What can I do about a noisy neighbour in BC?

Question

Accepted Answer

Mostly the local noise bylaw: a council's sets what neighbours may do and when, a regional district has one only where it runs a noise service, and a strata's bylaws bar unreasonable noise. Noise between neighbours is set mostly by local bylaws, not by a provincial law. Some rural areas have no noise bylaw at all. In a strata the bylaws bind owners, tenants and visitors alike, and the Civil Resolution Tribunal hears strata disputes. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. In a town: A council may regulate, prohibit and set requirements by bylaw for nuisances and for noise, vibration, odour, dust or light liable to disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of people (Community Charter ss. 8 (3) (h), 64 (a), (b)). Most towns have a noise bylaw with quiet hours and limits for construction, music and equipment, enforced by the bylaw office (our reading). In a regional district: A regional district board may regulate noise that disturbs a neighbourhood, and prevent and abate nuisances, only where it provides a service for noise or nuisance control (Local Government Act ss. 323 to 325), and it may set different rules for different areas (s. 324 (2)). Where it provides none, an electoral area has no noise bylaw (our reading): ask the regional district. What the limits look like: Some bylaws set sound levels at the neighbour's lot line: 55 dBA by day and 45 at night in Richmond's quiet zones and in Sidney, 50 and 45 in Oak Bay, as their heat pump guides quote them. Others bar noise that disturbs, with no number. In a strata: A strata's bylaws are the Standard Bylaws except where it has filed different ones (Strata Property Act s. 120 (1)). The Standard Bylaws bar an owner, tenant, occupant or visitor from using a strata lot or the common property in a way that causes a nuisance, causes unreasonable noise or unreasonably interferes with others' use and enjoyment (Schedule of Standard Bylaws s. 3 (1) (a) to (c)). A complaint goes to the strata council; a claim about the bylaws or the use or enjoyment of a strata lot can go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal (Civil Resolution Tribunal Act s. 121 (1) (a), (c)). Renting: A tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment, including freedom from unreasonable disturbance (Residential Tenancy Act s. 28 (b)). A buyer who rents out a suite owes a tenant that, and a tenant's own noise is dealt with under the tenancy (see renting out a suite). A farm next door: Normal farm practice on ALR land, or where farm use is allowed, is shielded from nuisance claims, and on ALR land from local noise bylaws (see living next to a farm). Between neighbours: Apart from the bylaws, a neighbour whose noise unreasonably interferes with the use of your land can be sued in nuisance in the courts (our reading). Most disputes start with a talk, then a complaint to the bylaw office or the strata council. What it means for a buyer: Noise bylaws aren't open data, so a report doesn't say whether one covers the lot. Its Noise sources nearby section gives the distance to the nearest railway, highway and airport. Visit at night and on a weekend, and ask about complaints made by or about the house.

What can I do about a noisy neighbour in BC?

What the answer means

Before you buy: who to ask