If you buy an apartment or house next door to a long-established hotel, do you have a right to complain about the crowd noise from patrons or the loud music?
Complain is what Mr Ammon did after he bought a luxury three bedroom apartment in the Raffles Hotel (Apartments) which overlooked the beer garden and the Riverside function room of the Raffles Hotel (see the low building in the centre of the image).
He brought the little-known legal action for tort for private nuisance. He claimed that the loud noise from the hotel caused a 'substantial and unreasonable interference' with his peaceful enjoyment, especially on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings when the music was played after 9:00 pm at night. He complained he was unable to sleep, read his book, and watch the TV, even with the balcony doors and windows closed.
The Court of Appeal of Western Australia were not convinced.
But it was not the 'hotel was there first and so don't complain' argument that won out.
It was the 'what do you expect when you buy close to two highways where the traffic noise is higher than the crowd noise and the music from the hotel most of time' that won the day.
As the court said, you have no right to peace and quiet. You must ask whether the noise is reasonable for the locality. In this case, it was.
The lesson is that if the owner of the hotel applies to extend the hours of operation, or applies for a permit for renovations or extensions, the time to complain is when the application is made.
It is a lot easier for a local authority to impose and enforce a condition or regulation relating to noise levels than it is for a neighbour to succeed in an action for private nuisance for noise pollution.