Sound Judgment: CAT Says Condo Took Reasonable Steps in Noise Dispute
In a recent decision of the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), a unit owner was ordered to pay the condominium corporation $5000 in costs after he claimed the Corporation failed to enforce its noise rules.
The unit owner said low-frequency music from the unit below his was disturbing his sleep. He claimed the Corporation failed to take appropriate steps to stop the noise and should have had the Corporation’s lawyers commence legal proceedings
Before the CAT application, the Corporation did take steps to address the complaints. The Corporation responded to each complaint, sent its security guards to the unit to listen for noise, and communicated with the resident. Eventually, the Corporation suggested that the neighbour replace and move their speakers, which improved the noise transmission.
Despite the improvement in the noise, the unit owner commenced the CAT application. During Stage 2 – Mediation (Stage 2), the Corporation produced a report from a sound engineer confirming that the current sound levels were within normal limits, even if the unit owner could still hear some noise. The unit owner was not satisfied with the steps the Corporation took to enforce the noise rules and moved the case to Stage 3 – Adjudication (Stage 3).
CAT found that while the noise previously constituted a nuisance, it did not at the time of the application. The Corporation took reasonable steps to address the noise complaints without having to engage legal counsel. The Corporation only had to act reasonably, not perfectly.
In awarding $5,000 in costs, CAT noted the Corporation did take reasonable steps to deal with the earlier noise issues and provided evidence during Stage 2 that the current noise levels were acceptable. Despite this, the unit owner pushed the application to Stage 3, forcing the Corporation to spend money defending the application. CAT emphasized that it would be unfair to the innocent unit owners to bear the burden of unnecessary costs.
Practical Tips
For corporations:
- Detailed incident reports outlining responses to noise complaints are crucial to satisfy the “reasonable steps” requirement
- Getting an expert report prior to Stage 3 can be beneficial to show “reasonable steps” and assist with cost awards
- Escalation to legal counsel is not always necessary if prior steps have been effective
For unit owners:
- Personal sensitivity to sound will likely not carry weight against an expert report
- Continuing a CAT application to Stage 3 despite clear expert evidence that contradicts your position may result in cost consequences
See case Bateman v TSCC 2302, 2026 ONCAT 9