The law on silence in St. Petersburg: when you can or cannot make noise, fines and where to complain

Law on silence and norms in the Russian Federation

Federal Law 52-FZ states that apartments must comply with SanPiN standards. It also regulates the concept of day and night time throughout Russia. According to the law, daytime is the period from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In turn, SanPiN standards regulate the maximum permissible noise for residential premises:

1. During the day in apartments – 55 dB.
2. At night – 45 dB.

Average values

Noise law in the Leningrad region

Regional legislative assemblies can change the silence regime. Changes in the direction of tightening the Federal Law are allowed. It is not allowed to make amendments to the norms of silence in the direction of weakening the Federal Law.

In the Leningrad region on weekdays, the noise law complied with the federal law. Now we have added a quiet hour during the daytime. On Saturday, Sunday and holiday weekends, the quiet time in the region also differs from the Federal Law.

The region's law on excessive noise can be called quite loyal. Although it now has a “quiet hour” during the day for noisy and repair work.

How much noise can you make in the Leningrad region?

The law on silence in the Leningrad region in 2020 narrows the interval on weekends when you can listen to music loudly in an apartment building, make noise and shout in an apartment or on a summer cottage.

Drilling a wall with a hammer drill in an apartment

The law of the region states: on weekdays you can make noise from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Repairs and drilling can be done at the same time, but with a certain two-hour break. This norm also applies to summer cottages.

On weekends, which are Saturday and Sunday, and holidays, the hours of silence in the Leningrad region should be increased. You can be noisy from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Repairs or drilling are allowed on Saturday, but a quiet hour must be observed.

On Sundays and holidays it is prohibited to disturb the silence with construction. The dacha is no exception. This is interpreted as the right of any citizen to rest and peace.

Peace and quiet in St. Petersburg

The law regulating the right to peace and recreation has not changed since January 1, 2020; there has not yet been a new edition: Federal Law No. 273-70 of May 31, 2010 “On Administrative Offenses” (Articles No. 8 and 38).

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Article number 8 states that night time in the city of St. Petersburg begins at 10 pm and lasts until 8 am. During this period it is prohibited:

1. Use any devices that reproduce sound: tape recorders, televisions, karaoke. The same requirements apply to public places (cafes, restaurants, entertainment centers).
2. Talk loudly, shout, be rowdy, play musical instruments, move interior items.
3. Use firecrackers, fireworks and other explosives. The only exception here is New Year (December 31).
4. Carry out any construction work, load and unload objects.

Another ban on noisy activities has also been introduced from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on weekends and holidays. Thanks to these new amendments, during this period it is impossible to make repairs, remodeling, unloading and loading items - anything that brings discomfort to the residents’ rest.

All construction and other types of work are regulated by article number 38. It states that repairs, redevelopment and other noisy activities that last more than 1 hour must be agreed upon either with the responsible person of the apartment building (the head of the building) or with the Management Company.

If the construction is not approved and shown in the schedule, the guilty person will face a fine:

• For an ordinary citizen, the amount will be from 1000 to 3000 rubles.
• For the responsible person - from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.
• For legal entities - from 10,000 to 30,000 rubles.

From when and until when can you drill and make repairs in the Leningrad region

The law of the Leningrad region on silence must not be violated during repair work. You can make repairs or drill in an apartment or in summer cottages on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Saturday – from 10 to 22.

Repair in an apartment building

Recent changes to the law provide for a daily “quiet hour” for any noisy work. These also include repairs, drilling, and unloading of building materials. It lasts every day from 13:00 to 15:00.

Noisy repairs should not be carried out:

• during "quiet hour";
• on Sunday;
• holidays.

They broke the silence. How to resolve the issue?

The law of the city of St. Petersburg does not provide for such a concept as “Quiet hour”. But many residents simply need it, especially for young children and the elderly. When the silence is broken, citizens cannot immediately understand where they need to go to resolve the conflict situation.

Expert opinion

Golubev Denis Petrovich

Lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Author of dozens of articles in the media

It should be noted that the law enforcement agencies of St. Petersburg are not involved in resolving this issue; this can only be done by committee specialists who resolve issues of law and order. But if your neighbors disturb the peace at night, the police will be able to come to the address and draw up a report of the violation. You can also write a statement to the district police officer, provided that the neighbors are rowdy on an ongoing basis.

Disturbing noise emanating from entertainment venues, construction sites, and shops can disturb residents of nearby buildings. These issues are dealt with by Rospotrebnadzor.

The law on silence in St. Petersburg 2020 can be found here file://zakon-o-tishine.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/st.-8-I-38-ZAKONA-Sankt-Peterburga-Ob- administrativeh.pdf

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Effect of the law

The law on silence in the Leningrad region applies to houses and apartments, summer cottages, gardening (SNT), preschool educational institutions, medical and educational centers. Residential areas are also regulated by a silence ordinance.

Neighbours

The law first of all establishes the citizen’s right to rest. This is all reflected in the official text, which can be downloaded at the end of this publication.

You need to understand that after a hard working week, any person needs a break for full recovery without unnecessary noise from the outside. Silence is one of the main factors in calming the nervous system.

