House Rules & Peaceful Living in the Apartment Building

Disturbances & Noise Complaints

All residents must consider their neighbours and avoid causing unnecessary disturbance to others. Residents are also responsible for ensuring that their guests follow the building's house rules. In addition to the house rules, all residents must comply with applicable laws, regulations, and the terms of their tenancy agreement in the building and its surrounding outdoor areas. The house rules are always available on the building notice board and, depending on the property, may also be available in the Tenant Portal, Tenant App, or the resident information folder located in the apartment. Please take the time to read and follow your building's house rules. This helps maintain good neighbour relations and makes living in the building more comfortable for everyone.

Residential disturbances refer to repeated or unusual noise or disruptive behaviour that exceeds what is considered normal in apartment building living. Normal sounds are part of everyday apartment living, including sounds from showers and toilets, normal movement and everyday activities, as well as children's play and other household sounds. Complete silence cannot be expected in an apartment building.

If a neighbour's behaviour is disturbing your living environment, we recommend first discussing the matter calmly and respectfully with the neighbour. In many cases, the neighbour may not realise that their actions are causing inconvenience to others. Serious disturbances or threatening behaviour should always be reported to the police or emergency services by calling 112.

Submitting a Disturbance Report

If the disturbance is repeated, involves excessive noise, or disruptive behaviour beyond normal apartment living, a written disturbance report must be submitted.

An official disturbance report must include date and time of the disturbance, apartment number of the person causing the disturbance, description of the disturbance and confirmation from two other residents of the building who have witnessed the disturbance. Only a properly completed disturbance report can lead to formal written warning procedures. In neighbour disputes, the Centre for Peaceful Living provides impartial mediation services. The property manager can provide the contact details of parties who wish to participate in mediation to the neighbour mediator. Mediation can also be started by one party alone if the other party does not wish to participate.

Smoking Ban & Smoke-Free Properties

Many apartment buildings have a smoking ban that applies to apartments, balconies, and outdoor areas. In smoke-free properties, the smoking ban also applies to electronic cigarettes. Please check your tenancy agreement for the exact scope of the smoking restrictions. Always ensure that smoking does not cause odour or inconvenience to other residents. If the property has a designated smoking area, smoking outdoors is only permitted in that location.

In older properties, there may be individual apartments where the tenancy agreement allows smoking inside the apartment. However, even if smoking is not prohibited by the agreement, tenants must not cause damage to the apartment by smoking. Smoking can cause persistent odours, yellowing of surfaces and damage to apartment. These are not considered normal wear and tear.

Use of Shared Outdoor Areas & Balconies

Any safety-related observations noticed in shared outdoor areas must be reported to the maintenance company. Such observations may include, for example, damaged playground equipment, non-functioning lights, damaged trees, slippery walkways, or snow falling from roofs. The maintenance company is responsible for the upkeep of shared outdoor areas.

Apartment Yard and Balcony Maintenance

The maintenance of a private apartment yard or balcony is the responsibility of the resident, for example mowing the lawn and caring for plantings in the apartment yard. Gardening tools are most often available in the building’s shared facilities. Trampolines are permitted only in private apartment yards, and supervision of their use is the resident’s responsibility. Access through a resident’s private yard area is prohibited for unauthorized persons.

Any defects observed on balconies must be reported immediately to the maintenance company, as structural defects may pose a falling hazard. Keeping balcony glazing clean and maintaining the general tidiness of balconies are the responsibility of the resident. Please exercise particular caution when cleaning balcony glazing.

Grilling on the Balcony

Grilling on balconies is generally permitted only with an electric grill, unless otherwise specified in the building’s rules and regulations. Other forms of grilling or smoking are prohibited.