Administrative responsibility
Noisy neighbors can be brought to administrative responsibility - this is specified in the so-called “silence laws” adopted by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Therefore, first of all, find out what law applies in your region, what is considered a violation of silence and at what time you cannot make noise.
For example, in Moscow it is prohibited to make noise from 23:00 to 7:00 am; repair work is prohibited from 19:00 to 9:00 and from 13:00 to 15:00 on weekdays and on weekends and holidays throughout the day (with the exception that repair work is allowed to be carried out at this time during one and a half years from the date of commissioning of the house), in the Moscow region - from 21 to 8 am on weekdays; from 22:00 to 10:00 on weekends and holidays and daily from 13:00 to 15:00, and in the Republic of Kalmykia – daily from 23:00 to 6:00 am.
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Noisy activities
The prohibition includes such noisy actions of neighbors as the use of sound-reproducing, sound-amplifying devices, loud television, playing musical instruments, shouting, whistling, singing, even loud conversations and moving furniture, and in Moscow - any actions accompanied by sounds that lead to disruption of peace citizens and silence at night.
Each region has its own amount of fines, but, as a rule, it ranges from 500 to 2 thousand rubles for each violation.
Application Form
The form of presentation of the document can be quite free and carry both personal and collective appeal. It is advisable to clearly describe the nature of the complaint, the hours of noise and the measures taken to suppress the violation. The district police officer is obliged to accept the application for consideration. In case of refusal to register a document, an official refusal with justification should be requested. The application to the district police officer must contain:
- the official name of the law enforcement organization and personal information of the applicant;
- the text of the statement must clearly outline the current situation;
- further indicates a request to take measures to suppress the violation.
It is recommended to pay special attention to the registration of the submitted application, taking into account generally accepted standards. As a result, the applicant must receive a document confirming registration with the specified date and number. An application sent by mail should be sent with a notification of receipt, which will subsequently serve as confirmation of the application to law enforcement agencies.
The most severe option for suppressing noise from neighbors above may be to file a claim in court. Additional evidence, witnesses and documents will help you get a positive decision. Disturbance at night and noise levels exceeding all norms must be registered by experts and confirmed by a specific act. Testimony from neighbors will also be taken into consideration.
Procedure for holding neighbors accountable
It must be borne in mind that it is not the police who attract neighbors because of noise, but administrative commissions created under executive authorities in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; their names are different in each region.
However, when neighbors are noisy, it makes sense to call the police. You also need to write a statement to the police and demand an explanation from noisy neighbors. Then demand the transfer of material from the police to the administrative commission for drawing up a protocol and a resolution on the administrative offense.
You can contact the administrative commission directly. In this case, it is advisable to team up with other neighbors to provide evidence to bring the troublemakers to justice.
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Contacting law enforcement agencies
You can also calm your neighbors by notifying them of the inconvenience they are causing in writing,
securing the appeal with the signatures of other residents. You should maintain a diplomatic writing style and describe the situation in the most correct form. In a personal appeal, you can maintain anonymity without specifying last names and apartment numbers. Violators will be guaranteed to be made aware of their actions that violate public peace.
Quite often, personal contact and conversation are simply impossible, because conflicting neighbors can start a scandal or fight. In this case, it is better not to come into contact with inadequate residents, avoiding unnecessary aggravation of relationships. It is recommended to contact the competent authorities immediately.
The local police officer will conduct a preventive conversation, clearly outlining responsibility and punishment for violating public order.
Even if a preventive conversation is effective, you should insist on drawing up a call protocol. This action will help protect yourself in the future in the event of repeated violations by noisy neighbors above and influence their behavior. Sometimes conversations do not bring the desired result and loud sounds and noise continue to be heard from the neighboring apartment, making it impossible to live normally. In this case, you should file a statement with law enforcement agencies.
Problems with holding noisy neighbors accountable in Moscow
Unfortunately, in Moscow today it is almost impossible to bring noisy neighbors to justice despite the current laws of Moscow: “on silence” (Moscow Law of July 12, 2002 No. 42 “On maintaining the peace of citizens and silence in the city of Moscow”) and on administrative liability (Article 3.13 of Moscow Law of November 21, 2007 N 45 “Moscow City Code on Administrative Offences”).
The fact is that in the Moscow City Code on Administrative Offenses, only the police are vested with the right to draw up protocols on administrative violations in relation to silence violators. And the police body is the Federal executive body and implements federal legislation, in connection with which the police refuse to implement the law at the non-federal level - the law of the city of Moscow, and does not draw up reports on administrative offenses.
