piano teacher creating noise

Hi. I need advice on a noise ordinance breach issue and a breach of deed of mutual covenant. A lady has moved into our building who is teaching piano. The noise has become unbearable- noise nuisance- and she is also breaking the covenant of the building- no commercial activities.


According to the noise ordinances,section 5, anyone who at ANYTIME causes an annoyance, with among other things, a musical instrument, is committing and offense. From what I have gathered from both the police and the govnt webites, it is the police who gather evidence for this.


The police have previously been to my flat to listen to the noise, and advised me not to take matters into my own hands, but leave it to them to gather evidence.


I agreed to this, and have been calling them over the last few months to complain about he noise. I thought they were gathering evidence during this process. I found out today that this is only they were doing...after I complain, they send two officers. One stands outside the piano teachers door, one outside mine. They decide there is no noise and go away.

I was dumbfounded at this. I am not complaining about the noise in the hallway..but the noise traveling through the structure in to my flat. I am not sure how standing in the hallway is a valid judge of the annoyance to me sitting in my flat.


Secondly, the piano teacher is breaking the deed of mutual covenant. She has students come throughout the day in a residential only building. My management company says they cannot do anything unless they have evidence of money changing hands.


Is there anyone that can give any advice as to how I proceed. The noise from the piano can be louder than my TV many times, and being able to sit and read quietly without disturbance in totally out.

Thanks.

why not just book a lesson and pay for it? And record the noise making a careful note of timings.

Agent provocateur?? good idea and make sure you get a receipt.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have already looked into those ideas, but she already knows who I am, and I don't know how she recruits her students. She is trying to hide the fact that she is doing paid work. One of her 'students' told me he didn't come for lessons, he just came for a chat and to play some music. He was around 13 years old. She is in her mid forties. She has a lot of 'young friends' just like that come visit her!

Isn't there anything in the DMC also about not causing a nuisance to other tenants? The management committee doesn't need proof of income for that. Can you find out who her landlord is, if she has one? There will probably also be a clause in her Tenancy Agreement stipulating that she can't cause a nuisance to other tenants, and that she can't use the premises for anything other than residential use.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had not thought of checking the DMC to see if there is anything in there about causing a nusisance to other tennants. I will check it out.

As far as I can tell, she is the owner of the flat, as she did make some attempts to deal with the noise when I first complained. She put another layer of windows in her lounge and put a double door on. I told the management at the time to tell her that those measure would make no difference as the noise was coming through the floor and walls, not the windows. She went ahead anyway. Now she has told my wife that she intends to do no more and we have to lump it. She will not enter into any dialogue. She called the police when I tried to talk to her husband and refused to answer the doorbell when I rang-the piano noise continued-and then called the police when I would not go away and waited for her student to leave.

I am going away on holiday for a couple of weeks now. But please keep coming up with ideas. I will check as soon as I get back.

Thank you all for offering some advice.

If you know her name, you can check easily enough to see if she's the owner by doing a Land Search - I can give you the link, but if you don't know her name it won't help.


Next time you call the police, make sure they come into your flat. As you said, there's no point in their standing outside because that's not where the noise is. And each time you call them, ask them for the report number - I think that's what it's called. Years ago I was having problems with barking dogs, and each time I called the police they treated it as a new complaint because I didn't have the report number of the previous complaint. And because each one was treated as a new complaint, it wasn't considered a serious problem. (Don't even get me started on the fact that they didn't voluntarily give me report numbers, and I only found this out by accident.)


Unfortunately, though, you might find that the noise inside your flat isn't enough for police action. Mind you it sounds like it should be, if its drowning out the noise of your TV.


Do you have any trusted friends who could book a piano lesson and get a receipt? Or have you tried googling to see if she advertises on the Net or has a website or something?


I think your best bet is the DMC and the owners committee though. I've just realised that in your original post you said the "management company" couldn't do anything. Maybe they can't, or won't, so get in touch with the Incorporated Owners Committee.