We’ve contacted the Rental Management Australia Port Kennedy so many times via email to report their tenants behaviours, noise, party almost every week, swearing a lot till late at night, screaming, very very loud talking, talking about drugs, and all this next to my 7 year old kid’s room, but the Real Estate did nothing to solve the issue.
Not acceptable at all. I’ve contacted the council, in vain, even reported to the police, they said it’s up to the Real Estate. No one is doing something. They also says bad thing about us and we could hear everything as they were talking in front our house with one of their friend and they were even talking about smashing our windows.
The Real Estate - Rental Management Australia Port Kennedy is more worried about their rental money and don’t care about the community where they put bad tenants like them.
I’ve put this here so that people can know what type of Real Estate they are.
In most states, noise from residents comes under the responsibility of the police (music, parties, yelling, threatening behaviour etc). Noise from residential devices (tools, motors etc) comes under the responsibility of councils or state governments.
A real estate agent has little power to stop noise from residents/tenants, other than to ask them politely to be quieter as they have received a complaint. If it continues they may not have the ability to really do much, and if they take action, it may not be successful (or take some time for an outcome).
Also, noise needs to be considered unreasonable for action to be taken. Reasonableness is determined by its frequency, duration, volume and nature. It may be worth documenting when the noise occurs and the nature of the noise, including its effects (woke you up, couldn’t hear the TV etc).
It might be worth reading the information on your police, council and state government environment department websites on who has responsibility for what noise sources.
There are three parties to the circumstances related.
One is the OP @Ashitto and frustration evident.
The second is the neighbour, who also happens to be a tenant.
The third is a local letting Real Estate Agent, which has been identified.
There is only one party’s version of events. Not to say it is incorrect, what are some of the recommended remedies for resolving conflict between neighbours in WA - Rockingham LGA?
Most longer paths appear to lead to the Magistrates Court.
Should a neighbour who is a tenant be subject to any different standard of community behaviour than an owner occupier?
A useful reference to Tenancy in WA, including reference to resolution through a court of law.
Depending on which State or Territory similar circumstances will need careful reference to the relevant legislation and government authorities. A key point to consider is whether a Real Estate - rental agent has a legal obligation to respond and what if any authority they may have in respect of the type of complaint.
Hi @Ashitto, sorry to hear you have found yourself in this situation. Disruptive neighbours or neighbours that are frequently disturbing the peace is not something that anyone wants to be forced to deal with. There’s an extra element of stress and frustration as it’s affecting you in your own home.
I can see you have made some efforts with the real estate and the police. It’s my observation that these types of issues can be bounced around, with no one really wanting to take responsibility. However, as @phb mentioned, ultimately it is the police force who has the immediate authority in these situations, but with this type of issue it might take some time and legal assistance to get a resolution that sticks. In reality, you’ll probably need to try a couple of things at the same time to get this sorted out.
You may have already exhausted some of these, but here’s a list of suggestions that you can try:
Being frustrated with the neighbours is completely understandable. You might be tempted to yell at them, or bang on the door late at night when they are being noisey. However, I would strongly encourage you to work on a plan to win them over if you feel safe doing so. Your goal is to get to a place where you can open a line of communication and begin to negotiate with them.
Some tips to help you to do this include, approaching them at a time when drugs and alcohol are not a factor (i.e. earlier in the day, or middle of the week). Stay calm, explain about your children, and be ready to negotiate. Try to see it from their point of view too. Maybe they will agree to keeping things down after a certain time, limit their partying to certain nights, or moving to an area of the property that’s further away from your own. In every group, there’s always someone more likely to be a peacemaker, so look out for that person and try to appeal to them.
It’s possible if they are having parties that it’s non-occupants who are having the conversations on your property or going to areas that infringe on you more closely. If you have a dialogue, you can raise it and the tenants might take steps to curb the worst of the behaviour.
If you can stomach it and you feel they might be receptive, you could try some peace offerings - such as baking a cake, inviting them over for a tea or coffee. If it’s getting to the point where they are openly talking about damaging your property, you want to take measures to win them over if you can. I understand this is not easy, but winning them over is the quickest easiest way forward in most cases.
At the same time as you are trying to win them over, you need to protect yourself and your property. The first steps could be beefing up security, this could include alarms, cameras, fences. In a perfect world, we would not need to spend our money on these things due to others, but think of it as an investment.
You should start taking detailed recordings of any incidents and efforts so far to address the situation. Take care as you don’t really want to be seen filming over the fence or anything like that, this could further damage the relationships and create privacy issues. Rather, keep a record of any security footage, anything that occurs on your property, sound recordings, emails and police reports.
In WA, councils are the ‘first step’ authority on noise complaints. Be aware, they will tell you to contact the police/real estate. However, if you research your local council page, there should be some info in there that you can quote to them to hold them to their obligations. In Rockingham (if I’ve got the right place), there is a complaint form on this page and make sure to read the 1997 regulations and tie it in to that.
At the same time, get in touch with legalaidwa, explain the situation and get their advice on pathways for escalation. You should mention this to the council, police and real estate in future complaints, so that they know you are ready to escalate this to a more serious issue, and hopefully this will also encourage them to take your complaints more seriously.
