Many citizens of the Russian Federation prefer to drill and make repairs in the apartment themselves. And that’s why it’s so important to know how long you can carry out this work on weekends or weekdays. Of course, this does not always help to avoid problems with neighbors, but it will allow you not to break the law and carry out repairs and drilling in the apartment with a hammer drill on time.
When can you drill?
Since Russia is a federal state, noise restrictions vary. Or rather, the time varies. It is also important to know how long you can drill in an apartment according to the law of the Russian Federation in 2021 on weekdays and on weekends by region.
When can you legally renovate an apartment?
In absolutely all regions it is prohibited to drill and carry out repairs in an apartment at night. Some people work the night shift, and the noise may not bother them. However, there are a number of objective reasons for such a ban:
- Most people work during the day and sleep at night.
- Doctors have established that this particular regimen is healthy. Man by nature is a “lark”, not a “night owl”.
- In any case, we need time when people will rest from the noise. And this time should be united. Night is the best time for sleep, and therefore drilling and repairs in the apartment at this time is unacceptable.
When it is forbidden to drill and make noise
However, about other times, everything is not so clear. Not everyone wakes up early and goes to bed late. In general, regardless of the law, it is important to focus on the fact that doctors advise going to bed at 23:00 and getting up at 07:00, or going to bed at 22:00 and getting up at 06:00.
It is important to plan your day wisely in order to get everything done.
So even if the law allowed making noise until 23:00, it would not be worth doing, because there may be people around who have already gone to bed. And drilling during renovations in an apartment would directly harm their health. So, in any case, ten o’clock in the evening is the time when it is already important not to make noise, not to drill or make repairs.
Working as a hammer drill in an apartment
Of course, if the apartment is soundproofed, everything is a little different. No one has repealed the law, but the rules prohibit not drilling in an apartment, but making noise in general. So if the sound insulation is good enough, then in principle you can do repairs at night. However, there is an important nuance here.
The fact is that drills can be impact and conventional. The impact model works on the principle of a hammer drill. And in this case, the vibration in the walls of the home can be so strong that it will still disturb others.
But if the drill is not an impact drill, then with the proper level of sound insulation, repairs can be done at night. If you have to drill a hole in the wall of an apartment building, the best choice in many cases is a conventional drill.
Under renovation
However, if you want to lead a nocturnal lifestyle, drill and make repairs in the apartment at this time, you should think about ensuring that the lighting does not disturb those around you. For example, if there is a very powerful light in the apartment, and the neighboring house is close, then this may interfere with someone’s sleep.
Therefore, it is important to provide sufficiently thick curtains, which ideally should not let any light into the street at all. And then you can safely do repairs without fear that it will disturb anyone.
But with this approach, it is advisable to first make sure that the sound insulation is really reliable. For example, you can post an ad in the form of a survey asking whether loud music was heard from the apartment this week. Such a respectful approach to others will not go unnoticed.
Rules and regulations
If we talk about standard sound insulation in an apartment, which was originally included in the design of the house, then it varies depending on the standards of the era. It can vary significantly between a new building and an old Soviet house. This should definitely be taken into account before renovating your apartment.
HOW TO AVOID PUNISHMENT
Many people do not know how long they can drill in apartments, so they are not forced to break the law. Neighbors can be patient if this is a single violation. It's a different matter if repairs are carried out on a regular basis. In this case, you can run into a large fine and even end up in the department for 15 days.
If you are planning a renovation, contact TSC and obtain permission to carry out such work. It will indicate when you can drill in the apartment and when you can’t.
Noise measurements may be required to defend a legal position. This is possible in two ways:
- purchasing a special program for a PC or phone and then checking the decibel level;
- calling a SES worker with a special device.
If a police officer draws up a report, you can express your disagreement. After receiving the decision, the violator has up to 10 days to appeal to a judicial authority.
How long can you legally drill in an apartment on weekdays?
