Noise control

You have a party on Saturday night and the neighbour responds with his chainsaw first thing on Sunday morning. What you can do if neighbourhood noise gets too much.

How loud is too loud?

Under the Resource Management Act (RMA), people are not allowed to make "excessive" noise and must ensure that noise from their property does not reach an "unreasonable" level. The factors that might make noise excessive or unreasonable include:

• Loudness: The law does not accept that the Spice Girls, or Sibelius for that matter, are excessive at just any level. There has to be some give and take.
• Time of day: Contractors can dig up your street during the day, but if they start work at first light on a Sunday you should complain.
• Background noise: If you live next to a school, you'll have to accept the regular sounds of children playing. But if they start a brass band that practises just over your back fence every lunchtime, you'll have grounds for complaint.
• Length of time: You can have a really loud burglar alarm, but it should turn off after several minutes.
• Frequency: You can use a chainsaw to cut branches off a tree, but you can't set up a firewood business in a suburban backyard and have saws running all day.

The job of deciding what's excessive or unreasonable falls to noise control officers employed by local councils. They work under guidelines for various zones contained in the district plan. What's acceptable in the inner city and industrial zones may not be allowed in the suburbs.

If the officers decide a noise is "excessive", they can take immediate steps to stop it. But "unreasonable" noise is often harder to deal with. If a factory's new machine is too loud, say, it may take time for modifications or extra sound insulation to be put in place.

Further action

If the council won't resolve a problem, you can take it further yourself. Under the RMA anyone can apply to the Environment Court for an enforcement order to stop an activity which breaches the Act or is likely to adversely affect the environment.

If the council can't help you contact the Ministry for the Environment for advice on how the Act may apply to your situation.

It only costs $55 to apply for an enforcement order. But if you have to hire expert advisers and lawyers, you could face fees of $5000 or even $10,000 more. If the problem affects a group of people, these costs can be shared.

How loud is that?

Sustained noise levels over 85 decibels (dBA) can permanently damage your hearing. When using power tools or noisy garden equipment, wear at least grade 3 ear muffs.