Issue a lease violation notice to the offending tenants (cure or quit it's called, look up the laws in your state) giving them the required timeframe to correct the violation (in this case, dogs barking). If offending tenants request evidence, provide them the recording of the noise disturbance. If they continue, follow your state's laws for lease termination
I will say this, sometimes the dogs barking is actually a reaction to the other tenant's disturbances. For example - we had a tenant upstairs who complained to us about the other tenant's dogs barking downstairs. We talked to the downstairs tenant about his dogs, he said his dogs are going crazy because the girl upstairs has exercise equipment in her living room and is exercising frequently with a treadmill it sounds like and doing jumping jacks etc, causing the ceiling to pound and it's making really loud noises. He said he didn't want to complain and make a big deal about it. He sent us an audio recording and we confirmed. We went back to the girl and said her living room exercise activities are causing the dogs to bark and we suggested that she use thick mats under the equipment, even doubling up if needed. She did that, and the dogs no longer barked. Problem solved.
You CAN but there has to be a sustained issue, no provocation, and the inability to function inside the home during these sustained times. Even not wanting noise while working from home isn’t good enough.
What about people with babies, especially sick babies they need their rest and it’s not like you can put earplugs in their little ears!
I remember my newborn needing surgery several of them and of course noise was an issue we were able to work it out with the very understanding Neighbors, but with dogs, there are sensors that will get them to bark unmercifully, and if they’re left outside on chains, which was the case next to my baby’s room and the owners are gone or ignoring them they’re gonna bark at every single thing that they see every person that walks by every bike that rides by every car that goes by the bird that walks by the dog that walks by somebody’s walking it’s endless
There’s also plenty of people that work nights my suggestion for the OP would be to have a discussion with the neighbor and hopefully it’s constructive they make a lot of stuff that’s supposed to stop a dog from barking because of sounds or something we bought it all none of it helped in our case it was those dogs being left on chains in the yard during the day and brought in at night
the DB level you would have to reach for a noise complaint during he day is almost impossible to reach by a human or a dog. its for like amplified music not annoying noises.
In a lot of jurisdiction, a human or a dog can absolutely hit it. In many, its "10db above ambient noise", so if its a quiet neighborhood, it's not that hard to hit.
A dog can bark up to 90-100db, which if sustained for 10+ minutes will shit all over any daytime noise ordinance in towns that have them.
wrong I legit work for my cities code enforcement with the sound ordinance department. we go to venues all over Austin and make sure they are complying. the rule you are citing almost always only applies to amplified noises. meaning something electronic amplifying the sound. 99% of the Time when it reads "ambient noise" it is dealing with amplified sound
Im glad Austin enforces them that way. Different towns absolutely do it differently, even NYC, but I've lived and had to deal with them in plenty of towns. Some even have blanket "any noise above X" and will absolutely enforce during day time. NYC even has separate rules for amplified noise vs non-amplified, with the former blanket banned at any level in some circumstances (like street music, though enforcement will vary widely based on which police department you're dealing with, like every law in NYC). If you can manage to get someone who cares, they'll bring a decibel meter and test both high and low noise frequencies (different limits for each), and it doesn't matter whats the source of the noise.
In the Boston metro area, it's enforced reasonably well.
I used to live in Somerville, which is small-ish but is the 20th~ densest city in the US, the limit for a disturbance in a residential area during daytime was 60-75db (depending on duration), and they absolutely enforced. It's not even that loud. Their code is copy pasted from a ton of other cities, so it's not particularly unique.
Second, you started with "the DB level you would have to reach for a noise complaint during he day is almost impossible to reach by a human or a dog.", and I'm saying it's actually pretty damn easy to hit those numbers. In a LOT (most?) towns a dog barking during day time is fairly easy to code against.
I love this line of thinking. If there's a solvable problem (which there often is), then just facilitate the solving lol. No need to get aggressive or step all over toes.
1) verify there is a problem and it is excessive.
2) give violator a reaspnable opportunity to correct it.
3)enforce your lease or legislation or whatever it is they are in violation of.
Wrong you are not allowed to disturb others outside of your dwelling with noise. Any landlord can evict if the tenant refuses to fix the noise problem.