Some people find it convenient to drill or carry out repairs on weekdays. This is determined depending on what apartment the person lives in. In any case, drilling and repairs are prohibited at night. When approving the relevant laws, it was taken into account that every person has the right to the following:
- rest;
- health;
- silence.
When can you drill in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region
Based on this, as well as on the assessments of relevant experts, rules and penalties for violating the rules were written. And if a person wants to do repairs in an apartment on weekdays, it is important to know the law so as not to accidentally create a problem out of nowhere.
Standards for weekends
Everything here is ambiguous. A day off is a time when most citizens and residents of Russia rest. This is an important period when the body in general and the psyche in particular recover after a working week. This is why in some regions it is prohibited to drill and make noise on Saturdays. On Sundays, noisy work is prohibited throughout the Russian Federation. No matter how much someone would like to do repairs, they will have to find another time for this. It's not as difficult as it seems at first glance.
Fines for drilling at the wrong time in Moscow
For example, this approach is practiced in Volgograd, Krasnodar, Irkutsk region, Moscow and Moscow region, Ryazan region, as well as some other regions. At the same time, in St. Petersburg and the region. and in many other cities you can make noise on weekends, but only on Saturday. Although, it would seem, St. Petersburg is almost the same metropolis as Moscow.
That’s why you shouldn’t make clear conclusions about the laws of a particular region regarding apartment renovations and drilling without reading them. After all, expectations can easily diverge from reality. So, before starting repairs, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the laws of the region where everything is happening. Then it will become clear what is allowed and what is not.
Drilling a wall in an apartment
What does noise insulation provide?
If you want to do renovations in your apartment both during the day and at any other time, you should think about creating the proper conditions. Good sound insulation is not as expensive as many people think. If you do this in an apartment, you will be able to create a room in which it will be possible to do work with a hammerless drill on the night from Sunday to Monday without any problems.
Noise
However, if we talk about a hammer drill and other impact tools, then everything is more complicated. They have vibration, and this is transmitted through the walls. And sound insulation doesn’t really help here anymore. At least in a panel house.
Despite the fact that the panel itself is a dense monolith, it is often quite thin. In addition, the joints are not soundproof. It turns out that the apartments are quite close to each other, and if someone starts making noise, you will immediately be heard.
In new buildings the picture differs slightly. So it is better to carry out such work in accordance with the above figures.
When is it okay to make noise?
What is the responsibility
The Apartment Noise Act 2021 is not working very well. And there are reasons for this. The problem for many residents of apartment buildings is not that there is no necessary law, but that violators of the order are not always brought to justice.
Drilling during repairs on weekdays
And the last one is quite impressive. For the first time, a warning is permissible, but if illegal actions are repeated in the form of repairs to an apartment at the wrong time, the person will be subject to a fine of 500 rubles to ten times the minimum wage. Depending on whether it is an individual or a legal entity.
It is important to understand that even with regular avoidance of responsibility, violation of these rules will inevitably lead to an extreme deterioration in relations with neighbors. But people are different. So you should think about the well-being of others, at least for reasons of your own safety.
You should not drill thoughtlessly and create situations where neighbors will try to somehow prove guilt. For example, record noise on a voice recorder, go outside to take photos of renovations in the apartment. You can warn everyone in advance and come to an agreement. As a result, there will be a day convenient for everyone, and most likely it will be weekdays.
Fines if you drill in an apartment in the Moscow region when it is prohibited
Neighbors who are bothered by noise often call the police. However, they don’t want to write an official statement for one reason or another.
In this case, it is impossible to hold the offender accountable, although it is necessary.
And it is not difficult to understand why in such cases the police are slow to respond to a call for the third or next time. After all, it won't end in anything anyway.
Where and how to complain about noisy neighbors
Five tips for dealing with noisy neighbors
Sometimes the cause of noise may not be the endless repairs behind the wall, but the lifestyle of the neighbors. People who abuse alcohol often engage in rowdy behavior around the clock. In any case, you can file a complaint with government and commercial structures.