In the Leningrad region, the law on silence in an apartment building or on a summer cottage in gardening has the same force.

Noisy neighbors should not violate it, taking into account the rights of citizens living nearby.

There is no need to make noise, sing songs in the countryside, do repairs or drill in the apartment at night. According to the law, such administrative violations are subject to a fine.

The only exception to the rule is New Year. On this night in the Leningrad region it is allowed to make noise, set off firecrackers, and listen to music loudly until 4 am.

Apartment house

The silence intervals of the Federal Law and as amended by the sanitary standards are based primarily on the routine of citizens and medical research.

What is noise?

The law describes what exactly should be understood by the word “noise”. In particular, this capacious concept includes sounds such as:

1. The use of technology that reproduces sounds at increased volume. This is absolutely any equipment - computers, TV, tape recorders and much more.
2. Loud sounds coming from retail outlets, as well as public catering places located on the street near a residential building or on the first floors of this building. The same sources of noise include cars parked near houses; they often also make loud sounds - music, car alarms going off.
3. Loud screams, whistling, singing, playing musical instruments.
4. Use of pyrotechnics at any time except New Year's Eve.
5. Repair work, construction, especially working with power tools.
6. Loading and unloading operations, if they are accompanied by loud sounds.

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Punishment for breaking the law: fines

The law on silence in the Leningrad region states how much noise can be made. Violators will be fined for excessive noise.

The next time the law is violated within one year, the offender will be given a more significant fine.

Let us remind you that on June 8, 2020, amendments to the silence regime were adopted. They provided for a “quiet hour” for noisy household and construction work. In the Leningrad region it lasts from 13 to 15 hours daily.

Responsibility

All citizens, officials and legal entities are responsible for violating the law on silence and non-compliance with noise levels in residential buildings and adjacent areas.

Such violations are subject to administrative liability and are considered by municipal commissions for administrative fines. These commissions operate on the basis of regional legislation.

Dealing with noisy neighbors can be quite difficult. Therefore, for the greatest effectiveness, you should act in stages.

Negotiation

This stage cannot be avoided, since neighbors may simply not realize that they are causing negative emotions in someone due to their overly noisy lifestyle or constant repairs. It is necessary to try to explain to such neighbors in a civilized manner that their activity in the neighbor’s apartment is too noisy. Perhaps people will listen to this and calm down a little. Then you won't have to take any more steps.

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Complaint to the HOA

If the previous measure does not help, you need to file a complaint with the HOA or management company. But here it is important to understand that, apart from explanatory work, they will also not be able to do anything against the troublemakers.

Contacting the police

You can try calling the police or writing a complaint to the local police officer. Based on the fact of the appeal, a protocol is drawn up, which will subsequently become the basis for the work of the commission on administrative violations.

Unfortunately, this step often has its pitfalls. As you know, the squad may simply not arrive on time, and when it arrives after a few hours, the offenders will calm down naturally and everything around will be quiet. In addition, the squad may not be sent at all to respond to noisy neighbors - I’ll just say that at the moment there are no free people. Even if the squad has arrived, they may not draw up a report, but to punish neighbors it is absolutely necessary, especially if the case goes to court.

But in any case, it’s worth trying to call the police or at least scare the neighbors with this - sometimes this is quite enough.

Complaint to the prosecutor's office

The prosecutor's office is the government body that should guard the interests and rights of citizens. By the way, if improper actions of police officers are noticed when complaining about neighbors, this is also worth mentioning to the prosecutor’s office. She orders an inspection, and based on its results, a further decision is made. It’s good that when a complaint is of a collective nature, they usually receive attention first. Therefore, you should first enlist the support of your neighbors.

Contact Rospotrebnadzor

Every citizen can turn to this organization when his rights as a consumer, as well as sanitary and epidemiological standards, are violated. This specifically includes excess noise levels in a residential area. A well-written application is important for success in this matter. It requires referring to Article 17 of the Constitution and citing excerpts from the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

This organization is also good because it has everything necessary to carry out noise measurements in premises. If specialists are sent, the noise level will be measured and a report will be drawn up indicating the results. It will prove useful even in court. This work can also be performed by independent experts for a fee.

Law and citizens' health

Recently, many studies have been conducted around the world on the effect of silence on human health. It has been proven that sources of frequent noise have a bad effect on the physical condition of people.

On a note

A connection was discovered between high blood pressure in patients and the usual noise from roads and airfields. Scientists have been able to prove that such noise-disturbing effects can cause more serious diseases.

Excessive noise can lead to kidney disease and even interfere with normal brain functions. At the same time, the relationship between noise and insomnia was proven.

Also, doctors at the Sleep Institute in America were able to experimentally determine that their patients undergoing rehabilitation for nervous disorders in complete silence recovered faster.

The group of patients who experienced normal noise recovered more slowly.

Subtleties

It has long been noted that people living near noisy airports and railways experience great stress. Their level of stress hormone in the blood is much higher than that of the average person living quietly in a private house in the countryside.

Carrying out repair work

Without the possibility of proper rest in silence, a person becomes irritable and uncommunicative. His physical activity decreases and his performance decreases. Lack of mood affects his personal relationships in the family and at work.