NSW: What Can I Do About Noise? Residential Noise restrictions!

What are NSW residential noise restrictions for things like construction noise or renovation noise from your apartment neighbour?

Table of Contents:

• ARTICLE: Crash, Bang, Sigh! What Can I Do About Residential Noise and Noise Restrictions in NSW!
• ARTICLE: What Can I Do About Construction Noise in NSW!
• QUESTION: We are trying very hard during our renovations not to be the noisy neighbour. What are the noise restrictions in NSW? When can we use power tools on weekdays, weekends and public holidays? What time can construction start in the morning in NSW?

Crash, Bang, Sigh! What Can I Do About Residential Noise and Noise Restrictions in NSW!

Since the threat of coronavirus, many people are now either working from home or at home much more than previously. One side effect has been that the noise from nearby construction sites and the neighbour’s home renovations has started driving some of us up the wall. What can you do about residential noise restrictions in NSW? The answer is it depends if the noise is residential or from a construction site as there are different restrictions that apply.

Residential noise restrictions for NSW

General residential noise restrictions for NSW are contained in the Protection of the Environmental Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017. This Regulation sets out time restrictions in NSW when specific noises should not be able to be heard within a habitable room in a neighbour’s residence. Note that habitable rooms are generally any rooms other than a garage, storage area, bathroom, laundry, toilet or pantry. These restrictions are:

Related articles to do with Noise Regulations in NSW:

• NSW: Q&A Is piano playing for hours a day a breach of our peaceful enjoyment?
• NSW: Q&A Stopping a Low Frequency Fan Noise within our Apartment

This Regulation also sets restrictions on other noises, for instance, car alarms, depending on the car’s year of manufacture should be limited to between 45 – 90 seconds of continuous or intermittent noise unless the car was manufactured before 1 September 2009 and has been broken into, the windscreen or windows damaged or it has been involved in an accident. A similar restriction with different time frames applies to building alarms.

The Regulation sets a system of notices and offences for people who breach these NSW noise restrictions. The penalties are $200 for individuals and $400 for corporations with courts being able to impose a maximum penalty of $5,500 on individuals and $11,000 on corporations. To start this process complaints must be made to either your local council or to the police.

In NSW strata and community title schemes it is also highly likely that there are noise restrictions in your scheme’s by-laws or management statements. Restraints in by-laws may be general or in the context of flooring or hard surface flooring. For instance, the Strata Schemes Management Regulations 2016 schedule 2 model by-law 1 states:

“An owner or occupier of a lot must not create any noise on the parcel likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the owner or occupier of another lot or of any person lawfully using common property.”

Similarly, schedule 2, model by-law 14 relates to floor coverings and imposes a requirement that the majority of floors in a lot are sufficiently covered to reduce noise transmission that would disturb the peaceful enjoyment of an owner or occupier of another lot.

The fact that the scheme’s by-laws or management statements may restrict noise gives lot owners and occupants another means to take action. That may be through requesting the owners corporation issue notices to comply or the association to issue breach notices and these types of disputes may end up in the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Allison Benson
Kerin Benson Lawyers
E: allison@kerinbensonlawyers.com.au
P: 02 4032 7990

This post appears in Strata News #342.

NSW: What Can I Do About Construction Noise!

What can you do about noise? It depends if the noise is residential or from a construction site as there are different restrictions that apply. In this post, I will deal with noise emanating from construction sites starting with the situation normally and the situation now that Environmental Planning and Assessment (COVID-19 Development – Construction Work Days) Order 2020 is in effect until the 31 March 2022.

Pre-COVID Order – i.e. before 2 April 2020

Construction noise can be significant both in sound and in duration across the course of a normal working day. Normally, this type of noise would not affect as many people as they would be at their places of work or school during the time most construction sites are active.

Your local council, the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) and if needed the police are the key enforcers in respect of construction noise.

Most development work will be regulated by your local council so the first step should be to look at the development consent conditions imposed on the construction site by your council.

The development consent from council will regulate the hours of work and when certain types of work can be conducted. This may not assist much, however, there is a big difference between a requirement for tools down until 8 am versus tools down until 7 am. In most cases, the development consent can be obtained from a search on your local council’s website, or, failing that, you could contact its planning team.

