Legal ‘battle’ with noisy neighbors

Young couple Dung and Ngan just moved to a crowded neighborhood in the inner city of Hanoi two years ago. The new house is near the market, close to the office and good security, everything makes them satisfied, except that the next door neighbor has 6 big dogs. The whole herd of dogs often barked at the same time, day and night, causing Ngan and her husband to have headaches and severe insomnia.

Turns out they weren’t the only ones bothered. Ngan brought the complaint to the surrounding mothers, everyone shook their heads in disgust. “That guy used to go to prison, so everyone was afraid to collide and didn’t dare to speak. For five years now, after each newspaper report, the ward sends someone to remind him and then everything is ‘as if nothing’,” a neighbor said.

Ngan and his wife listened to the advice, had to strengthen the door against noise, install more thick curtains, but could not close the door and pull the curtain all day. Things got worse since Ngan got pregnant and gave birth. The child sleeps soundly, is easily startled, there is not a day when he does not cry because of the barking of the dog morning and night.

Dung decided to talk to the dog’s owner and received a flat sentence: “I’ve been here since the past, no one has said a word. What opinion do you come after? If you don’t like it, go somewhere else to stay.” . Dung was helpless, knowing that he could not reason with this person.

Many VnExpress readers sympathize with the suffering of noisy neighbors like Mr. Dung: “Residential noise is a problem”; “Please share your family’s sadness and sorrow. I understand because next to my house is a pack of 10 dogs, each of them barking, howling, the whole neighborhood wakes up, but its owner still sleeps well or good. “. 83% of readerscorresponding to 1,369 survey respondents, supported Mr. Dung and the neighborhood to file a complaint with the government until it can be resolved.

The law already regulates the responsibilities of dog and cat owners in Section 2, Appendix 15 issued together with Circular No. 07/2016/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Accordingly, dog owners must “ensure veterinary hygiene conditions, not make noise, adversely affect people around”.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Binh (Bao Ngoc Law Firm, Hanoi) advises people to ask the competent state agency to assess whether the dog barking exceeds the maximum allowable limit. If it is exceeded, people can request intervention to handle the above violation and overcome the consequences.

Pursuant to the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection and Decree 155/2015/ND-CP, the act of making noise in excess of the maximum allowable limit is a violation of the law on environmental protection. Those who make noise in excess of the technical regulation on noise from 2 dBA to over 40 dBA shall be subject to an administrative fine of between one and 160 million dong.

Legislation in many countries defines residential noise as not only a nuisance but also a health hazard. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) America, Exposure to certain daily sounds at close range can cause hearing damage, stress, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances, and dementia and memory loss in young children.

Authorities suggest that affected residents take the following steps: notify neighbors about the noise, propose reconciliation, if there is no improvement, then call the police and finally file a complaint. .

In most states in the US, the courts usually claim between $2,500-10,000, or $20 per day affected by that noise. If the noise problem is really serious, causing the plaintiff to lose sleep, fatigue or affect his work, the compensation can be up to 100 USD per day.

On January 18, after 19 years of pursuing a lawsuit against a neighbor abouttoilet flushing too noisy, an elderly couple from the province of La Spezia, northwest Italy, has achieved victory. Accordingly, they will receive compensation for emotional harm, determined at 500 euros per year from the date of the petition, totaling 9,500 euros for 19 years, about 11,000 USD.

In this case, the Italian Supreme Court found that the noise from a neighbor’s toilet flush “infrings on human rights, including the right to be guaranteed and protected under Article 8 of ECHR, the European Convention on human right”.

In Japan. The defendant also ignored the warnings of the local authorities and the situation lasted for up to 29 consecutive months.

Under Japanese law, people who make noise that affect other residents can be criminally prosecuted with up to one year in prison and up to 100,000 yen ($770) in damages. However, in particular, making serious noise and intentionally not remedied when prompted, can be charged Deliberately inflicting injurywith the risk of facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

In Australia, noise regulations are enforced by individual states and territories. For example, in the state of South Australia, there is no maximum threshold for noise, which will be subjectively assessed by the local council or police if noise becomes a nuisance or there is a complaint. If you refuse to reduce noise after being warned by the authorities, the maximum fine is AUD 10,000 for each individual of the offending household, according to Local Disruption and Waste Control Act 2016 (SA).

Hai Thu