MEDIA RELEASE
20 December 2004

Love thy neighbour and keep the noise down

Summer is a great time for barbecues and entertaining at home, but remember to think of your neighbours when planning a social event.

Auckland City receives 17,000 complaints about noise each year, and these can number up to 1800 a month during the summer.

“In Auckland city, houses are often very close together, so it’s important to think of your neighbours when hosting a gathering or using noisy machinery,” says Geoff Atherfold, team leader, compliance monitoring. “As a host you have a responsibility to make sure your guests are not too noisy.”

You cannot get a permit to make noise, but there are some things you can keep in mind:

- ensure burglar alarms are installed correctly and are not oversensitive or faulty. If you’re going away, give a trusted neighbour a contact number in case in case the alarm goes off by mistake
- inform neighbours in advance about a party or invite them. Ask them to contact you if the noise gets too loud.
- advise neighbours of planned work on your section that may be noisy
- minimise noise travelling from the property by keeping doors or windows closed
- turn the noise down at a reasonable hour at night, eg. 10pm
- don’t start up noisy equipment such as chainsaws early in the morning or late in the evenings.

If council receives a complaint about noise coming from your property, a noise control officer will be sent out to investigate. If the officer believes the complaint is justified, you may be issued with an excessive noise direction, which means you cannot create excessive noise for 72 hours. If you fail to comply with the direction and an officer is called back to your property, you can be fined or have your noisy equipment confiscated.

If you are bothered by a noisy party or other excessive noise, you can call Auckland City any time of the day or night. It is important to phone when the noise is occurring so action can be taken.

For more information, contact Auckland City on (09) 379 2020 or visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz.

Ends

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