Editor’s Note
This article highlights Alicante’s new noise ordinance, which proposes fines up to €600 for disturbances like loud parties, persistent dog barking, and even excessive noise from air conditioning units. The regulation is set for initial approval in March.
Goodbye to Your Annoying Neighbor: Alicante’s Noise Ordinance Foresees Fines of Up to 600 Euros
Activities such as throwing a party above the permitted decibel limit or having a dog bark all night can be subject to fines. The regulation will go to the March plenary session for initial approval.
Tere Compañy Martínez
Alicante
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Up to a 600-euro fine for the neighbor who shouts all day, the one who decides that the best time to move furniture is 11 PM, the one whose dog barks all night, or the one who throws a party every weekend. These are some of the neighborly behaviors that the new Alicante Noise Ordinance proposes to penalize.
Although this regulation could particularly affect activities like nightlife entertainment or those occurring in public streets, it also regulates other behaviors. Specifically, it includes some typical neighborly nuisances, especially when they exceed established limits, known as maximum transmission levels: six decibels (dB) above those permitted by law—55 dB during daytime hours and 45 dB at night.
Thus, the municipal regulation establishes that those responsible for domestic animals must avoid noise during nighttime hours, from 10 PM to 8 AM. But these are not the only limitations during this time slot. For example, it also includes restrictions on moving house, relocating furniture, or carrying out interior renovations at night. However, on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eve of holidays, the prohibition extends until 9:30 AM.
– Domestic animals during nighttime hours
– Shouting or yelling
– Impact noise from repairs or installations
– Nuisances from moving or relocating furniture
– Holding parties in premises or residences
– Conducting musical rehearsals that exceed authorized maximum values
– Using radios or televisions above the limits
But there are other behaviors such as shouting or yelling, holding parties in premises, or even musical rehearsals or performances that exceed sound transmission values, which will also be penalized by the Noise Ordinance, particularly if carried out at night.
Furthermore, although not the main objective of the regulation, if approved, it will put an end to the typical neighbor who turns the television up to full volume at night and keeps the entire building on edge, forced to listen to the latest trendy series with no escape.
In fact, the regulation stipulates that any domestic appliance must be adjusted to comply with the ordinance’s limitations to “not disturb good neighborly coexistence.” Therefore, those who decide to use the hours with cheaper electricity—starting at 10 PM—to run the washing machine must be careful not to exceed authorized noise and vibration limits.
With these measures, the aim is to improve coexistence and respond to citizen complaints about nuisances caused by neighbors in the community. In fact, the text states in its explanatory memorandum that it seeks to respond to the “demands of the neighborhood community as a whole, which comprises all citizens both in their personal life activities and in their homes, as well as in the exercise of their teaching, professional, work, sports, leisure, rest, health, religious, tourist, cultural, and festive activities.”