Neighbour Complaining about Noise. Strata Living

Feel like theres no route to go from here besides being compelled to give in and move away.

Been renting an apartment for the past 3 years and the neighbour in the level below us just moved in and recently has been comming up to our doors every single day for the past month and sometimes multiple times a day telling us he can hear noise generated by our heavy footed walking. Obviously after a first few times of his complaint, we try to accomodate. But even then, he still complain when we did absolutely nothing.

We have 2 small chihuahuas living in our apartment which was allowed in by our agent at the time we moved in. Now after 6 months of him comming to our doors every day, sometimes 11pm at night when we were sleeping, we decided to ignore him. But in doing so, he turned furious and began threatening us to open doors by saying "you better watch your back" (in chinese) and "when you come out, i'm gona bash you" (in chinese).

Obviously the police were called and they told the neighbour he is not allowed to come up here to harass anymore otherwise he'll get charged. So that stopped him.

However, we just received a message from our agent who got a letter sent to them by strata saying there will be a new no-dog policy and a letter from the neighbour informing us that we need to get rid of the dogs by 15/6 otherwise he will call tribunal and police to witness that we violate this new no-dog policy.

Is there any thing we can do there? Seems like theres no path to go but to move. Can strata suddenly make a policy like that? Our agent is in discussion with strata at the moment. Please help fellow ozbargainer.


UPDATE:
Thought I might give an update. Well not really of an update because things have stagnated. Not getting any responses back from owners corp or agent. And still waiting.

The guy downstairs after receiving a warning from the police to not come up again to harass us, just started banging on walls every now and then. He would bang walls and ceiling @ 11pm every time some sort of noise were created. Worse is, he would bang when my same-level-neighbour would make some noise. We asked the people 2 levels below us to report them to owners corp, but everythings moving so slow. Its just unbearable and fighting a pointless battle. Considering to move. Once we found a place to move, ahhhhh helllll nawwwww mayne all hell will break lose on the floor.

Comments

        • Property managers are frequently careless. You may have signed an agreement with the owner through his agent but that doesn't mean his agent hasn't consented to a condition of the lease that isn't allowed by the buildings Body Corporate.
          The owner's contract with the Body Corporate is a separate and generally overriding agreement.
          If the agent has given a consent that the owner isn't allowed to give… then you will be contravening the rules of the building and the likelihood is someone will ask you to lose the dogs or leave.
          You would have reason to seek compensation from the agent if that is the case.

        • +1

          @foxinsox8: im confused. "property managers are frequently careless". " you may have signed an agree with with the owner through his agent" .

          Isnt property manager the same thing as the owner's agent

  • +1

    this to me is one of the major downfalls of (owning) living in an apartment: it is never truly yours. you live and breathe by the decisions of your neighbors and the strata. i know for some its unavoidable to live in apartments, but i would avoid at all costs.

    • Not sure about that. You can still have shitty neighbours when buying.
      I fact, this neighbour might not even know whether op is owning or renting.

      • Think he was more referring to the limits/restrictions on what you can/cant do in a unit you own compared to a house you own.
        And i would much rather have 2 walls and 10 metres between me and shitty neighbours than just 10cm of wall

    • +1

      If I could, I'd move into a nice green part of the country and have my house >100m from my boundaries.

      I avoid the crowd like the plague (that they are). OzB is all the shopping I need.

  • +8

    I don't think you understand who is who.
    There is no such thing as 'a strata': that is a term that refers to the ownership of the property.
    The Body Corporate is a representative group of owners that look after the financial and day to day affairs of the owners/residents.
    They have a Committee with a Chair, secretary and treasurer. Decisions such as how much the levies should be, how much sinking fund is maintained and day to day rules, such as having dogs, are made at Annual general meetings, Committee meetings and, if necessary, extraordinary meetings.
    The strata management company is a business that is retained by the Body corporate to collect the fees, manage day to day compliance with the law and administer certain things such as paying fees and managing bank accounts. They cannot make any rules regarding your tenancy.
    There used to be a blanket ban on pets in certain properties such as yours but a legal challenge a couple of years ago prevented Body Corporates from banning pets outright. Now each case has to be decided on its merits and if the BC tries to impose a blanket ban the Body corporate Commissioner is unlikely to support it.
    You should have been given a CMS (Community management Statement) that outlines all the By Laws, rules and regulations that affect you, including whether you can keep pets. Ask for a copy and check it. That must be your next step.

  • Been there done that. You're only renting so it's not worth fighting even if you could. You should have enough grounds to break your lease for free and find another place which won't drive you mad

  • how can there be sound when you are sleeping? It is either your neighbour who has got some mental prob or there is something wrong with the building.

    • I would say its my next door neighbour (same level as I am) thats doing star jumps or something and my down stairs neighbour (even after telling them it might not be me) gets annoyed at us. Hes got issues.

