How do I complain about the noisy building site next to my apartment?

There is a construction site right beside my apartment. The workers arrive before their shift every morning at 6am and make quite a lot of noise sitting on the apartment complex wall, waking me daily. There is also rubbish left behind in the apartment gardens. Who can I make a complaint to?

The common areas of your apartment complex are private property owned by your management company. Any unauthorised access may amount to trespassing and any dumping of rubbish is simply illegal dumping. It is important that this matter is dealt with for all owners in the building.

In some cases, the common areas of apartment complexes can appear to be open spaces for use by the general public. It is easy to see how this can be a problem when a construction site opens next door. These construction workers may not be aware that their behaviour is causing a problem to the residents and also that the wall and area inside the wall are private property, and simply notifying them of this and requesting that they cease this activity may resolve the matter.

If your apartment complex is managed by a firm of managing agents, then you should complain to your managing agent and request that they deal with the matter. The managing agent should formally contact the owners of the construction site next door and also the construction company about the issue.

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Your management company operates on the principle of a collective responsibility arrangement and so when issues arise it is for all owners to carry the responsibility equally

They may request that the workers are informed that they should not use the wall of the apartment complex as it is causing a disturbance to the owners, and they should be notified of the illegal dumping which has taken place.

This construction company must arrange to remove all rubbish and ensure that there is no further illegal dumping on the common areas of your development. Your management company may wish to impose sanctions such as fines for such an incident. The managing agent should follow up afterwards to ensure that such behaviour has stopped.

If your apartment complex is self-managed then you should contact the directors of the management company about dealing with the matter. In this case, it is important to consider that the directors act in a voluntary capacity and they do so to represent all owners in the development.

Your management company operates on the principle of a collective responsibility arrangement and so when issues arise it is for all owners to carry the responsibility equally and it should not be assumed that such issues are only the responsibility of the directors to address. You may discuss this issue with the directors to collectively come up with a course of action to deal with the issue. The aforementioned course of action would be appropriate and should assist you in achieving the desired outcome.

Aisling Keenan, property managing agent and consultant, is an associate member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland