The owner of an apartment complex wanted to turn off the trash compactor and have the dumbbells removed from the gym.
British Columbia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a Vancouver homeowners corporation to conduct noise testing for both its trash compactor and its gym after the same owner complained.
Flor Madani owns an apartment in the two-story residential complex. The lower floor is located directly above the common property’s garbage room, while the second floor is on the same floor as the common property’s gym.
Madani had estimated her demands at $5,000, but instead of compensation, she demanded that the press be turned off and the dumbbells removed, which she claimed made noise when dropped.
“Alternatively, she wants the homeowners association to improve signage, enforce its bylaws and rules, and hire an acoustic engineer to assess the noise and make recommendations,” tribunal member Micah Carmody said in an Aug. 12 decision.
The homeowners association is opposed to most of these measures, Carmody said, arguing that the owners are entitled to use the trash compactor and dumbbells.
The operator said it would continue to investigate the noise complaints, but said Madani had not cooperated with the investigation.
Madani argued that the compaction plant was an industrial or commercial model that did not belong in a residential building.
Strata said it had conducted noise tests and was of the opinion that the compressor was not causing unreasonable noise. The next step in the investigation, it said, would be to “have an acoustic engineer conduct an objective assessment.”
However, Carmody said: “Madani has not shown that the noise from the compressors (at her plant) is something that a normal person would not tolerate. She has not provided an expert report on the noise, nor has she provided her own noise measurements or recordings.”
The gym
Madani said that every time residents dropped dumbbells or placed them heavily on the gym floor, she heard a loud bang and vibration in her bedroom.
Following her complaint, the administration put up a sign asking people not to drop weights. Later, soundproofing mats were laid. When this did not resolve Madani’s complaints, rubber tiles were laid.
Carmody rejected their request to remove the dumbbells for two reasons.
“First, Ms. Madani has not proven that the noise in the gym is something a normal person would not tolerate,” Carmody wrote. “Second, it would unfairly impact other residents who use the dumbbells without dropping them.”
She also called for more signage, but Carmody felt that what was there was sufficient.
Carmody ordered noise reports for both areas and the results were to be communicated to Madani.
Loud money orders were given.
