straita

Owners Rights

What can I do about noise from another unit?

Short answer

If noise from another lot is unreasonable, it can breach the scheme’s noise by-law and the Act’s rule against causing a nuisance or interfering with others’ peaceful enjoyment. The usual path is to raise it with the neighbour, then report it (with dates and details) to the committee or strata manager, who can issue a notice to comply, and escalate to NCAT if it continues. Whether a given noise crosses the line depends on the facts.

What counts as a problem

Everyday living noise — footsteps, occasional gatherings, normal daytime activity — is part of shared living and generally isn’t actionable. What the by-laws and the Act are aimed at is noise that is unreasonable: persistent, excessive, or at unsociable hours, to the point that it interferes with other residents’ peaceful enjoyment of their lots. Because “unreasonable” is a judgement on the facts, keeping a record helps.

The steps that usually work

  1. Talk to the neighbour if you safely can — many noise issues are unintended and stop once raised.
  2. Report it in writing to the committee or strata manager, with dates, times and what happened.
  3. Notice to comply — the owners corporation can issue a breach notice for a by-law breach.
  4. NCAT — if breaches continue after a notice, the owners corporation (or an affected owner) can apply to the Tribunal for orders, which can include penalties.

When it’s not just a strata matter

Some noise sits outside the by-laws too — sustained late-night disturbance can be a matter for the local council or, in the moment, the police. Those channels run alongside the strata process rather than replacing it.

Getting a breach taken seriously

A noise complaint stands or falls on the record behind it. In a self-managed scheme run on Straita, complaints, dates and any notices are logged in one place, so a pattern is documented and the committee can act on evidence rather than recollection if it ever reaches NCAT.

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