USD
GBP
EUR
Amidst neighborhood noise
There is often a point of contradiction
Does this leave even the principles of justice unsure of which side to stand on?
That is
"What exactly constitutes normal daily behavior, and who is at fault?"
Let's look at two cases first for immersive understanding:
Case 1: I sleep during the day, so I ask my neighbor to keep the noise down.
Let's call this place A, a couple.
The man works in the finance industry and usually works until late at night, so his schedule is to sleep during the day and work at night. In addition, he is an extremely sensitive person to sound.
His neighbor B has a normal daily routine. He has two children, one in elementary school and the other in kindergarten. After school at 4 pm, the noise from the two children playing at home, along with the sounds of the kitchen range hood, chopping vegetables, and stir-frying, disturbs A's family who need to sleep at that time.
So, A expressed her concern to B, hoping that B could keep the noise down, as the male head of A's household is a light sleeper. B was initially a little embarrassed but readily agreed. However, she thought that it wasn't unreasonable for her own child to play outside of rest time, so why should she be restricted in her own home? The more she thought about it, the more unfair it seemed, and A's visits to B became increasingly frequent, even escalating to retaliatory actions like loudly banging on the door and walls. As a result, a significant and irreconcilable conflict developed between the two families.
The opposite scenario is when someone works late and doesn't get home until the early hours of the morning, and the noise from closing doors, showering, and walking disturbs the neighbors (this type of disturbance is more common):
Case 2: Female live streamer's activities at 4 AM disturb neighbors.
Girl A is in her early twenties and works in the currently popular live streaming industry, so her work and rest schedule is reversed day and night.
The downstairs neighbors, B and their family, have a normal daily routine.
One day, B was woken up by loud music, talking, singing, and stomping sounds coming from upstairs. B went upstairs to find A. A readily admitted that she was a live streamer and said she would be more careful in the future.
The truth is, although A lowered her voice a bit, the sounds of her walking, talking, and washing up still disturbed B. A's excuses were always that she had to because of work, and that she was already being very careful; couldn't she even have some freedom in her own home? This left B helpless, like someone suffering in silence. B couldn't sleep all night, and her health, life, and work were all severely disrupted.
What deserves our attention here is
Who is right and who is wrong?
This is something even the police find difficult to handle when upholding the law.
The problem of judgment
Here's a multiple-choice question for everyone:
Analysis: Who is at fault?
To determine who is right and who is wrong
Let us first understand
What constitutes "normal sounds of daily life at home"?
Here is a netizen's opinion:
Your "normal" lifestyle is merely your perception of "normal." My upstairs neighbor plays volleyball in their bedroom in the middle of the night, occasionally dropping balls, every single day. They say it's their normal habit and they can't and won't change it! Different families have different understandings of "normal." For a normal family, normal life is freedom based on not disturbing others' normal routines. Those lacking manners are basically in a state of primitive indulgence; any noise from their own family is "normal," while noise from others is "retaliation" and unacceptable!
This netizen's opinion
It points out the key point of "the sounds of normal home life".
Whether something is normal or not, who gets to decide ?
What one person considers normal
Or is it what a group of people think is normal?
So let's look at a more explicit statement.
Noise needs to be differentiated by its nature:
1. Normal daily noise, such as the sound of air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, walking in soft-soled slippers, normal television, music, vacuum cleaners, etc.;
2. Ethical noise, such as normal daily noise caused by asynchronous living and study schedules;
3. Infringing (illegal) noise, such as noise created intentionally, as a form of attack, or as retaliation.
We must severely crack down on infringing noise; we must improve the quality of our neighbors and promote consultation and communication to address ethical noise; and we must standardize noise levels to regulate normal daily life noise.
Therefore, to analyze the right and wrong in a noise case
First, you need to distinguish which category the "noise" belongs to.
Let's illustrate this further with the two cases above:
Case 1: A asks neighbor B to keep quiet because A's schedule is different from A's, including the sounds of children playing, running, and jumping, as well as the sounds of chopping and stir-frying vegetables. Is the noise from B's home considered normal household noise or unpleasant noise?
A: This case is a bit unusual, as it occurred during the day, outside of public rest hours. The noise from B's household is perfectly normal for them. So, what should A, who has a specific need for quiet, do if they want to protect their rights? That depends on whether B's normal noise levels exceed the permitted limits.
Case 2: Due to work reasons, A works in the early morning (public rest hours), and the noise from A's work severely affects B's life. After learning about B's distress, A tried to lower the volume, but the noise persists. Is A's noise considered normal daily noise, ethical noise, or perhaps even an infringement of rights?
