We live in an ordinary nine-story building, but in the city center. The difficulty lies in the fact that centers are often rebuilt and built up. Construction times are usually very short, so builders have to work in several shifts, including night shifts. When another construction project began near our house, it became impossible to sleep.
What I didn’t do to get rid of the annoying noise. I argued with the developer, contacted the police, but all to no avail. The builders worked at night and continued to work. The problem could only be resolved through the courts. We can say that now I am an expert in this matter and can share my knowledge and experience with other people. After reading my note, you can quickly solve the problem legally and sleep peacefully at night.
Legal grounds to report to authorities
If the option chosen is to fight, then the easiest way is to call the police in cases where noisy neighbors violate the rights of others.
A small digression: the complexity of the issue under consideration lies in the fact that “problems of silence” are within the competence of regional authorities. Therefore, different acts are considered an offense in different regions of the Russian Federation, and the practice of dealing with neighbors is different.
For example, in the capital you cannot work as a hammer drill on Sundays and holidays. But, let’s say, in the Belgorod region there are no such restrictions.
Meanwhile, the grounds for calling the police can be “unified” as follows:
- Exceeding the permissible noise level. And here it doesn’t matter what time of day the repairs take place, people listen to music and so on. Allowable values for night: 45 dBA, for day – up to 55 dBA. These figures are justified by the existence of the Federal Law “On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare of the Population” and the current sanitary norms and rules. Of course, it is impossible to determine the noise level “by eye”. You need to: either have a special device that measures the noise level, or call representatives of the competent authorities. The latter, due to existing realities, is quite difficult to implement. But we note that police representatives must appear when called even if a citizen only assumes that an offense is being committed.
- Noise at night. As a rule, these hours are from 23:00 to 07:00, although in regions the time frames may be shifted. 45 dBA is a noise that is 3 times quieter than the sound of a car alarm. Therefore, if neighbors listen to music or talk loudly at night, there is no doubt that they are violating current legislation.
We recommend that you study in detail the noise legislation of the region in which you live. Federal regulations, we repeat, do not regulate the issue in detail. For example, some laws of the regions state that at night it is forbidden to: shout, sing, listen to music, including in a car on the street. In others, the norms are formulated differently. Accordingly, the legal grounds for calling the police will be different.
Attention! A citizen may call the police without being completely sure that the law is being broken. Law enforcement officials must come and determine whether there is an offense or not. This will not be considered a false call.
How to solve the noise problem?
There are several options to deal with a difficult nighttime noise situation. There are several authorities where you can file a complaint against the guilty person or company, and then bring them to justice. Let's look at each option in more detail.
Filing complaints with the developer
Such measures should be taken at an early stage. It is quite possible that you will be able to resolve the situation by filing a free-form complaint. This document is handed over to the head of the construction company against signature. You must clearly formulate your complaints and leave a telephone number and address to receive an answer.
The developer is obliged to notify the citizen in writing. There is no guarantee that the builders will take action and stop making noise. In the future, a document confirming the fact of an attempt at pre-trial settlement may become evidence.
Police, Rospotrebnadzor or Department of Natural Resources
Each of these authorities will be able to provide assistance in solving problems with increased noise levels. People come here when they can’t come to an agreement with the developer. Authorized departments will measure and evaluate the noise level, and the district police officer will be able to record the fact of excessively loud construction work. It should be remembered that consideration of the submitted application may take up to a month. The affected person should definitely request that he be allowed to participate in the measurement of noise effects.
Contacting the prosecutor's office or judicial authorities
When all the measures taken have not yielded results, all that remains is to contact the court or the prosecutor's office. It is the employees of these departments who will be able to check the actions of the developer for legality and take the necessary measures to bring the culprit to justice.
The citizen who filed the complaint must provide the maximum amount of evidence. Various documents are suitable here, confirming that the person applied to different authorities, but this did not give any result. Unfortunately, judges often take the side of construction companies. In this case, there is another option - to gather groups of proactive residents who also cannot sleep at night due to noise. The more such complaints, the more effective the result will be.
What to do before complaining?
If you want to hold your neighbors accountable, then, of course, you need to prepare certain evidence. As an option:
- Select witnesses from among other residents of the house.
- Record what is happening on video.
It will be a high achievement if the applicant can measure the noise level with a certified instrument and record the date of measurement. However, this is probably something from the realm of fantasy. Therefore, it will be enough to record the noise level using a sound level meter on a modern smartphone.
Under what circumstances is noise illegal?
When noise from construction work exceeds established standards, such actions can be regarded as disturbing the peace and quiet of the population. For illegal acts, the construction company will definitely be held accountable, followed by a fine of 40-80 thousand rubles.
Since such provisions are present in the current legislation, people whose peace has been disturbed have a reason to contact the authorized bodies. Here it is important to draw up the document correctly and submit an application to the department, where the fastest way will be to achieve the desired result.
How to make a call, is it possible anonymously?
- Since Soviet times, there has been a telephone number 02, which you can call from a landline.
- There is a single telephone number: 112. But practice shows that operators working in a single rescue service do not always switch to the police department.
- If you call from a cell phone, the number will depend on the operator providing communication services: 022; 002; 102 and the like.
Many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to report a problem anonymously. Theoretically, yes. But you need to understand that any measures in this case will be minimal. Much depends on the situation.
In any case, it is better that the police themselves know who called them and for what reason. This is necessary in order to complete the documents completely and correctly, record the offense, and attach evidence.
