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As I took a bicycle trip from the horrible, noisy ghetto where I live, back to the fancy neighbourhood where I grew up, I was shocked by how many loudmouths there were. For instance, one of the neighbours to the house where I grew up had a bunch of teenagers listening to loud music outdoors, screaming and shouting in a very obnoxious manner.

Is that generally "allowed"? I mean, in the West. If people live in an apartment and play loud music, bang hammers into the floor or otherwise make a horrible noise (something I know all too well...), it is at least theoretically possible to report it to the landlord/company that owns the building, and in theory, they will make them shut up. (Whether that's actually done in practice is a whole other matter. They appear to have ignored me for years.)

But if somebody has a stand-alone house and there is no obvious "community area", and they make a bunch of noise which affects me (assuming I live there in another house), who are you supposed to call then? The cops? I wouldn't want to involve the police, for multiple reasons. (Not wanting to make bitter enemies and face retaliation, social awkwardness, not wanting to generally telephone, not sure it's a "crime", etc.)

Is this some sort of terrible freedom that house owners have? Can they basically make as much noise as they want on their property? If so, the whole concept of "peace and quiet" that I always have associated with owning your own house goes straight out the window.

D. Irani
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3 Answers3

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In the US, many municipalities have ordinances outlawing loud noises during some night hours. It may start as early as 10pm or as late as 11pm, and end as early as 6am or as late as 7am.

Unfortunately, you have to deal with it in the way which you indicated you would rather not. The people to call to deal with this are the police. You don't have to be present when the police arrives. Nor will they tell the neighbors who called them. But if the noise ordinance is violated, it is their job to deal with it.

During the day-time hours, it is generally legal to make loud noises unless they exceed some very extreme levels. But those extreme levels are probably more than anything casual teenagers can do. If the walls of the house are not visibly shaking, that's probably not it.

grovkin
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In , the local council usually deals with statutory nuisances, and work with the police to tackle Anti-social behaviour.

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In Sweden, the Environmental Code classifies noise as a type of pollution, which is regulated. The Swedish EPA has rules. They suggest first trying to work it out with the offender, and if that fails, contact the environmental office of your municipal authority, who may or may not take action. You can then appeal the decision to the county administrative board. The English guidance is quite perfunctory, compared to the Swedish page, but either way it seems to be a rather discretionary matter on the part of the government.

user6726
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