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Log2
belleville
2 Posts |
 Posted - 11/03/2009 : 15:04:51
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Me and my girlfriend recently moved into a quad complex that was built out of a house. It's a 2 bedroom apartment that we rented, and the people upstairs have the exact same apartment.
I've tried searching the forums for this exact issue, but haven't really been able to find one, I found a few close ones, but everything I seem to find about Occupancy limits seems to all be By-Laws,
so I was wondering if there was a Provincial act or something limiting how many people can live in a 2 bedroom apartment, because as of right now, the people upstairs have 5 kids.. that's right FIVE, and they all share a bedroom as I can tell.
I don't have the square footage of the room, but I can tell you, it's fairly small, I'd say a below average size room.
Now that's part one, part two of my question:
In Belleville Ontario (Where we live) there is a noise By-Law in effect stating that you cannot make noise between 9pm and 7am on weekdays, and 9pm-9am on weekends.
Now the kids, as far as I can tell, don't go to school and they're mom has no job, they're father is rarely home (probably working)
But the kids don't go to bed until about midnight, and they wake up around 6am.
Now that's fine for a kid, they don't have responsibilities, and they don't have jobs, but for the rest of the world, most would like around 8 hours sleep. The kids, have some sort of Skateboard that they use in the house, and it's VERY loud downstairs, and they RUN non-stop all day long, and they jump around and throw stuff.
So I was wondering what actions I could take against that.
So far we've tried talking to the landlord about both issues, and he doesn't seem to do more than send them a letter, he's also told us to go ahead and talk to them about it, which we have on several occasions.
Last night they were making too much noise around 11:30pm I ended up punching a hole in the ceiling to make them stop, I then proceeded to knock on they're door, which I heard the woman speaking on the phone, and neglected to answer the door.
So I'm not sure if I can call the police when they make noise after 9pm, because I tried reading the by-law, but it's sorta hard to find a certain part that states something along the lines of it being against the law to disturb sleep.
All I can find is stuff like using power tools, or using hammers.
Please help us
anything really helps
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Abattoir
Ottawa
297 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2009 : 10:07:53
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To answer your first question, the definition of how many people in how many square metres of space depends on municipal by-laws. Contact the municipal government of Belleville to see if there is a definition in effect. 7 people in a 2-bedroom apartment may be considered claustrophobic by many, but it probably isn't unsafe or unsanitary.
On the noise issue, again it's generally a municipal issue. You should try to talk it over with your neighbours first. If you have to call someone, don't call the police, call by-law enforcement. Finally, your landlord has the responsibility to evict if they are interfering with your 'reasonable enjoyment' of the property. Your landlord needs to take personal action here.
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Log2
belleville
2 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 04:51:01
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Thanks a lot for the response, I don't really know what the by-lay enforcement is. Also what if the landlord fails to take action against them? he states that they will be moving out as they are looking for a new apartment, but that's just what they've told him, so they could be lying or he could be lying to us.
As for the overcrowding thing, do you know who I should contact? You just said the municipal government, does that mean like go down to city hall and see what the secretaries say down there? or do I have to make an appointment with someone, or who should I call otherwise?
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Abattoir
Ottawa
297 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 12:08:13
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For the definition of overcrowding for the city of Belleville, you should check the city by-laws. They are available online from the city's web site.
According to the property standards by-law for the city of Belleville, the maximum number of people who may live in any property is 1 person per 100 square feet, or 1 person per 9.28 square meters. This includes the entire apartment, not just the bedrooms.
http://www.city.belleville.on.ca/Residents/Property%20Standards%20services/Documents/propertystd.pdf - Section 6.5
Both noise complaints and overcrowding issues are both defined as city by-laws. These are usually enforced by by-law enforcement officers, not usually the city police. If you don't know who to call, call or visit your city hall.
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