. So after that he began to twist it for days. Others have relatives in the administration. I understand that you can complain here and there. But in the village everyone knows each other, so if you become an enemy, it’s better to move out immediately. But life goes on, you have to adapt, and again there are earplugs, and again headphones, and again the background TV. Sleep only with sleeping pills. There are plans to do full soundproofing and install good windows, but this is very expensive, it’s easier to sell and move.
7) Advantages of a private house.
What would it be like without them? For me, not a fan of noise, my favorite time of year now is winter. In winter, snow falls and you don’t feel or hear the vibration of cars because of the snowdrifts. In winter, no one builds or mows anything, so there is at least some silence. There are no neighbors on the site who smoke, there are no neighbors behind the wall, there are no housing and communal services, you are responsible for everything in the house yourself. Someone may remember about “clean air”, forget it, there is none here, everyone heats with wood and washes in bathhouses, the ecology is terrible.
Therefore, before choosing a private house, look at where it is located and whether the neighbors have already been built. Ideally, you need to take many acres of land, and the house in the middle.
We listen to lawyers and fight offenders in our dachas
If your dacha neighbor is too rowdy and disturbs other residents with his loud music, then it is best to call the police. This is what lawyers advise to do. The whole point is that you can measure the dB level, for example, with a program on your phone (which, of course, must be installed first), but, alas, the result of such an examination will not be considered by the court.
Calling representatives of order to the troublemaker is the only right decision. As a rule, upon arrival, the police issue a fine to the violator. Its size directly depends on whether the violator has previously been brought to justice for violating the order.
In practice, when the police arrive, and this happens for the first time, that is, the neighbor in the country house behaved normally before, then the representatives of the law may not issue a fine, but issue the first warning. If the offender, after receiving a “reprimand,” turned on loud music and thereby disturbed the peace of the neighbors, upon arrival the police will issue him a fine of up to 500 rubles. If the neighbor breaks the law for the third time, then the sanctions will be much higher - from 500 to 1000 rubles.
ATTENTION !!! If the fine did not have any effect on the neighbor, or upon the arrival of the police it turned out that he was under the influence of alcohol (drugs), then representatives of the order have the right to bring him to justice under other articles, including criminal ones.
Lawyers do not advise filing a lawsuit against a neighbor in the country who listens to loud music, since this will not bring any benefit to the applicant. On the contrary, the plaintiff will spend more money on going to court and considering the case.
How to try to negotiate peacefully with your neighbors
You can also try to start not by calling the local police officer, but by visiting your neighbors. They probably assume there are no other people nearby or are too busy adjusting the volume. Then a calm approach will help. If your neighbor is sober and your relationship was normal before, there is a chance of solving the problem the first time.
You can try to find an approach to your neighbors. For example, ask for housework - ask for a garden or household tool, demonstrate your goodwill in establishing friendly relations.
It often happens that just contacting your neighbors is not enough. You can go again, but talk in a different way. Without being rude, but persistently warn the silence breakers that if the music is not turned down, you will call the police. Remind them of the time of day and emphasize that noise during these hours will result in a fine.
If your words are ignored in this case, you can take decisive measures quite justifiably. You tried to resolve the conflict peacefully.
How to solve the problem of “loud music” in SNT
You can deal with a “problematic” neighbor in your dacha who constantly listens to loud music with the help of the SNT board, that is, organize a general meeting.
As a rule, members of gardening partnerships respect each other’s interests and, even during important celebrations, observe a regime of silence, that is, turn off the music at 23:00.
If one of the neighbors does not want to comply with the norms prescribed by law, then upon receiving a complaint against him, the chairman of the board of SNT and its members go to the troublemaker and, if possible, try to urge him to maintain order. As a rule, it is after the general “impact” on the offender that loud music no longer causes disturbance to the members of the partnership.
How to write a statement to the police
To bring to justice those responsible for disturbing your peaceful sleep, you can use a sample application for noisy neighbors to the district police officer:
To the head of the police department of the _______________ district of the city _______________, residents of house No. ________, entrance No. ____________, st. ____________,
Full name of residents, apartment numbers.
STATEMENT
We ask you to take responsible measures against the tenant(s) living in the apartment. No.____ apartment building No._______, entrance No._____, st.______, ________. For a long time (indicate how long) the specified tenant disturbs the peace of citizens at night: he deliberately carries out repair work (explodes firecrackers, listens to music, that is, indicate the fact, exactly how the peace was disturbed), be sure to reflect the time. The tenant does not respond to repeated attempts to convince him to stop his actions, continuing to violate the right to rest of all residents of the entrance (house). On criminal liability for knowingly false denunciation under Art. 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation warned (signatures of all applicants).
Signatures of all residents ____________ ____________ Date Attachment: photos, video material on electronic media, printouts of conversation fragments.
Loud music during the day, what lawyers advise
If your neighbor in the country listens to loud music during the day and not at night, what should you do then? The majority of Russian residents are confident that during the daytime they have the right to do whatever they want and nothing will happen to them for it. It's a delusion. It should be remembered that there are small children, sick people and pensioners who need to rest during the daytime. The legislation provides for the so-called law “On Silence”. It states that from 13:00 to 15:00 every day it is prohibited to make noise. This legislative act was created specifically in order to protect the interests of a certain category of citizens and thereby provide them with peace at certain times of the day.
What do lawyers advise you to do if your dacha neighbor turned on loud music exactly at the time specified in the law “On Silence”? The first thing you need to do is try to talk to him and explain the situation, why they are contacting him. For example, the neighbors have a small child, and the neighbor in the countryside does not allow him to sleep during the day because of listening to loud music. As practice shows, most people still respect the interests of their neighbors, and after a conversation, music no longer causes inconvenience.