Normative base
Today in the Russian Federation there is no single law that allows one to unambiguously solve this problem. The basic norms that citizens can rely on to protect their rights are contained in the following regulations:
- Law of March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ;
- Government Decree No. 25 dated January 21, 2006;
- SanPin 2.1.2.2645-10.
Each of these documents partially regulates the rules of behavior at certain hours and days. In addition to the basic laws adopted at the federal level, each region approves its own regulations, which are mandatory for application and execution.
Features of regional regulation of the issue:
- each entity can set its own time limit when residents are prohibited from making noise. For example, in Moscow the ban applies from 23:00 to 7:00, and in St. Petersburg from 22:00 to 8:00;
- local legislators can set restrictions not only at night, but also during the day. For example, at lunch from 13 to 15 hours. This is how legislators care about families with small children who need naps during the day;
- control is established not only for the period of time when noise can be made, but also for the duration of noisy work. So, for example, if a drill works in an apartment for 6 hours, then you need to take a break for 1 hour, and only then continue working.
Important! Residents of new buildings will have to endure renovation work without restrictive periods. Since, within a year and a half after the house is put into operation, the six-hour ban on work does not apply.
Where can I complain if the doors don’t open?
This is one of the most problematic issues. The fact is that the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees the inviolability of the home. A police officer may enter an apartment only in the following cases:
- if the owner of the property gives consent to this;
- if the court issues the appropriate sanction.
The case when one option is worse than the other. If the neighbors are noisy, then most likely they will not open the door to anyone. Although anything can happen.
With the court's sanction it's even sadder:
- No one will even try to get it - the incident is, in essence, a trifle.
- There is no reason - for example, loud music does not mean that, say, a crime is being committed in an apartment.
So it turns out that if the neighbors don’t open the door, then you won’t be able to talk to them. We can only hope that the district police officer will succeed in this later.
How to properly file a complaint
The contents of a noise complaint must include the following information.
A cap:
- Full name and position of the addressee at the top right of the page;
- Full name, place of residence and contact details of the sender.
After the header, the word “Statement” is written in the middle on a new line. This is followed by a further description of the situation, including:
- a statement of the reason for the appeal and the most accurate description of the facts: time and place of action, duration, participants, etc.;
- measures that need to be taken as a preventive measure , in the opinion of the applicant;
- confirmation of the applicant's liability for false denunciation;
- date and signature with transcript.
An undoubted advantage will be the availability of evidence, including photographs, video and audio materials, as well as testimony of witnesses. In this case, it makes sense to file a collective claim. A sample application can be downloaded from this link.
There are several ways to file a complaint:
- send by registered mail to any of the above authorities or authorities;
- in electronic form on the official website of the institution;
- personal visit.
What to do if the authorities do not deal with offenders?
An example from real practice. It’s night, people are sleeping in the house, and only in one apartment are they noisily celebrating some kind of holiday. A person calls the police and reports a crime. The attendant says that it’s okay - just be patient (yes, this happens), and hangs up. It is not possible to call an outfit. What to do if the police do not fight against offenders? The problem is solved by calling the local helpline.
The coordinates of the caller are recorded there, and after 10 minutes the police arrive at the scene. Thus, the very first way you can resort to is to call the helpline. It works around the clock, and an employee will answer the phone, whose task is to identify, as they say, “werewolves in uniform.” In 90% of cases the problem will be solved.
If this method does not work, then you should contact the prosecutor's office:
- make a phone call;
- send a written complaint.
The prosecutor's office is a body that is called upon to monitor the rule of law in all areas. Among other things, she has powers to supervise the activities of the police. And it’s safe to say that employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are afraid of sanctions from the prosecutor’s office.
Despite the fact that the legislation in this area requires improvement, the police, in most cases, arrive when called. Another thing is that representatives of this law enforcement agency do not always have enough tools to punish the perpetrators. Often, there is simply no necessary evidence. For example, as in a situation where the neighbors “calmed down” even before law enforcement officials arrived.
What behavior is punishable by law
Modern high-rise buildings sometimes house hundreds of people with different habits, views and rhythms of life. However, everyone must follow basic rules of behavior and respect each other's peace.
The noise from renovation work or the screaming of children can still be tolerated during the day, but when they begin to annoy you at night, such behavior cannot be tolerated.
The law in 2021 explains what to do if neighbors upstairs are noisy. So, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., noise should not exceed 55 decibels, and at night (from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) this figure should not exceed 45 decibels.
For example, the screams of children or switched on equipment produce noise on average at a level of 80-90 decibels, and repair work is usually recorded at a level of 100-130 decibels. Therefore, those who like to make noise and knock after 11 p.m. face administrative punishment in the form of a fine in the amount of 500 to 2,000 rubles for individuals, and from 4,000 to 8,000 rubles for officials. Legal entities and enterprises that cause you inconvenience will have to pay up to 80,000 rubles in fines.
Try to solve the problem in democratic ways, simply by talking with your neighbors. Sometimes they don’t even suspect that they are causing discomfort to someone. Politely explain that you can't sleep, and perhaps the problem will be resolved. As a rule, this helps resolve brewing conflicts between residents of apartment buildings. There is definitely no need to take revenge or somehow deliver retaliatory negativity without talking.
- Organization and preparation
7 simple rules that will help you avoid conflict with neighbors during renovations