I know for a fact I can play loud music or run a chainsaw non stop from 7am to 7pm in Orlando Florida and in Oakland county in Michigan. And theres 20 or so days a year i can even do so with firecrackers.
wrong you have to stay under a specific DB level. this isn't just a up for interpretation thing there are rules in place. and a dog barking will almost never reach the DB level during the day
Pets/animals are typically permitted and can be removed if they become a danger or nuisance. A dog barking all day is most likely a lease and code violation and needs to be corrected. The tenant or landlord can also file a personal nuisance suit against the offending owner. You can’t allow your animal to bark all day and interfere with another persons right to enjoy their property.
It would certainly help. Then it’s more than a he said she said. You can ask them to record the noise nuisance as well. Might want to tell them to just ask the neighbor to not allowed their dog to bark all day first.
How about talking to your tenant with the dogs? Tell them it’s a problem, and if it’s not addressed, further steps will have to be taken.
Also, make sure the other tenant isn’t being unreasonable. Are the dogs barking for a few minutes when a delivery person comes by, or every time they hear a car, or every time the bothered tenant moves? Dogs bark, that’s just a fact of life, but obviously there’s a point where it’s unacceptable. Many municipalities have a 15 minute rule, 15 minutes straight and it’s a nuisance.
Work with them both. Years ago I had an issue with my dog barking when I was gone. Being gone, I had no idea it was happening. My next door neighbor didn’t say anything for months until he was apoplectic.
It took a while to get it to stop, it’s difficult when you’re not there to correct it. We ended up using a sonic devise. Nothing else worked.
Not letting your dog, that is a known barker, outside unsupervised would have been a good start 🤷♀️ having a pet camera that picks up barking so you'll know it's happening and correct the behavior immediately. There are so many ways to address this beyond just using a sonic device
The person you responded to never said their dog was outside unsupervised? They also never stated that a sonic device is the only option out there. It was the only thing that worked for their dog.
They even specified they had no idea it was happening. Are you that eager to be negative towards dog owners that you lose reading comprehension?
Thank you, you are correct on all points. My dog was never outside when I wasn’t home, and also never barked when I was home. He was the best, sweetest dog that’s ever existed. I had no idea he was a secret barker.
the police will do nothig unless the dog bark is over a specific DB amount. look up how loud the usual Dog bark is in DB its usually 80-90 db. most city sound ordinances for the day time are only specific to amplified sound. meaning the dog bark is not apart of it. it is only at night and during quiet hours that somebody can put a DB limit on your noise that is not amplified
From what you’ve said, the dog is barking during the day, which is almost certainly not any sort of code or law violation (obviously check that part) and which doesn’t violate the terms of your lease as that only prohibits noise after 10pm.
When it comes time to renew their lease, consider expanding the tenant responsibility for keeping their pets quiet during the day. That’s pretty much all you got.
Many towns have ordinances that define noise disturbance by pets as excessive if it goes on for a certain amount of time (15 or 30 consecutive minutes). May be dependent on if the barking is occurring indoor or outdoor. Check your local laws, these are very common in urban and suburban areas.
You need more information. I suggest checking it out for yourself and talking to the neighbor with the dog.
It’s not a lease violation UNLESS it’s sustained to the terms allowed by your local law. Constant dog barking for greater than 30 minutes COULD be a violation, but it might also have to be often, not just once in a while. A dog barking at a passerby would NOT be a violation even if it’s loud. You would need to be sure the stick around long enough to know the dog can’t see you if it’s reacting to outside people. It surely can be annoying if someone is trying to enjoy their home and a dog next door is barking at the kids playing in the yard all day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone is violating the lease or noise ordinance.
Especially in multi-family units. Just listen to the number of inconsiderate folks commenting here that it’s not a problem unless it’s specifically spelled out in the lease. 😂
Obtain evidence of the noise disturbance.
Issue a lease violation notice to the offending tenants (cure or quit it's called, look up the laws in your state) giving them the required timeframe to correct the violation (in this case, dogs barking). If offending tenants request evidence, provide them the recording of the noise disturbance. If they continue, follow your state's laws for lease termination
I will say this, sometimes the dogs barking is actually a reaction to the other tenant's disturbances. For example - we had a tenant upstairs who complained to us about the other tenant's dogs barking downstairs. We talked to the downstairs tenant about his dogs, he said his dogs are going crazy because the girl upstairs has exercise equipment in her living room and is exercising frequently with a treadmill it sounds like and doing jumping jacks etc, causing the ceiling to pound and it's making really loud noises. He said he didn't want to complain and make a big deal about it. He sent us an audio recording and we confirmed. We went back to the girl and said her living room exercise activities are causing the dogs to bark and we suggested that she use thick mats under the equipment, even doubling up if needed. She did that, and the dogs no longer barked. Problem solved.
