Comment:
(Paraphrased to remove identifying specifics - "neighbor" used instead of personal pronouns)
Aloha,
I'm new to Quieter Oahu but I am having a recent situation with a neighbor.
This neighbor, a renter, lives next door and very close to our house. Neighbor has been approached by others to ask to quieten the noise but the response is [gist] I'm just a loud person and am not going to change anything. [end gist]
Our situation is that neighbor is very loud at night, sitting outside, about 10 feet or less from our sleeping area, and be singing and talking loudly, alone, into the late hours. It can be heard all throughout our home.
Our concern furthers as neighbor drinks with some frequency and when intoxicated is louder and vulgar.
I do not know if a one-on-one talk or a letter will work. I have considered maybe contacting the property manager/owner but they seem to be friends and I worry we might face some form of retaliation.
Thank you so much for your time,
Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
Thanks for your email. We hear many, many stories of noisy neighbors. While we cannot advise you what action to take, we can share what is available to you.
Others have found it beneficial to address the problem to the property owner. If you do not know the owner's name, it can be found at the Honolulu Real Estate Assessor website here: https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?App=HonoluluCountyHI&PageType=Search . By entering the property address you can find the owner's name, which is public record. While there are limits to what the property owner can do, the owner could, for example, advise the occupant that future renting determinations can be impacted by the renter's record of complaints for infractions such as excessive noise that could appear on a background check. The specific response, or non-response, by the owner is, however, completely at the owner's discretion.
It appears this issue has already been addressed to the neighbor, without success. If you believe that because of the proximity to your dwelling, or hour of the day or night, that the noise is unreasonable, you can ask for an HPD Officer to come to the residence and address the problem to the neighbor. You would dial 911, indicate that it is a non-emergency, and explain the problem. Once dispatched, the HPD Officer will, upon his/her discretion, determine if the noise is unreasonable and, if so, may issue a warning or a citation. It is your right to contact HPD on each occasion that you believe there is a noise problem. You might share with the responding officer your video example that you shared with us.
We wish there were something more that we could do. We always hope that people living on O'ahu will appreciate the problems of so many people in so little space and behave responsibly and with Aloha. That is unfortunately not always the case.
Thank you again for your email. We will post your email to our Noise Blog without your name for the benefit of others.
Quieter O'ahu
(Paraphrased to remove identifying specifics - "neighbor" used instead of personal pronouns)
Aloha,
I'm new to Quieter Oahu but I am having a recent situation with a neighbor.
This neighbor, a renter, lives next door and very close to our house. Neighbor has been approached by others to ask to quieten the noise but the response is [gist] I'm just a loud person and am not going to change anything. [end gist]
Our situation is that neighbor is very loud at night, sitting outside, about 10 feet or less from our sleeping area, and be singing and talking loudly, alone, into the late hours. It can be heard all throughout our home.
Our concern furthers as neighbor drinks with some frequency and when intoxicated is louder and vulgar.
I do not know if a one-on-one talk or a letter will work. I have considered maybe contacting the property manager/owner but they seem to be friends and I worry we might face some form of retaliation.
Thank you so much for your time,
Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
Thanks for your email. We hear many, many stories of noisy neighbors. While we cannot advise you what action to take, we can share what is available to you.
Others have found it beneficial to address the problem to the property owner. If you do not know the owner's name, it can be found at the Honolulu Real Estate Assessor website here: https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?App=HonoluluCountyHI&PageType=Search . By entering the property address you can find the owner's name, which is public record. While there are limits to what the property owner can do, the owner could, for example, advise the occupant that future renting determinations can be impacted by the renter's record of complaints for infractions such as excessive noise that could appear on a background check. The specific response, or non-response, by the owner is, however, completely at the owner's discretion.
It appears this issue has already been addressed to the neighbor, without success. If you believe that because of the proximity to your dwelling, or hour of the day or night, that the noise is unreasonable, you can ask for an HPD Officer to come to the residence and address the problem to the neighbor. You would dial 911, indicate that it is a non-emergency, and explain the problem. Once dispatched, the HPD Officer will, upon his/her discretion, determine if the noise is unreasonable and, if so, may issue a warning or a citation. It is your right to contact HPD on each occasion that you believe there is a noise problem. You might share with the responding officer your video example that you shared with us.
We wish there were something more that we could do. We always hope that people living on O'ahu will appreciate the problems of so many people in so little space and behave responsibly and with Aloha. That is unfortunately not always the case.
Thank you again for your email. We will post your email to our Noise Blog without your name for the benefit of others.
Quieter O'ahu