How To Deal With Noisy Neighbors and Barking Dogs

Living near a noisy neighbor can be stressful, annoying, and disruptive. While you may not have the legal right to address every single noise your neighbor makes, some noises that substantially and unreasonably interfere with your comfort and convenience in your own home may qualify as nuisances.

If you’re a renter, you may be able to hand the problem off to your landlord to help resolve it. But there may be limits to what your landlord can or should do, so it’s essential to understand your rights and the procedures for addressing nuisance noises.

This article provides an overview of those rights and suggestions about dealing with noisy neighbors so that things do not escalate and become combative. While this article is a good summary, landlord-tenant and property laws vary from state to state and town to town. If problems with noise in your neighborhood continue and your landlord is unresponsive to requests for help, contact a local and experienced landlord-tenant lawyer for legal advice.

What Kinds of Noises Count as a Nuisance?

One of the biggest problems in addressing nuisance complaints concerning noisy neighbors is that, in most jurisdictions, there are no hard-and-fast rules for what qualifies as a nuisance. Most communities have specified quiet hours, typically around 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. During these times, noises are required to stay below a certain level. Noises that breach these limitations may often be easier to address than noises during unrestricted times.

A key measure in considering if a noise is a legal nuisance is the reasonableness of the sound. Having a motorcycle-riding neighbor who starts their bike up at 10:00 a.m. every morning and then drives away may feel annoying to some, but it’s not unreasonable for a person to use their own vehicle to come and go from their home. Conversely, starting a motorcycle at 7:00 a.m. every morning just to loudly rev it and let it run in the driveway for an hour could be considered unreasonable and, therefore, a nuisance.

It can also be difficult to tell when the sounds from a barking dog or noisy pet become a nuisance. Some jurisdictions may outline more stringent rules on what’s considered an unreasonable level of barking. A neighbor’s dog that barks whenever a car pulls into their driveway is very different from a dog that barks continuously throughout the day and night.

However, the legal validity of any noise complaint will likely hinge on the local rules and ordinances in your area.

What Can I Do About a Noisy Neighbor?

If you believe that your neighbor’s excessive noise level is a nuisance, there are a few places you should start when addressing the problem.

Start by recording when you hear the noises and how often you hear them. This record will be helpful if you need to escalate your complaint.

The type of neighbor who is making the noise may also determine the best course of action. Noise coming from college students or college housing may be best addressed by talking to the college’s housing department. Noise coming from a commercial enterprise may be best addressed by talking with the business owner. Is the next-door owner of the noisy dog an inexperienced dog owner or a seasoned dog lover?

If you are part of a homeowners association, you could talk to other members and see if anyone else thinks the incessant barking is barking and if anyone else has asked the neighbor to get their dog to stop barking.

Talk To Your Neighbor

In most cases, after documenting to prove you may be dealing with a genuine nuisance, your next step should be talking face-to-face with your neighbor. Often, perfectly reasonable people may be making much more noise than they realize, dog owners may be accustomed to the sound of their own dogs and be unaware of any barking problem, or they may not realize that the level of noise they make is bothering you. A friendly, non-confrontational conversation could let your neighbor know that certain noises are bothering you, and they may adjust their behavior.

Note the times you talked to your neighbor and their responses.

Of course, if you have reason to be afraid of a conversation with your neighbor, like if their noise consists of a lot of fighting or threatening, violent yelling, it would be reasonable to skip this step and go straight to your landlord for help.

Talk To Your Landlord

So what if your neighbor isn’t cooperative or cannot stop the noises? This would likely be a good time to talk to your landlord. Share the notes you’ve kept detailing how often this is a problem and what steps you’ve already taken to try and remedy the situation. Your landlord may be more likely to start working on a resolution for you if they can tell you’ve already tried to address it yourself or if they have reason to believe this is a nuisance and not just an occasional sound.

Your landlord is limited in what they must do to help you address noise complaints. In most areas, landlords are forbidden from causing unreasonable, uncomfortable disturbances that impact your ability to enjoy your home. They’re also responsible for preventing their agents or tenants from causing unreasonable disturbance.

So, your landlord will likely try to help you resolve your conflict with the person in the apartment next to you but wouldn’t be required to do anything about a barking dog across the street in someone else’s apartment complex. However, you could still ask your landlord for help or advice if they know how to address noise issues in the neighborhood better. Just be aware that there could be more limitations.

Sometimes, just hearing from the landlord that a problem exists can prompt a noisy neighbor to change their behavior. If the noise doesn’t stop, continue documenting the problems and follow up with your landlord. Depending on your lease, your landlord may be able to impose penalties, such as fines, that could encourage your neighbors to watch their noise level.

In extreme cases, your landlord may start the eviction process on especially loud neighbors, but be aware that this can take a while in many jurisdictions. If your otherwise helpful landlord hasn’t solved the noisy neighbor problem immediately, ask for follow-up or updates. It could be that they’re doing everything they can to help you but are tied up in waiting times.

Consult Local Laws

If your neighbor’s pets are creating the noise problem and you cannot get a resolution, you may be able to invoke a local noise ordinance, pet ordinance, or state law. Laws regulating pets and other animals often have the terms “dogs,” “dog owners,” “animal control,” or “animal law enforcement” in the title.

Such laws typically regulate the following animal behavior, pet owner actions, or other conditions:

• Types of animals allowed in a home
• Number of animals allowed per household
• Length of time and frequency of dog barking allowed
• Leash requirements for dogs
• The requirement to clean up after your pet
• Rabies vaccination requirement

Stay informed on the laws that you believe are being broken. This can help determine whether you should contact the police or animal control authorities.

Talk To Local Authorities

In extreme cases, you may need to call the police or animal control to file a noise complaint or to address a dog’s constant barking. But be aware: private nuisance complaints are usually civil problems, not criminal ones, so there may be limitations on what the police can do.

This step can also strain your relationship with your neighbor, making it harder to resolve any further issues between yourselves. However, this option may be available if there is a genuine safety risk.

Hire a Landlord-Tenant Attorney and File a Lawsuit

Legal action may be a last resort. Nuisance lawsuits can be challenging to win. You may have to prove you sustained some type of harm worth financial compensation or that the nuisance is so severe that the courts must intervene and require your neighbor to stop what they’re doing. These results aren’t impossible, but they may be tricky and could require knowing the exact technical language of the local rules to make a strong case in your favor. Consulting with an experienced landlord-tenant attorney or law firm can help you understand your options and, if necessary, better prepare your legal case.