By the way, in the law on police that was previously in force, “local police” were specifically identified: these are precinct and patrol service, so before there was no such problem.
A similar situation is in St. Petersburg, where the decision of the St. Petersburg City Court dated May 14, 2013 invalidated the clause of the Law of St. Petersburg on Administrative Offenses, which gives the police the right to draw up reports on administrative offenses for disturbing the silence of citizens (the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation , see: Determination dated August 14, 2013 No. 78-APG13-15).
Let's return to Moscow. We have already found out that there is no one here to draw up a protocol on an administrative offense. And without it, it is impossible to bring the violator to administrative responsibility.
I note that in the Moscow region the situation is better - protocols, unlike Moscow, can be drawn up by the administrative commission itself, so it is possible to bring a troublemaker to justice in the Moscow region.
One of the Moscow prefectures told me that back in 2014, a draft agreement was prepared between the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Moscow Government on the police performing their functions of drawing up administrative protocols in case of violations of local legislation. But this agreement has not yet been signed by the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Moscow government.
It turns out that both the police and the Moscow government are still telling us: “Do what you want with your neighbors, it’s your problem.”
However, I recommend calling the police any time your neighbors disturb the peace. The psychological impact has not been canceled. The police will definitely come, even if only to conduct an explanatory conversation. In the vast majority of cases, people in uniform have a calming effect on offenders. And not all citizens are aware of the problems with prosecution and are afraid of fines.
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Statement of claim to court
The appeal is registered by the district or city court of first instance at the place of the incident. The statement of claim must be made in writing in accordance with all generally accepted rules. The document must contain:
- full information about the identity of the applicant and the respondent, residential addresses and telephone numbers;
- reasonable evidence of an offense;
- demand for compensation for moral damage due to deterioration of health, need for treatment;
- a clear indication of the source of noise and the duration of exposure to the victim;
- expert opinion confirming that the noise level is exceeded;
- medical report on diseases caused by the actions of the defendant;
- receipts for medical expenses and medications;
- protocols drawn up after multiple calls to the police;
- witness's testimonies;
- photo and video recording of the offense.
An application to the court is often a last resort measure to suppress an offense and will help to effectively reassure neighbors from above when all other methods have been exhausted. A collective appeal can confirm numerous violations of public order in the form of constant shouting, loud music, fights and regular parties. The average family also sometimes behaves a little louder than is allowed, but these cases are quite normal and natural.
Civil liability of violators
And one more way to deal with violators.
By disturbing the peace at night, your neighbors cause you and your family members very serious inconvenience, both moral and psychological, as well as physical (inability to get enough sleep, loss of strength).
This means that you have the right to go to court with a claim for compensation for moral damage.
You must determine the amount of moral damage (amount of compensation) yourself, and the court decides whether it corresponds to the harm caused or whether it needs to be reduced. Our courts usually collect a minimum amount of compensation, but if claims come from all neighbors and they are filed for each case of violation of silence, then in the end the total amount can be quite significant.
It is quite possible that this method will be even more effective than bringing the violator to administrative responsibility; in addition, the collected money will go into your pocket, and not into the state.
But even in this case, you first need to call the police, file a complaint against your neighbors, demand that the police receive explanations from the violators and familiarize themselves with these explanations - to file a lawsuit, you will need the passport details and place of registration of the violator-defendant.
I advise you to file a claim for compensation with the support of your neighbor-witnesses, or immediately file a class action lawsuit.
How to take revenge unnoticed?
If you don’t want to go out on the warpath with your neighbors openly, then simple tips on how to annoy offenders without being noticed will help.
If you have some knowledge of electricity and wiring, then by depriving the apartment of violators of power supply, it will be possible to achieve silence. To figure out what exactly happened, the neighbors will need a lot of time, during which calm and tranquility will reign. Internet, telephone and television lines can also be cut.
Another trick is to use auto-dialer programs. By programming an automatic redial to a neighbor's phone number, the phone in the apartment will start ringing when loud music is turned on or during strong footsteps. Constantly being distracted by answers, your neighbors will have to turn the music down.
One of the most effective techniques is to place notices in the mailbox of violators that a large fine has been imposed on them, or subpoenas. The main thing is to approach this issue very carefully and seriously and prepare papers that will be completely consistent in appearance with the original documents. You can download agenda templates online on the Internet. Another important detail is that filling out fake papers will require accurate personal information about your neighbors. To find out about them, you can look at the information in advance on the utility bills received in their names.