For acute complaints, always call the police and don’t attempt to resolve the situation yourself. Only6 call the police if it’s really necessary - for example the noise is occurring after midnight, or for days on end. For example, don’t go over late at night and risk an assault on someone else’s property. Involving the police also creates an important trail of records, even if they are not always prompt of effectual. Be patient with the police, they have an enormous burden to carry and they are only human. If you feel they are genuinely ignoring the situation, there are pathways to address this too, and once, your record keeping will play an important role here.
Start a post on the Nextdoor neighbourhood site, or look for your local area Facebook group (normally it will be named after your suburb). It might be best to consider creating an anonymous profile at first, unless you are particularly active and knowledgeable about the group members. Ask the question in the group if anyone else on your street is having trouble, or has had similar trouble in the area. If other people are having trouble, then you can co-ordinate your efforts - both in trying to negotiate a situation everyone can live with, and in any complaints you raise.
It’s unlikely the real estate will come to the party, unless you can somehow appeal to the owner. If there’s visible property damage occurring, that’s the kind of info you could pass on to the real estate that may result in an eviction or a warning.
Consider talking to a Community mediation service and seeing if there is something they can offer to the situation.
If all else fails, consider removing yourself from the situation if possible. Nobody wants to have to move due to a situation like this, but if you are deciding it’s an ongoing situation that is very difficult or impossible to win, then it’s an option to consider.
Take care and make judgement calls when considering this info. For example, is this a bunch of wild teenagers in their first house or is something more sinister going? This will shape your response, and always put your own safety first.
I hope you don’t mind, I’ve broadened the title of your post in the hope that some Community members might be willing to share their own experiences and how they managed to solve the problems of disruptive neighbours.
If the other suggestions fail, it is implied that both yourself and the neighbour are renting, or at least the neighbour is renting. Noting the claims about tenant selection and so on here
you might (and should think carefully about possible repercussions and ramifications back on yourself prior to) seek out the property owner and have a word. They may be trusting of their manager and oblivious to the situation and thankful for a heads up if the property is not being maintained or is being abused, or they might fob you off or worse.
On occasion it is unfortunately the case the only solution for a very bad neighbour is to move to escape the difficult situation, more easily done if you are a renter - but possibly not in the current rental climate.
Hi Phil. Thanks for the reply. But me I am the owner and the neighbors are renting. So frustrating and exhausting to keep on complaining to the Real Estate and still they will do nothing. I have reported to the police so many times and the councils as well but they said it is up to the Real Estate. I own my own house and we are the victim here. I am trying to seek help every possible way but all turning back on me.
Have you put your issues in writing, delivery confirmed, and cc’d your MP in a visible manner? The MP cannot help but the mere reference sometimes helps.
Given the high level of laziness that I have witnessed from rental agents, it is quite possible that the owner of the rental property is unaware of any issues with the tenants.
If the tenants are disrespecting their neighbours, it is possible that they will also be disrespecting the property. Contacting the owner directly may result in them taking action. If you have noticed any property neglect or damage, advise the owner of this as it will add weight to your cause
If you don’t know who the owner is, ask other neighbours and/or check with the local council.
What difference does the fact they are renting make?
How would any of us approach a similar circumstance if the neighbour was the owner?
As one who has 22+ neighbours, 11 of whom have legally shared property boundaries and the balance opposite across the road are owed duties under local and statutes. It seems less important whether any are tenants. One in fact is the council via ownership of a reserve and the other a commercial tenant with a lease over the state forestry.
I can empathise with the situation. Why expect the Real Estate agent to be the social enforcers of society? There is some wisdom in the advice of others. The principle role of managing neighbourly relationships when one cannot get on is with the local council, the police and the courts.
It’s patently unreasonable to expect a real estate agent to be judge jury and executioner, when those who are appointed by the community are not stepping up to their responsibilities. What has been the response of the local councillor and State Govt Member to your concerns?
P.S.
Apologies if this sounds out of step. I’ve also been a tenant in 2 different states and held the lease for 11 properties over the years as well as having been a landlord for 4 very different properties. An Agent is only as good as the Landlord. There is some good advice in looking beyond the Agent to the owner.
Depends on the contract they have with the renter. Many contracts impose conditions regarding noise, garden condition, car repair, pools (including those little inflatable kids ones), plus a number of other requirements. All of these terms have become increasingly common due to failures by some tenants to adhere to ‘normal standards’ of behaviour. So if a tenant breaches the conditions many RE businesses have a right to request adherence to the terms by the tenants or the ability to breach the tenant and seek their removal.
One of my neighbours recently sold up and moved to avoid a troublesome tenant next door. In this case, the neighbours moving had thought they had found their final home - and had been there for nearly twenty years.
I will continue to ring the Police when a issue arises.They need to turn up and do there job.Some areas no doubt probably have bigger issues than dealing with noisy neighbours.Forget about the Real Estate they will do nothing.Your best bet is the Police and they won’t know who contacted them either if you keep your distance.These people are disturbing the peace they need to be told
My suggestion would be to keep diary entries of when the disturbances occur, including the times, language used and level of noise. You could download an app to your phone and use that to record the noise level. Once you have that information it should also help your case. If you seek advice from the EPA you will also be given who is responsible for dealing with the noise and the relevant Act that it comes under. However speaking with the neighbours first to try to reach a compromise is worthwhile and it will also show that you have tried other methods first. How many other neighbours are disturbed by them? If there are others perhaps they could add their concerns.
