Are noisy neighbors breaking the law?
You bet. Almost every community prohibits excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable noise, and police enforce these laws. To find your municipality’s noise rules, look up the local ordinances. Most local noise ordinances designate certain “quiet hours” — for example, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, and until 8 or 9 a.m. on weekends. So running a power mower may be perfectly acceptable at 10 a.m. on Saturday, but not at 7 a.m. Some universally disturbing sounds are commonly banned or restricted. For instance, most cities prohibit honking car horns unless there is danger. (In New York City, which has such a rule, the minimum fine is $350, but fines are as rare as whooping cranes in Central Park.) This means that the daily early morning tooting across the street for the carpool is a violation. Dogs and motorcycles may also be singled out. When is noise unreasonable? The general rule is that it’s unreasonable if it is, in the mind of an average person, too loud, prolonged or disturbing
