Quick links
- Shawn M. Smith, Cleveland Doan LLP: Dealing with flooring noise
- National Floor Covering Association: Acoustical issues
- BC Office of Housing and Construction Standards: British Columbia Building Code 2018 – Revisions 2019
Airborne vs. impact noise
Noise complaints are common in multi-unit buildings. Noise is any unwanted sound, like a loud television, or stomping footsteps.
When investigating a noise complaint and enforcing bylaws, there are two types of noises to consider.
- Airborne noises: Soundwaves transmitted through the air are airborne noises. Examples of airborne noises are music or voices. STC ratings are about airborne noise so they are of little value when creating bylaws about flooring.
- Impact noises: Soundwaves that travel through solid materials are impact noises. Examples of impact noise are the sound of footsteps, or moving furniture.
Bylaws about alterations and flooring
Generally owners don’t need permission to replace the existing flooring with like-for-like: replacing carpet with carpet, linoleum with vinyl flooring etc. However due to noise issues, many strata corporations have bylaws to set standards for owners who want to remove carpeting and install hard surface flooring such as laminate, hard wood, luxury vinyl tile, or other non-carpet floor coverings. Alternatively they might have bylaws that require carpeting in all rooms except kitchens, bathrooms, and foyers.
Most strata corporations have a bylaw like Standard Bylaw 5 which says an owner must obtain the written approval from the strata corporation before making an alteration to a strata lot that involves certain things. Many stratas have expanded this to include requiring council’s permission before installing hard surface flooring.
The bylaws should detail the process for an owner to request permission and the conditions that council may impose such as the permitted types of floor covering, specifications for underlayment, and installation methods.
The bylaws might exempt units that are on the ground floor or are not above another residential unit(s).
Conditions for approving owners’ requests to install hard surface flooring
The conditions for approval could require the owner to sign an Indemnity Agreement or Assumption of Liability Agreement. This agreement could include a clause making the owner responsible to remove the flooring if noise issues occur, and it is determined that the noise is unreasonable. The agreement could also require the owner to bear the expense of sound testing by an acoustical engineer if complaints occur, usually from a resident in a unit below. While nuisance and unreasonable noise are already covered by other bylaws, including this clause makes the owner aware of the consequences.
While the bylaws might not be able to require the owner to hire a professional installer, it may be in the owner’s best interests to hire an experienced professional to ensure the installation is done to industry standards and may be covered by an installation warranty.
What is an Impact Insulation Class (IIC) rating for flooring?
Strata bylaws might also specify an Impact Insulation Class (IIC) Rating regarding sound transfer. This is an acoustic rating that rates how well a floor assembly (after installation) blocks impact vibrations such as footsteps. A publication from the BC Office of Housing and Construction Standards says:
“A recommended criterion is that bare floors (tested without a carpet) should achieve an impact insulation class (IIC) of 55. Some lightweight floors that satisfy this requirement may still elicit complaints about low frequency impact noise transmission. Adding carpet to a floor will always increase the IIC rating but will not necessarily reduce low frequency noise transmission.”
After installation, hardwood flooring has an IIC rating of about 47 whereas carpet with underlay has a rating of about 75 to 85. The achieved ratings can vary depending on the construction of the building (wood-framed vs. concrete) and how the flooring is installed.
What is the process for dealing with noise complaints?
A complaint about noise including flooring-related noise is treated like any other alleged breach of the bylaws. An owner who is experiencing the noise can make a complaint to council. Keep a log of the occurrences of unreasonable noise and unreasonable interference with your use and enjoyment of your strata lot. When you write a complaint include details such as:
- The dates and times the noise occurred
- The type of noise
- The duration and frequency
- How the noise affected you
Council must follow the steps in section 135 of the Strata Property Act when dealing with noise complaints. See how bylaws and rules are enforced.
Council must also act reasonably in its duty to investigate noise complaints. This isn’t always easy and may involve having a professional inspect the building structure or conduct acoustical testing for impact sound transmission. If owners cooperate with the investigation and professionals, it can help resolve the situation faster.
Court and tribunal decisions about noise
Noise can be a type of nuisance. A nuisance is an unreasonable interference with an owner’s use and enjoyment of their property. The interference must also be substantial, meaning it is intolerable to an ordinary person. This is to guard against the risk that a particular person may be unusually sensitive to noise. Complaints of nuisance must also be viewed objectively. What is unreasonable to one person may not be unreasonable to another. This generally means that an owner’s subjective noise complaints will not be enough to prove that noise is unreasonable. Whether noise is unreasonable depends on several factors, such as its nature, severity, duration, and frequency. An owner must provide objective evidence that the noise is unreasonable to an ordinary person. This could include observations from neutral witnesses, decibel readings, or professional reports.
Reading court and Civil Resolution Tribunal decisions can be helpful to understand cases about noise. There are many ranging from loud music, yelling and banging, common area gyms, mechanical equipment, hot tubs, barking dogs, heat pumps, and more. Read decisions about noise.
When it comes to flooring, claimants often describe situations where unreasonable noise began when the flooring was changed in the unit above them. In other cases, it’s the perceived activity of running, jumping, stomping, banging and dragging objects across the floor that are central to the issues. Cases often claim that the strata failed to enforce its noise and flooring bylaws. Some decisions found that the strata corporation’s failure to investigate noise complaints and enforce its bylaws was significantly unfair to the owner. Read CRT cases about flooring-related noise.
Member-only Resources
Log in to your account to access the following resources:
- Indemnity Agreement for strata lot and common property alterations
- Strata alterations – Everything you ever wanted to know (28-page article by Shawn M. Smith, Cleveland Doan LLP)
