Are you violating the rules?
Christmas might be the most joyful time of year for most, but for some of us with annoying neighbours is can be the worst time of year.
As Christmas lights are strung along gutters and giant inflatable reindeers are attached to roof tiles, decorating your house for Christmas can bring out neighbourly issues. Suddenly, all of the problems with early morning mowing, fence heights, and barking dogs comes to a head over the placement of one blow-up Santa.
In fact, neighbour complaints to council tend to increase quite a bit come Christmas light season, but how many of these complaints are actually valid?
Well, here are the most common legal reasons why neighbours complain about Christmas lights.
Noise is unreasonable
If your inflatable Santa sings ‘Jingle Bells’ well into the night, you might want to be prepared for a few calls from council.
In NSW, it’s an offence to play loud music after 10pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Fridays and Saturdays, the curfew is midnight.
Furthermore, The Environment Protection Authority says that any noise that can be heard from inside another person’s house is considered unreasonable.
Lights are too bright
According to ABC, neighbours can complain to local councils if your lights are a nuisance. This can mean that your lights are too bright and could be stopping your neighbour from sleeping or the lights compromising your neighbour’s privacy due to the high car/foot traffic in the area.
Your lights violate your building rules
If you rent in a building with multiple floors, you might want to check your building rules before you start stringing up your lights or you might end up with an upset neighbour talking your ear off.
Some body corporates ask tenants not to hang Christmas lights, or have specifications on where the lights can be displayed.
Your lights are violating privacy or causing high traffic
If you’re someone who sees putting up Christmas lights as your second job during December, you might want to make sure hordes of people aren’t trampling your neighbour’s lawn to get to your display.
Neighbours are well within their rights to complain if your lights are violating their privacy. Plus, if a complaint is made and your display is found to be causing traffic blockages, you could be hit with a hefty $25,000 fee for traffic control.
To avoid complaints from neighbours or tenants, we recommend:
- Checking the noise restrictions in your area
- Avoiding hanging lights near neighbour’s bedrooms or bathrooms
- Turning off lights after midnight
- Checking building by-laws before decorating
Written by Kate Stevens
Images: Getty
