Question: Our downstairs neighbours have accused us of excess noise during the night. They have not provided any evidence of the disturbances. Can they take us to SAT if they have no evidence?
Our below neighbours accused us of being in breach of Schedule 2 bylaw 10 of the Strata Title Act. They can hear footsteps and other sounds in the middle of the night, affecting their peaceful enjoyment of the unit. We have asked for evidence of the disturbances, but the situation has become complicated. How can we be in breach if they have not provided evidence? They have threatened to take us to the SAT. Do we take this seriously?
Answer: Unless the neighbour can support and substantiate their claim of excessive noise and has also given written notice, the State Administrative Tribunal may not consider the application further.
Section 47 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 as amended (the Act) sets out clear provisions when it comes to the enforcement of bylaws.
An application to SAT for the enforcement of scheme bylaws may be made by the strata company, an owner of a lot, a mortgagee of a lot or even an occupier of a lot in the strata titles scheme (Section 47 (3) of the Act).
An application to SAT can only be made on the grounds that the person has been given written notice of an alleged breach of the bylaws or the contravention of the bylaw has had serious adverse consequences for a person other than the person alleged to have contravened the bylaws or the person has contravened the particular scheme bylaw on at least three separate occasions (Section 47 (4) of the Act).
A written notice to a person alleged to have contravened the bylaws must specify the particular bylaw that is alleged to have been contravened and specify the particular facts relied on as evidence of the contravention and specify the action that must be taken or refrained from being taken in order to avoid a continuing or further contravention of the particular scheme bylaw and contain an explanation of the effect of this section in terms set out in the regulations (Section 47 (2) of the Act).
It is our understanding that the Tribunal may not make an order in case of a breach of bylaw unless the person alleged to have contravened a specific bylaw has been given written notice as per Section 47 (2) of the Act.
Also, in our opinion, unless the neighbour can support and substantiate their claim of excessive noise due to footsteps and other sounds during the middle of the night and has also given written notice as per Section 47 (2) of the Act, the State Administrative Tribunal may not consider the application further.
The owner/occupier of the lot is advised to seek further legal advice if the issue cannot be resolved.
This post appears in the July 2023 edition of The WA Strata Magazine.
Marietta Metzger
magixstrata
E: marietta@magixstrata.com.au
P: 08 6559 7498
Good day, what are the options if the noise in our bedroom is coming from the strata owned ventilation equipment installed on the roof right above our bedroom. We live on the top floor and can hear the extractor fans which operate 24/7 all the time but it is particulalry disturbing at night with the constant humming.
Would what is deemed acceptable be regulated by the Environmental (Noise) Regulations or does it fall under the Strata Titles Act and by-laws.
Hi E
Andrew Chambers, Chambers Franklyn Strata Management has responded to your comment in the article above.
HI,
The above apartment replaced the carpets with laminate flooring, I questioned the install’s underlay but they provided the documentation saying it was correct with BCA. Problem is they unit has now been sold. I can literally hear the new owners talking in the bedroom. Would you know who to contact so I could get acoustic testing to prove otherwise ?
Thanks
Hello!
My immediate upstairs neighbour is a night owl / is active at night. They seem to walk very quickly / run about their apartment as well. The last few nights they have woken me up with their thud thud thud at 3am They are seemingly running to the loo. I have complained to the Strata Manager about the noise previously – looks like he did not do anything. Anyways, from the information here it seems that it is ‘nuisance noise’ – how do I go about forcing the Strata Manager or Local Council to do something about it? Getting woken up at 3am is bad! The seem to be running about from 8pm.
Additionally the neighbour above them uses a mortar and pestle til late at night eg 9;30pm (the rapid tap tap tap banging travels through the structure to my floor (I went up and asked him to stop this, pointing out the time of night and that hed been at it for minutes). This guy also talks at full voice out on his balcony til 11:00pm (talking for hours, to family back home). I can hear his language in the background, over my TV sound. How do I go about forcing the Strata Manager or Local Council to do something about it?
The building is a 1971 concrete structure with brick walls, it sounds like they are running around on tiles or a threadbare carpet. . Ta!
I live in an apartment complex and as of recently, I’ve been getting so much noise from our downstairs neighbours during the late hours of the night. I’m talking loud music noises, subwoofer bass and talking and yelling noises anywhere from midnight to 3-4 am even on weeknights. It’s very distinct and enough to keep us up all night even with all our windows closed. What can I do in this situation?
Good morning
The unit above myself has hard flooring and it is quite frustrating listening to the noise above. I have complained to our strata company and they told me to lodge a complaint with SAT. In the drop down field I was going to choose 83 (1) SAT may make an order of dispute or compliant but the next drop down one said this :
The Tribunal may only make orders that require a party to the dispute before it to pay money not exceeding the sum of $1 000).
I am not sure which one to choose now please, thanking you
Hi Elizabeth
We suggest you contact SAT for guidance: SAT: Contact Us
All the best in resolving the matter.
Hi Nikki, thank you for your email and sorry for late reply. I did contact the SAT by phone and they said they could not advise me ie: which drop down Select the section you are applying under. I contacted my strata manager and she said she could go no further with this matter and advised me to settle this through SAT. I noticed in the above messages to another owner that you advised to use The Strata Titles Act 1985 and Schedule 1 & 2 by-laws. but in WA there is only a schedule 3, 4 and 5.. I still don’t know which one to use please. Thanking you for your help
kind regards
Liz Heavey
Hi Elizabeth
At this stage, the best I can recommend for your noise complaints in Perth is that you contact a strata lawyer for assistance.
Regarding Schedule 1 & 2 bylaws in the act, these can be found at the end of the Act. Try this link and scroll down to the very end of the page: STRATA TITLES ACT 1985
Good afternoon, I have contacted you previously in regards to noise issue at noise due to hard flooring/ banging on/ off through the night. This has resulted in my health issues as I have a bad heart and being startled awake has had a big impact on my life as I’m too tired to go out and increasing angina. I have tried to resolve this amicably with the Owner whom doesn’t answer her door therefore I have put in writing. Instead of putting stoppers on cupboards or being more mindful she has increased the noise to the point of going out of her way to continue to make my life uncomfortable. I have come to the conclusion this needs to be addressed by SAT however I feel the forms are too complicated for me to fill out. Is there a service out there that can help me do this and lodge a complaint as my health is declining. Thanks your your help.
Hi Susanne,
It would be worth your time to download an up to date strata plan and any documents attached.
Once I have tried all avenue’s of resolving the problem I set out above if I want to lodge an application with the STRATA ADMINISTRATION TRIBUNAL do I have to provide a map of the Strata Plan. If so does it have to be a current one. Thanks Susanne
Hi Nikki ,Thanks for the information you provided. This has been helpful.
Thanks Susanne. We are very glad to hear this information was helpful 🙂
My neighbor whom I share a common wall with has placed tiling through the whole unit and has changed the cupboards which are not soft touch cupboards. Now all the noise is echoing through to my unit however since the resident is up most of the night the banging of the cupboard doors are startling me awake. I now feel quite frazzled. She doesn’t answer her door so I put in writing my concerns and request to put stoppers on the cupboards. This has been ignored and has actually now she is making a point of banging more. I have followed up my complaint with no outcome. Its now affecting my health lack of sleep. What can I do??
Hi Susanne
Thanks for your question.
The answer is provided in the post above:
“..you can then proceed through your Strata Company OR the State Administrative Tribunal to seek for orders for the neighbouring lot owner to ….”
Hi Nikki
Did you go through 83(1) at SAT to obtain an Order?
Same problem too!
Cheers
Anthe