Noise from bar

warrenkitty

Hi,

First time poster here but long time lurker! I'm hoping someone can offer some advice because I'm at my wits end. Last October I moved into an apartment with a friend and everything was great at first but then the noise from the bar downstairs started. Basically the apartment complex is rectangular shaped with an inner courtyard, all of the bedrooms face into this courtyard as does the beer garden/smoking area of the bar. Our apartment is located one floor above it so we hear the noise the most and because of the enclosed space all noise echoes and reverberates around the complex. The noise from people who've had one to many and the sound system is really loud and has caused many a sleepless night.

I emailed the landlord, who are a letting agency and asked them if they could help. They forwarded my mail on to the bar landlord who emailed me back and apologised for the noise and said he would close the beer garden and stop playing loud music at 10.30pm from Sunday to Thursday. To be fair they did stick to this with the odd occasion of keeping it open later but we got over this. The problem is the incredibly loud music on the other nights, I know it's the weekend but I feel like we shouldn't have to just put up with it because it's the weekend. The letting agency informed me that they were under a lease like the rest of the tenants so had to play by the rules but I feel like they're getting away with the noise because they're paying more rent and it's more money for the agency.

I also found the planning permission for this bar online and it clearly states that no noise should be audible outside the premises. I brought this to the attention of the bar manager and he said that he had a great relationship with the tenants (not true, I know of others who are annoyed with the noise) and that he was just trying to make a living.

I feel like I can't complain any further to the letting agency because they're friends with the bar manager and with the rental situation in Dublin the way it is I can't afford to move, and there aren't many other places available in my current area. I also know that if i complain to the local council that they'll some how know it's me and there'll be repercussions of some sort.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but if any can offer advice as to how to resolve this I'd appreciate it as right now I'm trying to sleep and I can hear the sound system and a bunch of rowdy people singing Never Forget by Take That and I just want to punch them all!

Kelly06

You have to get on to the environmental health officer in the local authority and it will be taken from there. There is no other way round it. It would be better if you could get other residents to back you up too.

rawn

Did you know you were renting an apartment above a bar when you signed the lease? Or did it just open up anew after you moved in?

January

You moved into an apartment that has a bar below it... what did you expect?

Stojkovic

January wrote: »

You moved into an apartment that has a bar below it... what did you expect?

Exactly.
Like people who buy houses around Croke Park and then get pissed off when the GAA have the audacity to host a match or concert there.

tina1040

If you rent anywhere beside or above a bar there would obviously be noise that cannot be kept inside. Even if soundproofed in some way doors opening and closing would let the noise out. And there would be noise from people coming and going and standing around chatting outside. You must have known there would be a problem.

Stavro Mueller

Just about every pub/nightclub in the country breaks the law when it comes to the decibel levels. It's not something that's ever chased by the authorities. Invest in earplugs or move.

warrenkitty

I knew there was a bar below it but didn't realise that there was a beer garden that extended back into the main residential part of the complex. When the beer garden isn't open the noise from the bar is barely audible but it's open most nights, and there are people out there well past closing time.

Anyway, I'll try the environmental health officer as suggested. I just don't understand how a bar could get planning permission for a beer garden / smoking area that is in the middle of an apartment complex?!

Roquentin

earplugs until you solve it completely

i71jskz5xu42pb

@warrenkitty - don't listen to the people that are telling you to just live with it/buy ear plugs just because it's a bar. If, as you say, the bar's planning permission says the noise should not be audible outside the premises then that's the rules the bar signed up for.

People being so willing to roll over is part of the reason we have such shít rental accommodation in Ireland.

If you don't get anywhere with the council your other avenue is the cops/local ourts. The bar has to renew its bar license regularly (I'm not sure how regularly) and if there's complaints about breaches of planning permission/pissing off the neighbours there might be conditions put on their license.

> and there'll be repercussions of some sort.
Talk to www.threshold.ie about the issue and your rights if things get messy.

Victor

January wrote: »

You moved into an apartment that has a bar below it... what did you expect?

To be able to enjoy their residence?

Stavro Mueller wrote: »

Just about every pub/nightclub in the country breaks the law when it comes to the decibel levels.

That doesn't make it right.

Stavro Mueller

No it doesn't - I long for the day when some bar staff sue the asses off bar owners for hearing damage but I digress. I wish the OP all the best in their endeavours but this being Ireland I'd not be holding my breath for anything to be done about it.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Mr.S wrote: »

There is a difference between rolling over and being totally realistic about a situation.

The reality is that

• the pub's planning permission says it should not be audible outside.
• you're recommending the tenant buy ear plugs so they can get peace in the apartment they pay for?

You're absolutely rolling over.

People need to stand up for their very reasonable rights, less of this "ah shure what's the point in complaining, I'll just buy some ear plugs like a fool".

And we wonder why rental accommodation is so dire here. It's that kind of shyte that has us where we are.

ted1

Victor wrote: »

That doesn't make it right.

But it makes fighting it a complete pain in the ass that will only bring misery to your life.
Best just to move elsewhere

the_syco

Victor wrote: »

That doesn't make it right.

I find unless the apartment is in the city centre, the price would be usually lower than nearby apartments because of the noise levels.

If the bar did quieten down, and/or closed down, you could be sure that the OP's rent will skyrocket.

OP; how much lower is the rent in the apartments next to the bar compared to those not near the bar, and was the bar in business when you moved in?

Victor

Mr.S wrote: »

You live above a beer garden.

Does the beer garden have planning permission?

the_syco

Victor wrote: »

Does the beer garden have planning permission?

To expand on this point; is it even a beer garden, or are people from within the pub trespassing on a courtyard reserved for the people in the apartment?

Wabbit Ears

am I really reading this right, Op moves into an apartment above a bar and is complaining about the noise? I'm pretty sure Ive read a hundred internet jokes over the years that pretty much revolve around this scenario. Most of them use quite unflattering terms that I shall not repeat.


Seriously though, I'ts like saying I moved in next to a pig farm and I'm complaining about the smell or I moved into a boat and Im complaining about the fact its moving about and , oh, i dont know...I moved into a fcuking volcano and its to hot.

the_syco

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

am I really reading this right, Op moves into an apartment above a bar and is complaining about the noise?

The only way it makes sense to me is if the EA told the OP that the bar doesn't have a beer garden, and that it's never loud, or that the EA said "and this is why the rent is cheap".

Lemming

Mr.S wrote: »

Realistically, does it matter?

Yes, yes it does. A beer garden is by definition intended as a somewhat permanent fixture. So the question of whether or not it's been signed off on is valid.

the_syco

Mr.S wrote: »

Realistically, does it matter? I'm not trying to be smart, but you'd be wasting a lot of time trying to get the bar's beer garden closed.

The beer garden may be officially out front, but opened out back as it's nicer, so it's important to know if it's the official bars beer garden or not.