Can't have a noise disturbance while the sun is up in almost all jurisdictions.
You CAN but there has to be a sustained issue, no provocation, and the inability to function inside the home during these sustained times. Even not wanting noise while working from home isn’t good enough.
What about people with babies, especially sick babies they need their rest and it’s not like you can put earplugs in their little ears!
I remember my newborn needing surgery several of them and of course noise was an issue we were able to work it out with the very understanding Neighbors, but with dogs, there are sensors that will get them to bark unmercifully, and if they’re left outside on chains, which was the case next to my baby’s room and the owners are gone or ignoring them they’re gonna bark at every single thing that they see every person that walks by every bike that rides by every car that goes by the bird that walks by the dog that walks by somebody’s walking it’s endless
There’s also plenty of people that work nights my suggestion for the OP would be to have a discussion with the neighbor and hopefully it’s constructive they make a lot of stuff that’s supposed to stop a dog from barking because of sounds or something we bought it all none of it helped in our case it was those dogs being left on chains in the yard during the day and brought in at night
That's not true. Most states and cities have noise ordinance for the whole day. Even big cities do. The threshold is just generally higher.
Even NYC has some limited form of noise limits that apply between 7am and 10pm as per the noise code. And that's NY freagin city.
And apartments often have blanket "no nuisance" rules that are up for interpretation by the owner, though those are tough to enforce
the DB level you would have to reach for a noise complaint during he day is almost impossible to reach by a human or a dog. its for like amplified music not annoying noises.
In a lot of jurisdiction, a human or a dog can absolutely hit it. In many, its "10db above ambient noise", so if its a quiet neighborhood, it's not that hard to hit.
A dog can bark up to 90-100db, which if sustained for 10+ minutes will shit all over any daytime noise ordinance in towns that have them.
wrong I legit work for my cities code enforcement with the sound ordinance department. we go to venues all over Austin and make sure they are complying. the rule you are citing almost always only applies to amplified noises. meaning something electronic amplifying the sound. 99% of the Time when it reads "ambient noise" it is dealing with amplified sound
Im glad Austin enforces them that way. Different towns absolutely do it differently, even NYC, but I've lived and had to deal with them in plenty of towns. Some even have blanket "any noise above X" and will absolutely enforce during day time. NYC even has separate rules for amplified noise vs non-amplified, with the former blanket banned at any level in some circumstances (like street music, though enforcement will vary widely based on which police department you're dealing with, like every law in NYC). If you can manage to get someone who cares, they'll bring a decibel meter and test both high and low noise frequencies (different limits for each), and it doesn't matter whats the source of the noise.
In the Boston metro area, it's enforced reasonably well.
I used to live in Somerville, which is small-ish but is the 20th~ densest city in the US, the limit for a disturbance in a residential area during daytime was 60-75db (depending on duration), and they absolutely enforced. It's not even that loud. Their code is copy pasted from a ton of other cities, so it's not particularly unique.
Second, you started with "the DB level you would have to reach for a noise complaint during he day is almost impossible to reach by a human or a dog.", and I'm saying it's actually pretty damn easy to hit those numbers. In a LOT (most?) towns a dog barking during day time is fairly easy to code against.
I love this line of thinking. If there's a solvable problem (which there often is), then just facilitate the solving lol. No need to get aggressive or step all over toes.
Treat it like any noise violation.
1) verify there is a problem and it is excessive. 2) give violator a reaspnable opportunity to correct it. 3)enforce your lease or legislation or whatever it is they are in violation of.
Cure or quit notice. If not corrected, the dog or all of them go. It’s treated like any lease violation.
But cure what? Dog is barking during the day. Tenant isn’t violating the lease and isn’t likely violating any municipal code either.
