How to complain about noise
Call us on 09 301 0101.
Call us when the noise is happening so we can take action - day or night.
Things you should know before you call:
- Your name won't be given out.
- Noise must be coming from a separate address to yours.
- Some levels of construction noise are allowed during the day - see when construction and maintenance noise is permitted.
- Noise rules don't apply to unplanned emergency works, like water mains breaks.
- We do not monitor noise from moving vehicles (aircraft, boats, trains and cars). For information about managing aircraft noise, go to the Auckland Airport website.
- We can investigate noise from parked cars on private property (alarms, car stereos and engine revving).
What happens when I complain about noise?
When you make a noise complaint, we come out and investigate. This is why you need to make a complaint when the noise is happening.
To judge if the noise is excessive or not, we will consider:
- volume
- the time of day
- the type of noise.
We do not use any monitoring equipment to decide if the noise is excessive. However, we do use sound level meters to assess unreasonable noise. See How do I know if noise is excessive or unreasonable?
If you make a noise complaint between 8am and 8pm (and this complaint is not already escalated or with specific instructions), we may ask you to call back in 30 minutes to confirm the noise is still occurring before we send someone out.
If we find the noise is too loud, we may issue an Excessive Noise Direction (END).
An END notice lasts for 72 hours. If there are more noise complaints during that time, we will visit the site again to determine if the noise is still excessive.
If we find the noise excessive for a second time within 72 hours, the enforcement officer and the police will seize the noise-offending equipment or issue a $500 fine.