  • +1

    Seems as though the only law that is broken here is the 'threat to kill' and assault threats by the neighbour. If this is on going, record it and make a complaint to police. This will add weight to any ongoing legal issues that may arise. e.g. Getting an IO. Might even allow you to mount a case of having him evicted.

  • Move, no use fighting the fight when the (profanity) will still be there in your face everyday.

  • Are you Chinese?

    • +1

      What relevance is ethnicity?

      • +1

        If hes chinese(assuming that since he understand what hes neighbour talking about), some of the comments here saying that he should give the dog as a meal is actually an attack to the op itself?(i think the comment got downvoted anyways).

  • Found this article today - it may be of some assistance.

    https://www.domain.com.au/advice/the-21-new-nsw-strata-laws-…

  • I think you will find that regardless of any approval. There will probably be an out clause that allows them to remove any previous approval at any time. I know that with what i do, our organisation can do this and real estates and all body corps that i have come across certainly have this as well. Thiugh they obviously should inform you. If the body corp has an issue, they should inform you via your real estate. As the body corp informs the owner or their rep and then they inform to you.

    • I have never known an incidence that a body corporate can overturn an approval at random unless there are serious mitigating circumstances, this case doesn't warrant that from what the OP has stated. Can you please advise what body corporate's you have worked with that can do this and under what circumstances.

      • Will have a look tmw.
        Its certainly a pain when there is a possible serial complainer or someone that doesn't understand noise associated with 'Normal Incidents of Living'.

    • Yes body corp has informed me via my real estate/agent/property manager

  • sounds so familiar but I was the other side of the story. Nightmare began since an OZ couple moved in upstairs with 3 kids. they started with replacing all the water pipes internally, then replaced carpet with floor boards and end up three kids running and jumping inside and it is endless.

    we wrote to strata and they pass the letter to the neighbours and it went worse, so we end up with moving out…….

  • You said your agent is dealing with Strata, so just chill and wait for it to play out. No point in getting all frazzled for no reason.

  • While it's not going to matter who lives in your place, this tool is going for everyone, it's time to move. The next place will be better!!

    Strata AND body corporations are no win situations even if you own. I own and I have equally zero power to get anything done or fixed.
    With all this recent rain, my ceiling started to leak. But, my ceiling has never leaked in the rain. It's always a burst pipe. I complained about it on Friday at 2.30pm - right, so heaps of time to get someone in, in normal hours? No. By Friday night I was told that they wouldn't do anything about it until Tuesday because it was the fault of the rain. On Saturday, it's leaking through the light fitting in the bathroom …
    I'm getting pretty mad by now. Middle of the night last night, no power AND water still leaking through the light fitting… strange that, considering it didn't rain all day. So, those idiots had to pay for an emergency plumber in the wee hours of this morning … and what did they find? A burst pipe. Now they will have to repair my ceiling and probably replace the light fittings in my bathroom. I HATE anything to do with strata management. If you have to get a unit, always buy in a small building where what you say can actually matter and things get done.

  • Maybe your dogs are running around on floor boards making a lot of noise. Why don't you try putting rugs down the main through-fare areas in your apartment.

    Otherwise, just ignore. Tell the neighbor you don't have any dogs and if anyone comes knocking just tell them you are looking after them for a friend. At any rate, previous legislation should be grandfathered for those who were already in living arrangements based on the previous legislation.

    • the whole apartment is carpet besides kitchen /bathroom area.

  • +4

    This probably won't be of much use to you, but I was at one point that downstairs neighbour who complained about the guy above me. Long story short, I was in the wrong.

    My complex has 24 hour a day security and I was calling them at all hours to complain about this inconsiderate prick upstairs. It honestly sounded like this guy was just tapping the floor with a rubber mallet. After several complaints over months and months, I ended up apologising to the security guard when I saw him. Turned out neighbour's kid leaping around their apartment would reverberate through my walls and would sound like it was coming from the apartment above.

    I only noticed after i happened to hear the noise just before leaving my apartment and then clear as day could hear the kid making noise next door. Went back inside, kept the door open and sure enough the mystery noise was coming from next door. I would have bet every last dollar it was coming from upstairs.

    • So did you say sorry to the upstairs neighbour for all the wrong complaints?

    • I once had a downstairs neighbour call the police on me. Except the culprit was floors above. This is why we have proper channels through the building management.

  • +2

    Jump him with some friends and tell him to keep his mouth shut unless he wants another one?

  • can it be that since you are Chinese (assuming cz you understood Chinese) and the asshat of a neighbor is Chinese but the one who's making noises is not Chinese, he's taking it out on you?

