How to report excessive noise
Phone us while the noise is happening.
Tell us where the noise is coming from and describe what's happening.
Give us your contact details so we can monitor ongoing noise problems.
We may ask you to call back in 20 minutes to check if the noise is still happening.
Our noise control team will assess the complaint and respond based on how serious the noise is.
Some loud noises only last a short time. Asking you to call back helps us send our noise control team to where they're needed most.
Your complaint is confidential. We won't tell the person making the noise who complained.
What counts as excessive noise?
Excessive noise is noise that someone can control and that unreasonably disturbs other people.
We can investigate noise from:
loud music, stereos and parties
band practices
security alarms
noisy machinery.
There is no single noise level that's too loud in every situation.
When we check a noise complaint, we consider:
how loud the noise is and what's causing it
the time of day or night
how often the noise happens
how close the noise is to other properties
the type of area, such as a residential or business area
whether walls, fences or other barriers help block the sound.
For example, noise that's reasonable during the day may be excessive late at night.
What happens after you report excessive noise?
If our noise control team attends, they'll assess whether the noise is excessive.
If the noise is excessive, a noise control officer can direct the person responsible to reduce it immediately.
The officer may also issue a written notice called a Direction to Abate Excessive Noise. This notice lasts for eight days.
If excessive noise happens again during those eight days, we may take further action, including removing or seizing equipment that's causing the noise. Police may help with enforcement.
Some ongoing noise problems, particularly those involving businesses or industrial sites, may need further investigation or noise monitoring.
Find out what happens when noise control is called.
How we control excessive noise
We manage excessive and unreasonable noise under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Our noise control officers investigate complaints and can take action when noise is excessive.
Our noise control team includes:
environmental health officers
resource consents compliance officers
our contracted noise control provider, First Security.
All our noise control officers are trained to carry out their duties under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Noise we don't control under excessive noise rules
Some types of noise are not covered by the excessive noise rules in the Resource Management Act 1991. Different rules or reporting processes apply.
Barking dogs
If a dog is barking persistently for long periods and disturbing you, you can report it to Council under the Dog Control Act 1996.
You'll need to tell us the date, time and how long the barking continued.
Workplace noise
Noise within workplaces is managed under workplace health and safety rules rather than the Council's excessive noise provisions.
Construction and other types of noise
Different requirements can apply to construction work and other noise sources.
Noise from moving vehicles
Noise from moving vehicles is not covered by the excessive noise provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991.