New fines for noisy neighbours

Kathryn Firth and son Jasper. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Noisy neighbours face instant $500 fines as Auckland City Council gets tough on persistent offenders.

Infringement notices will be issued on the spot by noise control officers, in the same way parking wardens issue tickets, says councillor Aaron Bhatnagar.

Noisy commercial premises will face fines of $750.

Bhatnagar said the council had been able to impose fines of up to $10,000, but only after a lengthy court process. That made such punishments "extraordinarily rare".

The council receives about 21,000 noise complaints a year. The figure is rising about 7 per cent every 12 months.

Applying the new, standard penalties would send a clear message about the consequences of breaking the rules, Bhatnagar said.

Officers would be armed with sound-measuring equipment to establish if noise levels had been breached.

Tony Mayes from the Mt Albert Residents Association said he had to call noise control to a neighbour's party two weeks ago. Officers were slow to arrive, but they confiscated drums "and that quietened them down".

The council said other measures introduced last year to crack down on noise problems had already led to "escalated" complaints - those dealt with by the mayor's office or executive team - falling by 40 per cent.

Changes introduced last July included a faster response and more officers on duty during busy summer months.

The council also targeted the city's worst noise offenders - 11 households that typically prompted complaints from neighbours every weekend.

Officers visited the households during the day and told them of the distress they were causing and the actions that could be taken against them.

The council declined to reveal the streets involved.

Officers were also issuing more excessive noise notices and seizing more equipment, such as stereos.

Pleading for quiet

Neighbours who endured a year of high-decibel partying have welcomed the council's tough new stance.

One household in Konini Rd, Greenlane, sparked 69 complaints in a year.

Neighbour Kathryn Firth said the group of young men had parties every week, with loud music and drinking.

"Often they were out on the street yelling and screaming as well."

A group of locals held a meeting with the flatmates to discuss the problem, to no avail. Firth said giving noise control officers the power to apply instant fines was a "brilliant" move.

Her neighbour Gregor Robinson said the fines could be effective if used regularly.

But his neighbours had boasted their parents would pay any fines. "I guess it's unusual to get kids who don't care about $500 fines."

The noisy neighbours moved out recently when their tenancy expired.

heather.mccracken@hos.co.nz