Noise Complaints in Apartments: What Strata Can and Can't Enforce

Across Australia

Noise rules are local, but the pattern is national. NSW uses by-laws and NCAT. Victoria uses owners corporation rules and VCAT. Queensland uses body corporate by-laws and its dispute-resolution process. WA, SA, Tasmania, ACT and NT schemes all rely on their registered rules, nuisance provisions and local tribunal or court processes.

The evidence is usually more important than the state label: dates, times, recordings where lawful, acoustic reports for flooring disputes, and a clear link to the rule or by-law being breached.

The owner briefing

• Noise disputes improve when the complaint becomes specific: source, time, frequency and impact.
• By-laws can regulate unreasonable behaviour, but they cannot fix every acoustic weakness in an old building.
• The best committees combine fair enforcement with practical building fixes.

Noise cases are rarely solved by one angry email. The useful work is separating irritation, evidence, by-law wording and realistic enforcement.

Footsteps on the floor above, music at midnight, a barking dog and construction starting at 7am on Saturday can all lead to complaints. NSW Fair Trading data consistently ranks noise as the most common category of strata complaint.

Strata noise rules go beyond "keep it down after 10pm", but they also have limits. Residents need to separate conduct the scheme can enforce from normal domestic or external noise.

What strata by-laws can regulate

Strata by-laws set the internal rules for living in a scheme. Most strata schemes have by-laws that address noise, but the scope and specificity vary enormously. The model by-laws in NSW (Schedule 3 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016) include a general provision requiring owners and occupiers not to create noise likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of another owner or occupier.

Common by-law provisions include restricting hard flooring installations (requiring acoustic underlay), setting quiet hours (typically 10pm–8am on weekdays, 10pm–9am on weekends), requiring musical instruments and amplified sound to be played at reasonable volumes, limiting construction and renovation noise to specified hours, and requiring pets to be managed to minimise barking and other disturbance.

Noise Source	Strata By-Law Enforceable?	Council/EPA Enforceable?	Best Resolution Path
Loud music after quiet hours	Yes: breach of by-law	Yes: residential noise provisions	Strata notice to comply, then mediation
Footstep noise from upstairs	Depends: only if flooring by-law exists	Rarely; considered "normal domestic noise"	Mediation; acoustic assessment if flooring non-compliant
Barking dog during the day	Possible, if pet management by-law exists	Yes: council nuisance animal provisions	Council complaint often more effective than strata
Building renovation noise	Yes, within permitted hours	Yes: EPA Noise Guide provisions	By-law enforcement for hours; council for excessive noise
Common area noise (pool, gym)	Yes: by-law can set operating hours	Possibly, depending on noise level	Committee decision on hours and rules
Airbnb guest parties	Yes: breach of by-law and STRA code	Yes: residential noise provisions	By-law enforcement + STRA code complaint

What strata cannot enforce

There are important limits to what strata can regulate:

Normal domestic noise includes footsteps, closing doors, running water, cooking, conversation at normal volume and children playing. These sounds can be annoying in a building with poor acoustic insulation, but they will not usually support a by-law complaint unless the noise is objectively unreasonable.

Traffic, neighbouring construction, flight paths and other noise from outside the scheme are beyond the control of the owners corporation. These are council or EPA matters.

Strata by-laws generally do not apply to noise that stays within a lot. The issue begins when it crosses lot boundaries and affects other occupants.

The enforcement process

When noise does breach a by-law, enforcement usually works like this:

1. 01
   Polite neighbour conversation
2. 02
   Written complaint with dates and times
3. 03
   Notice to comply issued
4. 04
   Tribunal order and penalty
5. 05
   Mediation or NCAT application

1. Start with a direct conversation. Many noise issues begin because the other resident does not know how far the sound travels. A polite conversation or note may resolve the problem.

2. If direct communication does not work, complain to the strata manager in writing. Include dates, times, duration and the nature of the noise. Complaints from several residents strengthen the case.

3. The owners corporation can issue a formal Notice to Comply under section 146 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). This tells the owner or occupier which by-law they are breaching and that the behaviour must stop.

4. If the behaviour continues after a notice to comply, the owners corporation can apply to NCAT for an order imposing a penalty of up to $1,100 per breach, or $2,200 for a repeat offence.

5. If owners-corporation enforcement fails, individual owners can seek mediation through Fair Trading and, if necessary, apply to NCAT for orders.

Stopped after talk

48

By-law notice

27

Tribunal

9

Still open

16

The acoustic standards gap

One of the most frustrating aspects of noise in apartments is that many buildings, particularly those built before 2004, were constructed to acoustic standards that would be considered inadequate today. The National Construction Code (NCC) acoustic requirements were significantly strengthened in BCA 2004 and have been incrementally improved since.

Building Age	Typical Acoustic Standard	Noise Transfer Experience
Pre-2004	Minimal acoustic requirements in BCA	Significant airborne and impact noise transfer between lots
2004–2015	Improved BCA requirements (Rw 50, Ln,w 62 for floors)	Moderate noise transfer; footstep noise still common
Post-2015	Further strengthened NCC requirements	Generally good; well-built buildings have minimal noise transfer

If your building has poor acoustic performance due to its age or construction quality, the realistic options are limited. Retrofitting acoustic insulation into an existing building is expensive and disruptive. The most practical approaches are by-laws requiring acoustic underlay for hard flooring, rugs in high-traffic areas, and reasonable expectations calibrated to the building's construction era.

Flooring renovations

Replacing carpet with timber, tiles or laminate is a common source of strata noise disputes. Hard flooring can sharply increase impact noise in the lot below.

Many strata schemes now have by-laws requiring acoustic underlay or acoustic testing before hard flooring installation. If your building doesn't have such a by-law, it's worth proposing one at the next AGM. A well-drafted flooring by-law typically requires a minimum Impact Isolation Class (IIC) rating for any hard flooring installation, proof of acoustic compliance before approval is granted, and installation by a qualified contractor following manufacturer specifications.

Where UnitBuddy fits

UnitBuddy's building wellness assessment includes resident-satisfaction measures that capture noise issues. Buildings with clear noise by-laws and good acoustic construction score higher because noise affects liveability and property value.

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Shared walls will always carry some noise. Clear by-laws, consistent enforcement and a direct conversation before formal action keep ordinary sound from becoming a lasting dispute.

Further reading

• NSW: Managing sensitive noise complaints in a strata community, via LookUpStrata
• QLD: What is considered excessive noise in a strata scheme?, via LookUpStrata

Keep the scheme file in one place the committee and the manager can both open. Features, pricing, or book a tour.