Noisy Neighbour in Your Condo: Your Options in Ontario

Ongoing noise from the unit next door can wear you down fast. In a condo, you share walls, floors and ceilings with your neighbours, so how a noise problem is handled depends on your situation and your building's own rules, and it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

This article explains how to check what your building allows, how to put a complaint on the record, what to do if the rules are weak, and when to get legal advice. What the corporation must do in your case depends on the wording of your documents and the facts, so a lawyer can confirm it.

Start with your governing documents

Every condo has a declaration, by-laws and rules. Together they set out what owners, tenants and guests may and may not do. Noise and nuisance provisions can appear in any of the three, and the wording varies from building to building.

Rules must aim to promote the safety and welfare of owners and property, or to prevent unreasonable interference with the use of units, common elements or assets. They must also be reasonable and consistent with the Condominium Act, the declaration and the by-laws. Rules do not need to be registered, unlike the declaration and by-laws, so ask management for the current set.

The declaration is not held to any legal standard of reasonableness. If a restriction is in the declaration, you generally cannot argue that it is unreasonable in the way you can with a rule.

Make a clear complaint

A complaint is easier to act on when it is specific and in writing. Management and the board usually need to see a pattern, not a single bad night.

• Keep a log of dates, times, how long the noise lasted and what it sounded like.
• Note which provision in the declaration, by-laws or rules you think is being broken.
• Send your complaint in writing to the property manager or the board, and keep a copy.
• Save any replies and note any follow-up from the corporation.
• Where it feels safe, consider a polite word with the neighbour first, since some problems are simply unnoticed.

If the noise involves safety, such as threats or an emergency, contact the police or emergency services rather than waiting for the condo process.

If the rules do not cover your problem

Sometimes the noise is real but the building's rules are silent or vague. When the board makes or changes a rule, it must send owners the proposed rule, its suggested start date and a reminder of the right to requisition a meeting.

To make or change a rule, the board must send owners the proposed rule, its suggested start date, a reminder of the right to requisition a meeting, and copies of sections 46 and 58 of the Act. The rule takes effect 30 days after notice unless owners requisition a meeting. If owners do requisition one, the board must hold the meeting and a vote within 35 days, and the vote is decided by a majority of votes cast by owners.

A requisition must be in writing, state the topics, be signed by owners of at least 15% of the voting units, and be delivered to the board. Tenants cannot sign it, and neither can owners who are 30 days or more in arrears.

Disputes, the Tribunal and your own duties

If the corporation does not respond, you may wonder about the Condominium Authority Tribunal. The Tribunal's reach depends on the subject. For pets, for example, it can decide disputes about provisions in the governing documents, but it cannot deal with a pet dispute that is not tied to a specific provision. That shows why pinning your complaint to a specific provision matters. Whether a noise dispute can go to the Tribunal or elsewhere depends on its facts, so confirm this with a lawyer before filing.

Your own conduct matters too. The same logic applies to you: follow the rules while you seek change.

What to do next

• Get the declaration, by-laws and current rules.
• Start a dated noise log today.
• Send a written complaint naming the provision you believe is breached.
• If the rules are the problem, talk to other owners about proposing a rule change.
• If the corporation does not act, speak with a lawyer about your options and the right forum.

Frequently asked questions