September 9, 2025 · 3 min de lectura
When the noisy one is the building itself: lifts, pumps and door entry systems that keep you awake
The noisy one is not always a neighbour: sometimes it is the lift motor right next to a bedroom, the water pump at 3 a.m. or the garage that rumbles.
The framework: here the community is responsible
Common installations must comply with the noise limits inside homes (national and regional noise rules, and the building code's acoustics section): at night, in bedrooms, the limits are strict (indicatively 25–30 dBA depending on the applicable standard). A neighbour affected by a common installation has the right to demand that THE COMMUNITY corrects it.
The sensible process
- Take it seriously the first time: night-time machinery noise damages health — and once it goes to court, everyone pays with interest.
- An objective measurement: a sound survey (acoustics firms, €300–600) stating how much, when and which machine. Without data there are only factions.
- Technical correction at source: anti-vibration mountings (pumps, lift motor), rubber bushings, soft-start controls, insulating the machine room. Many fixes are surprisingly affordable (hundreds, not thousands).
- Verification with a second measurement, and the file is closed.
The modern classic: the "refurbished" lift you can now hear
Modernisations change the machinery and sometimes make vibration worse: the installer's guarantee covers the adjustment — claim under guarantee, in writing.
If the community digs its heels in
The affected neighbour wins these cases with the measurement in hand (injunction or damages). A meeting that votes to "put up with it" is voting to pay later. The rule of a decent community: a neighbour's rest is not put to a vote.
Stop reading about managing. Try it.
Step into a sample building with everything working and try it yourself.