Five-month noise log wins BC couple $3,500 for neighbour's loud bass
A BC couple won a $3,500 payment from a neighbour whose loud sound system kept them awake for months on end.
The couple kept a five-month log of all the nights they were disturbed by noise coming through the shared wall of their townhouse, including readings from a decibel-measuring phone app, and it paid off as evidence in court.
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According to a small claims decision posted Friday by BC’s Civil Resolution Tribunal, Rukshila and Michael Levelton were first disturbed by the heavy bass in early February 2022.
Their neighbours, Anushka Madushan Indrasiri and Nathasha Lankeshwari Vithanage, had just gotten a new Sonos sound system. The court heard they’d play it frequently on Friday evenings and all through the day Saturday, often until 11 pm.
At points, the noise was apparently so loud it shook the shared wall between the townhouses. A decibel-measuring app on one of the Leveltons’ phones suggested the noise was 63 decibels — louder than a conversation but quieter than a vacuum cleaner, according to metrics from Yale.
The Leveltons complained directly to their neighbours, to the strata, and to police.
At one point, their neighbour apparently told them via text āI canāt do anythingā¦to be honest … You and all other neighbours have to get use[d] to this system.ā
The Leveltons eventually moved out in November 2022 but were still awarded $3,500 from small claims court plus $175 to cover their fees.
The court rejected the sound system owners’ claims that their neighbours were unreasonably sensitive to noise and concluded that the significant nuisance prevented the Leveltons from enjoying their home.