Sydney mum threatened with $550 fine for noisy toddler in strata apartment

JANIN Mayer was gobsmacked when she got a letter demanding she keep her child quiet in his own home. How is this OK?

A SYDNEY mum is furious after receiving a letter from her apartment building strata company threatening her with legal action unless she can stop her toddler from creating “excessive noise”.

Vaucluse resident Janin Mayer, 33, says she feels “bullied” by strata company Bright & Duggan, which told her unless she can control her 19-month-old son Elliav, she will be dragged before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and face a $550 fine.

In the letter, which Ms Mayer posted to Facebook over the weekend, the strata company says it has received reports from her neighbours of “shouting and screaming”, disturbing other residents and putting her in breach of the strata scheme by-laws.

“Living harmoniously within a strata scheme requires all occupiers to be aware and considerate of each other,” it reads. “Strata by-laws are adopted to give guidance and outline the standard of behaviour expected to ensure that all residents enjoy a peaceful existence.

“It has been brought to our attention that excessive noise, in the form of your child shouting and screaming, is emanating from your apartment from early in the morning to very late at night on a regular basis. This is disturbing other residents and as such you are in breach of the strata scheme by-laws.

“Please refrain from allowing your child to create excessive noise immediately and into the future. You must be mindful of other residents and keep noise levels to a minimum at all times.

“Continued breaches of the by-laws may result in the matter being taken further and a fine of $550 being imposed by the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal.”

Ms Mayer said the “threatening” tone from the strata company was distressing.

“WTF?! Discrimination to the utmost! I am revolted,” Ms Mayer wrote on Facebook to friends who voiced their support.

The stay-at-home mum, who is expecting her second child in just over a month, pays $560 a week for a small two-bedroom unit in the complex in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

Ms Mayer and her husband, 35-year-old Evi, moved in just before Christmas and say they have tried to be civil with the neighbours.

Janin Mayer, 33, with 19-month-old Elliav.

“There’s not really anything we can do,” she told news.com.au.

“We try, obviously we’re aware of the fact that we’re in a city and there are neighbours. We keep the windows shut. I don’t know what else we can do.

“We’re not partying, we’re not outside in the common area. He’s a toddler, that’s what toddlers do. There are other kids in the building but they are a bit older.”

She said the response on Facebook had been overwhelmingly supportive. “We were really outraged [about the letter],” she said.

“Everyone’s disgusted, especially people with children who just know that is normal behaviour for a toddler. In addition to the fact that city rental prices are so ridiculous anyway, it just adds to the feeling of being pushed out.”

Ms Mayer said she is worried about what will happen when the second baby arrives. “I don’t really feel comfortable in the building [anymore]. It just makes me feel like my child is being bullied,” she said.

“With a newborn, realistically it’s going to be even noisier — that’s what babies do. I don’t know if they are going to try and be even more aggressive about the matter. I don’t really feel there’s anything we can do to resolve the situation.”

The dispute has left the couple, already struggling with Sydney’s sky-high cost of living and housing prices, considering leaving the city altogether — and she says she’s not alone.

“Our long-term plan is actually to leave Sydney, and this just reinforces it. The cost of childcare, the cost of rent, makes it impossible to save. Who can afford to buy?”

At the end of the day, Ms Mayer says she just wishes neighbours would talk to one another instead of running straight to strata companies with disputes.

“We have tried really hard to be in open engagement with our neighbours,” she said. “Just from a community perspective, it’s nice to have those old-fashioned values.

“I don’t know where young families are supposed to go.”

Bright & Duggan senior relationship manager John Duggan said he couldn’t comment due to privacy issues. “We can’t be discussing other people’s correspondence, that’s not our role to be doing that,” he told news.com.au.

“It’s a matter between ourselves and that particular [resident]. There are by-laws that relate to the building and it’s as simple as that.”

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