If your neighbour disturbs you
Living in a city means living close to other people, and sometimes we become aware of our neighbours even through walls. Normal sounds of life are part of living in a block of flats or terraced house. However, you do not have to tolerate excessive noise or otherwise disturbing behaviour from your neighbours. If the disturbance is recurrent, report it to Heka.
What is normal living, what is unreasonable disruption?
The sounds of normal living are part of living in blocks of flats and terraced houses, and cannot be considered disruptive. The noise created by showering, using the toilet or washing laundry is normal at almost all times, and the same applies to sounds made by children playing during waking hours and the sounds of people moving around in a normal manner in the apartments and the staircase, regardless of the time of day.
At night, making loud noises must be avoided.
Typical examples of disruptive living include loud noises, quarrels and playing music at a high volume.
When a housing disturbance is being assessed, the frequency of the disturbance becomes significant. When cases of disruptive living are processed in court, attention is also paid to whether the disturbances have occurred at night.
What to do if your neighbour’s living or behaviour becomes disturbing
If your neighbour’s behaviour disturbs you, it is best to start by telling the person causing the disturbance in a polite manner. It may be that the neighbour is not even aware of the disruption created for the other residents of the building.
If the disturbance is very serious or the situation is threatening, contact the police. The police do not give Heka information about their visits.
If the disruption persists despite the neighbour being contacted, report it to Heka at the Resident Portal (Service requests – Report disruptive living). We do not process complaints submitted by phone or anonymously. In the notification, please specify the nature of the incident and when the incident occurred (date and time), as well as how long it has been lasting. Also tell us whether you have contacted the disruptive party about the matter.
Once we have received your notification, we will investigate the matter. After that, we will contact the person causing the disturbance and demand that they act differently in the future. Depending on the disturbance and the number of disturbance notifications, we can either reprimand the person causing the disturbance or issue the person with a written warning.
If the disruption persists after your notification, please submit a new written notification of the disruption. After this, Heka may cancel or terminate the lease agreement.
If the person causing the disruption does not leave the apartment voluntarily or disagrees on the matter, the termination of the lease agreement must be processed in a district court. Those who report the disturbance must be prepared to testify in court proceedings. Only residents affected by the disturbance can act as witnesses. Those who have reported disturbances in court must clarify all the circumstances related to the disturbance in the same way as in the written notifications.
Action may not necessarily be taken if the disruption is minor and short-lived or it is only reported by one person.
When your neighbour’s smoking becomes disturbing
Report disturbing smoking in a non-smoking building
If the property is a non-smoking one but someone smokes in an apartment or on the balcony or in some other outdoor space belonging to the apartment, in a common space or in the playground, this is a breach of contract. Report smoking at the Resident Portal (Service requests – Report disturbing living).
Report disturbing smoking in a property other than a non-smoking building
If your apartment is subject to disturbing cigarette smoke coming from your neighbour’s apartment, report it to Heka at the Resident Portal (Service requests – Report disturbing smoking).
According to the Tobacco Act, a housing community (for example, a rental housing company i.e. Heka) can apply for a smoking ban from the municipality to ban smoking on balconies, in outdoor areas belonging to dwellings and in indoor spaces of dwellings.
Based on the notification, Heka may, if necessary, initiate the application process for a smoking ban. The city’s environmental services decide on the imposition of the ban. If an authority imposes a smoking ban on a property, we will inform the residents and install signs to indicate that the building is subject to a smoking ban.