Calgary Condo Guide to Noise and Neighbours

October 24, 2012
By Cody Battershill

Calgary Condo Guide to Community, Neighbours and Noise

One of most important aspects of living in a condominium is maintaining community and getting along with your neighbours. In a house you still have neighbours and you still have to get along but they are next door instead of sharing a common wall with you.

Condominiums have many benefits including the price and location, easy maintenance and efficiency of living. Yet with these benefits comes the duty to maintain a cordial and respectful relationship with your neighbours. In a low or high rise style of condo you might have 4 immediate neighbours. One above you, one below you and neighbours on either side. Read more from your Calgary condo guide.

Creating community in your Calgary condo

Living in a condo building means you have a responsibility as an owner to care and maintain the entire building, not just because the bylaws say so but because you are an owner. What happens in your lobby, hallways, elevator, parking garage and outside the main door all affects you. Condo security also goes hand in hand with your responsibilities as an owner and everyone must make sure they are diligent and responsible.

By creating community through functions, condo board meetings and other social style events, you create a stronger community of residents who are more likely to care and maintain for the property, thereby benefiting every owner and helping to reduce unnecessary condo expenses while keeping the properties value as best as possible. One of the most important things you can do as a condo owner is get involved, be a part of the community and be an active and responsible owner. Here are some more reasons it is important to get involved in your condo board and community.

Say hello to your neighbours

I always recommend to my clients when they move in to go and introduce themselves to the neighbours. Try to create some sort of relationship with them, even if they have just met you one time it can go a long ways towards creating community within your building. What if you ever needed a cup of sugar? There could be a friendly next door neighbour that wouldn't mind helping out!

Nowadays we are all so focused on our busy schedules and our phones we might not even say hi to a neighbour in the elevator. Well, living in a building that has anywhere from 20 to 200 units means you could have a lot of neighbours. Sure, they are all on different floors and in different parts of the building but who says some friendly conversation ever hurt anyone.

Noise issues in Calgary Condos

Living in a community surrounded by your neighbours is bound to cause some overlap in the various activities everyone is doing from time to time. Noise can be an issue of friction between neighbours, but it doesn't have to be. As an owner, be mindful what time it is when you are listening to loud music or watching a late night movie with your surround sound turned up. Simple, thoughtful checks of what you are doing can go a long way to eliminating any noise issues within your building.

If every0ne acts responsibly and treats their neighbours the way they want to be treated, the community should function smoothly. Of course there may be times when someone has a party or is out of line and in these circumstances it is important to have condo bylaws in place to deal with the issues.

Different buildings are built with different materials, typically either wood frame or concrete construction and this can also have an impact on sound. Additionally the age of the building can also have an impact.

Be sure to check out Your Complete Calgary Condo Guide for more great condo tips!

Questions about Calgary Condos?

If you have any questions about condos in Calgary, getting along with your neighbours or dealing with noise, please call me direct at 403.370.4180 or send me a message below.