If oral negotiations do not allow reaching an agreement, each citizen can write a letter of claim. When the offender is a construction company, a collective complaint will have a greater effect. Such treatment is mentioned in Federal Law No. 59, in particular Article No. 2.
Institutions for appeal and samples of noise complaints from neighbors
The rules for the use of residential premises are prescribed in Government Decree No. 25 of January 21, 2006 (as amended in 2020).
No matter what the cause of the noise is, a citizen can contact the following authorities:
- Police station.
- Prosecutor's office.
- Management company, housing office or housing department.
- Rospotrebnadzor.
- Judicial department.
Any complaint must contain detailed information about the complainant and the offenders. You need to provide specific numbers and rely on the law. In addition to the regulations mentioned above, you should definitely be aware of the provisions of Article No. 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Assumptions and unfounded accusations are not accepted in the claim. For a complaint to be effective, it must contain grounds and evidence.
Here you can download samples of the following type:
Letter of claim to a district police officer.
Application to the court, prosecutor's office.
Complaint to the Criminal Code, Housing Office and State Housing Inspectorate.
Collective appeal.
The letter of claim is drawn up according to the template. If the text contains strikethroughs, corrections or false data, the request will be ignored.
Note: first, you should try to talk with the silence breakers and try to resolve the conflict peacefully. For example, in court proceedings it is important to have documents or other evidence of the ongoing pre-trial settlement of the issue.
Necessary documentation for evidence when filing a noise complaint in an apartment
If neighbors are noisy and the permissible level is being violated, then such actions must be stopped.
The law cannot prohibit complaining, but any letter of complaint must be supported by documents:
- Documents confirming the identity of the applicants (if there are several of them).
- Evidence base - acts, protocols of the district police officer, video and audio recordings.
- In cases where the noise was accompanied by damage to property, an expert assessment is required.
Is it possible to evict a neighbor for making noise?
Such a decision can only be made by a court and is applied to malicious trespassers. In order for the statement of claim to have an effect, it is necessary to collect evidence and apply to the authority at the place of residence.
If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiff, then this decision must be submitted to the enforcement service. It is the FSSP employees who evict the offender from the apartment.
Achieving such a procedure is difficult, but possible. It all depends on the circumstances of the case and the severity of the violations. If a person, in addition to systematic noise, poses a danger to other residents, then the chances of the claim being satisfied are greater.
Regional differences
The time when you can carry out renovations in an apartment varies from region to region. And this happened not only in 2021. This is largely due to the federal structure of the country. However, laws that are not federal cannot yet come into direct conflict with generally accepted norms in the state. Including health standards.
Noise level in the apartment
It must be taken into account that throughout Russia it is strictly prohibited to carry out any repair work on Sunday.
What to do if the neighbors are noisy?
There is no need to immediately call the police or look for a form to file a lawsuit. Remember that you need to live amicably with your neighbors, and that sooner or later you will find yourself in their place, and then they will respond in kind.
Don’t rush to complain: ask, search, knock...
Live by the principle: “Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened…” (c). This is a biblical commandment that always helps (even with noisy neighbors). See for yourself:
- Why should you come first and ask not
- Is it bad to look for opportunities to resolve the conflict peacefully?
- You came, knocked, and they didn’t open the door for you? No problem! Come again, knock again, and sooner or later the door will be opened for you.
Then you can come to a compromise - agree with your neighbors what hours they can work so as not to interfere too much: for example, you can agree on a time from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturday - in the first half of the day.
How to sue neighbors who make noise on weekends?
You need to resort to this step when your numerous attempts to come to an agreement, and even calls to the police and fines, have come to nothing: on weekends the neighbors fanatically continue to bite into the wall, play music at full blast, move furniture, jump, run at night, arrange noisy feasts until the morning.