A: First, it can be confirmed that the sounds A made the first time constitute ethical noise, including sound equipment, loud talking, stomping, etc., which are all behaviors that obviously cause noise. The second noise, the noise of walking, talking, and washing up, still disturbs B, but whether it is ethical noise depends on whether these sounds exceed the noise standard. If A knowingly disturbs the neighbor but still does what he wants, singing, dancing, stomping, and talking loudly, it can be considered as infringement noise.
Police: Standards can be used to determine the party at fault for noise pollution.
So how exactly do we determine if the standard has been exceeded? The "Code for Acoustic Design of Civil Buildings" stipulates the permissible indoor noise level for residential areas (latest revised version):
Note: The indoor permissible noise level in this standard should be the standard value for daytime and nighttime periods with windows closed, and the noise characteristics should be steady-state noise. The corresponding times for daytime and nighttime periods are: daytime, 6:00 to 22:00; nighttime, 22:00 to 6:00.
Steady-state noise refers to continuous noise with an intensity fluctuation range of less than 5dB, or impulse noise with a repetition frequency greater than 10Hz.
Another standard is environmental noise, which addresses the impact of noise emitted from a noise source on noise-sensitive buildings. The measurement method is the decibel value received in a noise-sensitive building with windows open.
* Residential buildings are classified as Class 1, meaning that the ambient noise level in your home should be maintained between 45 and 55 decibels when the windows are open.
There is one concept that needs to be emphasized here:
That's the indoor permissible noise level. It actually represents the noise standard that a residence should meet after being built according to the "Sound Insulation Design Code". In other words, there's a major prerequisite for measuring the "indoor permissible noise level": your house's sound insulation must meet the standard. Only if you measure noise exceeding 33/45 decibels with doors and windows closed can you say your neighbor is causing noise pollution. Otherwise, you can only judge based on environmental standards.
However, you can assume that the sound insulation of the floor slabs/partition walls of the house meets the standards, because legally, developers must ensure that their houses meet relevant mandatory sound insulation standards for successful inspection upon delivery. (These standards are even more evident in fully furnished apartments.)
Based on this standard, police officers and other personnel will know how to determine the party at fault.
Case 1: If the normal daytime noise level of household B exceeds 45/55 decibels when measured in household A with windows closed/open, then household B's noise pollution is considered a disturbance. The police can issue a verbal warning or impose a fine on household B. Conversely, if household B's noise level is below 45/55 decibels, then household A's demands are too demanding, and the police can advise household A to improve its soundproofing.
Case 2: If, during the night, the steady-state noise level measured at home A (with windows closed/open) exceeds 33/45 decibels, the police can determine that even normal daily activities at home A constitute noise pollution and can issue a warning or impose a fine. Conversely, if the noise level does not exceed the limit, home B needs to consider implementing appropriate sound insulation and vibration reduction measures.
However, the most difficult thing is whether the police know how to measure noise levels in decibels. Therefore, to avoid such trouble, the person reporting the incident should buy a sound level meter to measure the noise level themselves and record the evidence to inform the investigators. This will save the police from the difficulty of obtaining evidence due to a lack of professional sound level measuring equipment.
Here is a sample response:
model essay:
You: Neighbor, your house is too noisy, can you be a little quieter? It's so late at night!
Neighbor: I'm just doing normal things at home, I haven't done anything. Aren't you being too sensitive?
You: I guessed you'd say that, so I can only let the evidence speak for itself. First, you have a misconception. Whether something is normal in your own home isn't just a matter of what you think is right. If the noise is caused by you and exceeds national standards, it constitutes noise pollution. You might not know these standards, but I looked them up. They're based on the permissible indoor noise levels set in the "Code for Sound Insulation Design of Civil Buildings." During the day (6:00-22:00), it shouldn't exceed 45 decibels, and at night (22:00-6:00), it shouldn't exceed 33 decibels. I just measured it with a sound level meter, and the noise in your home has consistently exceeded 33 decibels for an hour, which constitutes noise pollution. I also recorded a video, which you can see. Secondly, noise is divided into normal living noise, ethical noise, and infringing noise. The noise you're causing, due to different sleeping habits, occurs when everyone else is trying to sleep. This is considered ethical noise, not normal noise. The solution is for everyone to be considerate and negotiate amicably. That's why I'm contacting you. You might not have realized you were disturbing me, but now that you are, if the noise continues or worsens, it could be considered deliberate retaliatory noise infringement. This requires strict action, and the only solution is to call the police. Finally, I don't like arguing; I was genuinely disturbed and had no other choice but to contact you. I hope you understand. Let's prioritize harmony and maintain good neighborly relations; after all, we'll be living together for decades!
However, if your neighbor's noise level is indeed within acceptable limits but you're still being disturbed, don't worry or complain. Just proactively improve soundproofing in your own home. For advice on how and who to contact, feel free to contact us for free!