  • +2

    IF legit, sending a stern letter is easy. Enforcing it is not. They can't easily get access to your place or kick you out, so relax. Send a letter back to your neighbour advising your chihuahuas are actually large rodents and the no-dog policy does not apply.

    If you ever get a legit breach notice, send your dogs to chill at a family friend's for a week. Then bring them back. They'll have to start the entire process again and will drive them NUTS.

    • +3

      lol large rodents. i laughed

  • While I understand the frustration of loud upstairs neighbours stomping and talking way to loud, but his actions seem excessive. I just started wearing ear plugs when I sleep, outside of sleep why would I care.

  • +3

    I strongly suggest this website and associated forum for any tenancy issues relating to strata living http://www.flat-chat.com.au/
    The guy who runs it Jimmy Thompson is very knowledgeable and writes for the Fairfax papers as well as appearing often on ABC and commercial radio. It is a fount of knowledge.

  • +1

    You also try getting an independent 3rd party to go to his unit to witness the noise. You may need a 2nd one to be in your place at the same time. Do some everyday stuff such as walking around, using toilet etc to see exactly what he is hearing.

    It may clear you guys or confirm that just maybe you are really noisy. If so perhaps buy some hall runners, wear some slippers etc just to quieten down.

  • Start going down stairs and knocking on his door at random times and tell him to stop the noise.

  • Not sure if I am late to the party but a few points;

    1. The neighbour needs to complain to strata about any noise coming from your apartment as result of structural faults (thin floors/concrete/old?). Do you have carpet or floorboards?
    2. The neighbour might've known he can't get you kicked out via your agent so went the strata route. As others have said discuss this with strata group first and confirm majority of tenants have agreed that no pet policy is preferred (doubt it).
    3. Contact the NSW Tenancy Tribunal - I've used them in the past and they are a good resource for this kind of thing. They can assist with both the harassment from the neighbour and the strata change
    4. Document everything with dates/times/pictures/audio recordings
    • I got a feeling for (2) that strata does not need majority to vote no-pet preference. Rather strata need majority to say no-pet is not the preference. As in the strata can make whatever they like, it is up to owners to vote against it.

      • There is no such thing as a Strata. Read my post from 12 June.

  • How sure are you that the downstairs Tennant hasn't faked a letter from body corp? It's been ~3 days since your initial post, have you got a copy of the by-laws yet?

  • -3

    I would keep the dogs, regardless of the rules, hey, these dogs are visiting, no laws against visits - STFU landlord.

    Second, pets are cleaner/quieter than babies, babies are NOT illegal to have, but they are NOISIER than a pet.

    Claim the dogs are human mutants - tell the chinese communist he will be deported if he doesnt STFU

  • I find most rental agents are useless to tenants (at least in NSW). Their jobs are too easy.

    I hope your agent will put in effort to help you. Good luck.

  • +1

    the rules for strata have changed. It depends on a few things but my understanding is that strata cannot deny a reasonable request to have an animal.
    https://www.lookupstrata.com.au/nsw-pet-rules-for-strata/

  • Kick his ass.

  • What the hell is "Strata" ? I checked my dictionary, looks like it is either a geology word. eg: rock strata or sociology word, eg: lowest strata of the social pyramid. How does that fit into OP's story? I am confused.

  • Have you got written proof of dogs being allowed ? They can't tell you to just get rid of your dogs by some "new policy".

    The police won't give a shit about the neighbour saying you are violating strata policies so just ignore the neighbour.

  • +1

    Tell him to f**k off (in Chinese)

  • -1

    Why are you not listening to the advice that people are giving you? Have you checked the CMS to see if dogs are allowed?
    Are you making all this up???

  • I'm not sure on the laws in NSW, but in VIC, if such a bylaw was introduced, it cannot be enforced respectively. If it's the same in NSW, let it go to tribunal, they'll get reemed.

    Also, the police don't get involved in civil matters like this so any threat of calling them is empty. Force their hand and say to them "By all means, go for it" while closing the door in the faces of abruptly hanging up on them.

  • How did the bloke influence the owners corporation to make the new rule? Is he even an owner?

    "This new model by-law would not ban pets altogether.
    Before being able to have a pet, owners would need to
    ask the owners corporation for permission to keep the
    pet. The owners corporation would consider the situation
    and would not be able to unreasonably refuse the owner
    permission to keep the pet.
    So, depending on the circumstances, it may be
    unreasonable for a scheme to refuse an owner having
    a cat as a pet, particularly if it is kept indoors. Each case
    would be considered on its merits."

    http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/biz_res/ftweb/pdfs/About_u…

    So it may be considered unreasonable. In NSW that is. Are they yappy
    Chihuahuas? Is there any other kind?

    "Tenants would still
    also need approval from their landlord to have a pet in
    the unit."

    Do you have permission?

  • Any updates?

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