But every claim must have an evidentiary basis, and therefore you need to prepare it.
- You can resort to video and audio recording.
- Collect evidence from other neighbors.
- File a class action lawsuit (this is a very effective measure).
- As a consumer, file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor (this must be done before filing a claim, then the offender will definitely not get away with it).
Rospotrebnadzor comes to the rescue
Before contacting this organization, you first need to figure out what time the restless neighbor is most often drilling, and indicate this time in the complaint. At the right time, a person from Rospotrebnadzor will come with a sound level meter and measure the noise level produced by the neighbors. Based on the measurements, an act is drawn up, which will be one of the grounds for a lawsuit.
How to claim compensation for physical and mental damage
The claim must indicate the price of the claim, which will be compensation for damage. To prove that physical damage was actually caused, you need to undergo a medical examination and attach its results to the claim.
- The amount of physical damage may include the cost of examination, treatment and medications. All receipts are retained for court use.
- Moral damage is a subjective concept for each victim and is determined only by him.
How about in other countries?
In many other countries on the planet the rules are similar. For example, in Ukraine it is prohibited to make noise in a residential building on weekdays from 22:00 to 08:00. No noise is allowed on weekends. This applies to Kyiv and other cities; the law is the same for the entire country.
Allowable fines
As for America, there, as in Canada, in addition to noise bans at night, there are many other restrictions both on weekdays and on weekends. There, a very important role is played by whether the neighbors experience inconvenience.
After all, even if it is possible to drill, but completely legal noise disturbs them, residents can most likely call the police.
And even if a person simply decided to make repairs and did not violate anything, but many people are unhappy with him, this may ultimately become the basis for a police officer to demand that the noise stop. So the determining factor here is often how many people don't like the noise.
Sample announcement for neighbors
Can’t figure out which apartment the noise is coming from on your precious day off, or do you want to solve the problem peacefully? In this case, you can place a notice at the entrance asking you to comply with the provisions of the law regulating issues of silence and respect the peace of your neighbors.
There are no strict rules or requirements for writing such an appeal. It can be composed both in an official style and using elements of humor.
So, in
You can include the following information. ⇐
a) address to neighbors (it is best to start with the words “Dear”);
b) a request to repair your apartment at the permitted time (you must refer to the specific article of the relevant law);
c) a warning about a possible complaint to the district police officer or other higher authorities.
The finished advertisement should be printed and hung in the most visible place in the entrance of a residential building or at the entrance to it.
Criteria for determining excessive volume
In principle, volumes above 70 decibels are considered unacceptable at any time. And it’s clear why. After all, 60 dB is the average loudness of many cars, and 90 dB is the average loudness of a gunshot. At least that's the criteria for the Quiet Law 2021. So it's important to consider how many decibels are generated by any given activity.
Sound volume level
As for noise during prohibited hours, much depends on the degree of sound insulation of the house. If it is bad, then even music turned on quietly at night can end up disturbing people. And when the police arrive, they have the right to rely on their subjective impressions. So it is important to take this into account when renovating an apartment.
Drawing up an application
A statement to the police is drawn up in free form. It would be more effective to write a collective complaint if a negligent neighbor causes inconvenience not to one person, but to several at once. To do this, all applicants will have to sign the paper. The document should indicate the following information:
- the name of the police department to which the complaint is addressed;
- district police officer's data;
- Full names of all applicants, their contact information;
- document's name;
- description of the conflict situation: who, when, at what time and how often violates the time of silence, whether any comments were made to him and how he responded to them;
- reference to legal regulations;
- stating your request;
- date and signatures of all applicants.
Citizens can involve Rospotrebnadzor authorities in the proceedings. In this case, the application should also be accompanied by a conclusion containing information about the violation. It is better to write a complaint in two copies at once, one of which you need to keep with you
It is important to get a mark from law enforcement agencies on it that they have accepted the relevant document for work. This may be useful in the future in case of litigation.