IMPORTANT !!! If the neighbor did not cooperate and continued listening to music, then you should call the police. Upon arrival, they will have a conversation with the offender, and if a complaint has been made against him for the first time, he will not even receive a fine. If complaints are received repeatedly, then penalties will apply.
You should be aware that by the time the police arrive at the scene, the offender may already turn off the music, and then the law enforcement officials will not be able to draw up a report. Lawyers advise that it is best to contact the local police officer, and it is even better to write a collective appeal.
Summarizing
If a person listens to music very loudly, no matter at night or during the day, and does not respond to requests to turn the volume down, this issue needs to be resolved by legal means. Don't forget that the silence law applies not only to city residents, but also to the private sector.
Everyone needs to get enough sleep regularly, and neighbors are obligated to respect this right of other residents.
Child learning to play the trumpet
If they make loud noise or listen to music, you need to find out the level of sound coming from their apartment or private house. To contact the relevant authorities, you can use the services of specialists. They will take measurements and draw up the necessary documents. You can call the police, file a lawsuit, but first you should try to negotiate peacefully with your neighbors.
Music is loud on the street: where to go, call
The street is always full of different sounds: car alarms, loud conversations and laughter, the clicking of heels, the roar of motorcycles. And of course music. And at night every sound is heard very clearly.
The situation is complicated. Running outside every time and demanding to turn down the volume is impossible. Yelling from the balcony is not a particularly effective method. And with your screams you can wake up all your neighbors.
Try closing all windows and the balcony tightly. And, if possible, ignore street noise.
It's much easier to deal with the situation if the music source is the same every night. For example, an entertainment establishment in a neighboring house and in your house. In this case, you can call the local police officer or file a collective complaint with the police. After all, not only you, but also your neighbors probably suffer from noise.
The police will be required to verify the complaint received. If it is confirmed, the cafe owners will be required to install soundproofing.
By the way, the fine for a legal entity will be several times greater than for an individual. Or apply a penalty in the form of suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
Read more about dealing with noise and contacting the police. ⇐
Is it possible to evict noisy tenants?
In order for neighbors who constantly disturb the silence, there needs to be a compelling reason. This happens quite rarely, but in judicial practice there are cases where repeated payment of fines and detention for administrative offenses did not bring the desired result.
In such cases, the court required noisy tenants to look for another place to live.
However, evicting a neighbor does not always require going to court. If violations of silence are repeated repeatedly, and you know that the rowdy lives in a rented apartment, contact the owner of the living space. In this case, the noisy tenant will move out.
How to harm your upstairs neighbors
Method 1
To teach your neighbors a lesson, use a simple method - block the front door, provided that the door opens towards the stairwell.
- Take a board and place one end against the doorknob of a harmful neighbor, and the other against the floor, step or railing, depending on where the entrance to the apartment is located.
- Now it is impossible to get out of the apartment on your own and the neighbors will have to wait until other residents come to their aid and remove the board. If desired, of course.
Method 2
- Lubricate several needles with glue and insert them into the keyhole. As a result, someone who “doesn’t bark, doesn’t bite, and doesn’t let them into the house” won’t let the owners themselves in either. In this case, the lock cannot be repaired; it will need to be replaced.
Method 3
- If you are haunted by the constantly screaming TV in your neighbor’s apartment, and he ignores your requests, cut the antenna cable, or better yet, cut out a piece. It will take time for the intruder to eliminate the trouble, but you will be able to enjoy the silence for at least a short time.
- The telephone cable can be damaged in the same way. A small thing, but unpleasant.
Method 4
The method is suitable only for those who are well versed in electricity and can do everything that is needed without the risk of injury.
If your neighbors’ music is too loud and the noise does not subside after 11 p.m., “do magic” in the electrical panel and deprive the apartment of electricity. This is easy to do by cutting out part of the wire so that it is difficult to connect the scraps.
Neighbors play musical instruments: what to do if it's annoying
Playing musical instruments also creates a lot of noise. First of all, try not to get angry with your child playing music. And try to come to an agreement with the young musician’s parents. Explain that the sounds of the piano, violin and other instruments are annoying and interfere with resting or doing business. Recommend studying in specially equipped rooms in music schools.
If home rehearsals are still necessary, then create a schedule. After all, you are not always in your apartment. Or at a certain time you have the TV on, and then the sounds from neighboring apartments are not particularly bothersome.
○ How to avoid punishment for noise?
It all depends on what is the source of the noise. If repairs need to be made, it is better to obtain the consent of the neighbors. If there is no mutual understanding, you should contact TSC and obtain official permission for repair work, indicating the time when you can make noise.
If there is a family holiday planned, a meeting of friends, noise from loud voices, singing, and music is naturally possible. Therefore, it is better to warn your neighbors. Otherwise, you should expect the police to arrive and unnecessary proceedings.
✔ Noise measurements.
There are several ways to measure noise:
- Independently, using special programs that can be installed on a computer, smartphone, tablet, as well as by comparing the noise source with data from specially designed tables.
- A SES worker using a special device - a sound level meter.
The method of measurement depends on the purpose being pursued. If the noise comes from a neighboring apartment, you should call the sanitary and epidemiological station.
✔ How to challenge the preparation of a protocol?
The administrative violation protocol has a section for comments. This is how you should express your disagreement.
If an administrative penalty is applied, a resolution must be served. It can be appealed to the court within 10 days from the date of receipt of the document against signature.