Wrong you are not allowed to disturb others outside of your dwelling with noise. Any landlord can evict if the tenant refuses to fix the noise problem.
I know for a fact I can play loud music or run a chainsaw non stop from 7am to 7pm in Orlando Florida and in Oakland county in Michigan. And theres 20 or so days a year i can even do so with firecrackers.
wrong you have to stay under a specific DB level. this isn't just a up for interpretation thing there are rules in place. and a dog barking will almost never reach the DB level during the day
Pets/animals are typically permitted and can be removed if they become a danger or nuisance. A dog barking all day is most likely a lease and code violation and needs to be corrected. The tenant or landlord can also file a personal nuisance suit against the offending owner. You can’t allow your animal to bark all day and interfere with another persons right to enjoy their property.
They didnt say its all day but just loud.
I mean, I’m allowed to cut up a tree with a chainsaw non stop from 7am until 7pm in Orlando. Is the dog more annoying than that?
Do I need to have the tenant file a police report to get it on record that the dogs are being loud throughout the day ?
It would certainly help. Then it’s more than a he said she said. You can ask them to record the noise nuisance as well. Might want to tell them to just ask the neighbor to not allowed their dog to bark all day first.
How about talking to your tenant with the dogs? Tell them it’s a problem, and if it’s not addressed, further steps will have to be taken.
Also, make sure the other tenant isn’t being unreasonable. Are the dogs barking for a few minutes when a delivery person comes by, or every time they hear a car, or every time the bothered tenant moves? Dogs bark, that’s just a fact of life, but obviously there’s a point where it’s unacceptable. Many municipalities have a 15 minute rule, 15 minutes straight and it’s a nuisance.
Work with them both. Years ago I had an issue with my dog barking when I was gone. Being gone, I had no idea it was happening. My next door neighbor didn’t say anything for months until he was apoplectic. It took a while to get it to stop, it’s difficult when you’re not there to correct it. We ended up using a sonic devise. Nothing else worked.
Not letting your dog, that is a known barker, outside unsupervised would have been a good start 🤷♀️ having a pet camera that picks up barking so you'll know it's happening and correct the behavior immediately. There are so many ways to address this beyond just using a sonic device
The person you responded to never said their dog was outside unsupervised? They also never stated that a sonic device is the only option out there. It was the only thing that worked for their dog.
They even specified they had no idea it was happening. Are you that eager to be negative towards dog owners that you lose reading comprehension?
Thank you, you are correct on all points. My dog was never outside when I wasn’t home, and also never barked when I was home. He was the best, sweetest dog that’s ever existed. I had no idea he was a secret barker.
the police will do nothig unless the dog bark is over a specific DB amount. look up how loud the usual Dog bark is in DB its usually 80-90 db. most city sound ordinances for the day time are only specific to amplified sound. meaning the dog bark is not apart of it. it is only at night and during quiet hours that somebody can put a DB limit on your noise that is not amplified
From what you’ve said, the dog is barking during the day, which is almost certainly not any sort of code or law violation (obviously check that part) and which doesn’t violate the terms of your lease as that only prohibits noise after 10pm.
When it comes time to renew their lease, consider expanding the tenant responsibility for keeping their pets quiet during the day. That’s pretty much all you got.
Many towns have ordinances that define noise disturbance by pets as excessive if it goes on for a certain amount of time (15 or 30 consecutive minutes). May be dependent on if the barking is occurring indoor or outdoor. Check your local laws, these are very common in urban and suburban areas.
In my area of the US this would absolutely count as a noise violation and animal control could be called.
You need more information. I suggest checking it out for yourself and talking to the neighbor with the dog.
It’s not a lease violation UNLESS it’s sustained to the terms allowed by your local law. Constant dog barking for greater than 30 minutes COULD be a violation, but it might also have to be often, not just once in a while. A dog barking at a passerby would NOT be a violation even if it’s loud. You would need to be sure the stick around long enough to know the dog can’t see you if it’s reacting to outside people. It surely can be annoying if someone is trying to enjoy their home and a dog next door is barking at the kids playing in the yard all day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone is violating the lease or noise ordinance.
Reason # 274 why I'm a "no pets" landlord.
Especially in multi-family units. Just listen to the number of inconsiderate folks commenting here that it’s not a problem unless it’s specifically spelled out in the lease. 😂