If work is starting before permitted hours or continuing after hours or you believe the noise is excessive then a complaint should be made to your council in writing specifying times, dates and the nature of the complaint. If this does not resolve your issue I suggest you seek legal advice regarding potential further steps as you may also have a case against the noise maker and the owner of the site in nuisance.

If the construction noise is coming from work undertaken by a public authority then the EPA is generally the appropriate body to make a complaint to.

The EPA’s Interim Construction Noise Guideline contains general guidelines for work start times. They are not mandatory but are a helpful guide and are used by councils in determining development consent conditions. The guidelines include (but are not limited to):

The link to the guideline can be found here: Interim construction noise guideline

If the construction noise is coming from within a lot in your scheme, you should also consider your scheme’s by-laws or management statement. Generally, they will have by-laws regulating noise and any works by-laws or consents will generally also have terms in relation to noise during the construction work. These restrictions can be enforced at a scheme level and by the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

After COVID-19 Order – 2 April 2020 until 31 March 2022

Please NOTE: The temporary changes allowed the Minister for Planning to make an Order for development to be carried out without normal planning approval to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. To find out more, head over to the COVID-19 response and recovery page on the NSW Government site.

In response to COVID-19 and concerns about keeping construction going, the NSW Government passed the Environmental Planning and Assessment (COVID-19 Development – Construction Work Days) Order 2020 which is from 2 April 2020 in effect. This means that if a site has a development consent then the days upon which construction on that site can be undertaken has been increased – all that the builders need to do to be able to work on a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday is to:

1. comply with the conditions of consent that restrict the hours of work on any other day (i.e. Monday to Friday); and
2. not conduct rock breaking, rock hammering, sheet piling, pile driving or similar activities during the hours that it would not be permitted under the normal conditions of consent; and
3. take all feasible and reasonable measures to reduce noise.

There are some conditions that require social distancing measures and for the construction to comply with all other development conditions however it appears that for those living near construction sites, noise may be an issue for the foreseeable future, with little recourse to remedies.

Allison Benson
Kerin Benson Lawyers
E: allison@kerinbensonlawyers.com.au
P: 02 4032 7990

This post appears in Strata News #339.

Question: We are trying very hard during our renovations not to be the noisy neighbours. What are the noise restrictions in NSW? When can we use power tools on weekdays, weekends and public holidays? What time can construction start in the morning in NSW?

I am working on a deck in my townhouse and don’t want to be the noisy neighbours upstairs. What are the noise restrictions in NSW? What are the rules regarding times you can use power tools on weekdays, weekends and public holidays? What time can construction start in the morning in NSW?

I am getting mixed answers from the other owners and our strata agent is no help.

Can you give me the correct info, or point me in the right direction to find out NSW noise regulations so I can comfortably do the work needed without upsetting others in my building.

Answer: To comply with NSW noise restrictions, noise from power tools that are audible from habitable rooms of a neighbouring residence must cease during certain times.

NSW Office of Environment & Heritage has a useful webpage on construction noise.

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 is the relevant legislation which is administered by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) (mostly public authority works) and others (local development) by council.

The NSW Interim Construction Noise Guideline stipulates standard hours, however, you should check for specific hours with your local council.

Generally, noise from power tools that are audible from habitable rooms of a neighbouring residence must cease during certain times: 8 pm to 8 am on Sundays and public holidays, and 8 pm to 7 am on weekdays and Saturdays.

Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: info@premiumstrata.com.au
P: 02 9281 6440

This post appears in Strata News #244.

Have a question about construction noise, noise restrictions in NSW or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.

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Read next:

• NSW: Q&A Noisy Neighbour, Renovations and Construction Noise
• NSW: Q&A Noise Complaint Letter to Strata
• NSW: Children and Noise Complaints in Apartments During Lockdown

This article contains general information only and it is not legal advice. Before you take any action you should seek legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

Visit our COVID-19 and Strata, Strata Noise & Neighbours OR NSW Strata Legislation pages.

Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.

Are you not sure about some of the strata terms used in this article? Take a look at our NSW Strata Glossary to help with your understanding.

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