Interfloor Noise Standard Strengthened from 43dB to 39dB... Measurement Support and Conflict Management Included

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The standards for noise between floors will be strengthened, and customized services provided by the government in case of damage will be expanded.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment announced plans to strengthen the standards for noise between floors to reduce the inconvenience experienced by residents living in apartment complexes in their daily lives.

Accordingly, the current direct impact noise standards (1-minute equivalent noise level) of 43 decibels (dB) during the day and 38 dB at night will be strengthened by 4 dB each to 39 dB during the day and 34 dB at night.

The Korea Environment Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Environment, conducted a "Study on Annoyance Response to Real-life Exposure to Noise Between Floors" from December 2019 to June 2020 involving 100 citizens aged 20 to 60 (average age 36). The study found that at the current daytime noise standard of 43 dB, 30% of the participants reported feeling "very annoyed."

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends managing the annoyance rate caused by noise to within 10%, and European Union (EU) countries generally set noise standards to maintain annoyance rates within the range of 10 to 20%.

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The annoyance rate at the newly strengthened standard of 39 dB corresponds to approximately 13%.

Along with this, it is expected that the scope in which noise between floors damage can be recognized during dispute resolution processes, such as mediation through dispute resolution committees when conflicts arise, will also be expanded.

Going forward, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment plan to promptly announce the administrative notice for the amendment of the "Regulations on the Scope and Standards of Noise Between Floors in Apartment Complexes," and finalize the revision of noise standards after collecting opinions from related ministries, local governments, stakeholders, and conducting regulatory reviews.

In addition, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment will continuously strengthen counseling services to effectively reduce conflicts caused by noise between floors, and will promote measures to improve public accessibility to civil complaint counseling and dispute mediation.

The Ministry of Environment is providing noise between floors counseling and measurement services by reinforcing the capabilities of specialized institutions (Korea Environment Corporation, Neighbors Center of the Environmental Preservation Association) amid a surge in noise complaints after COVID-19.

Customized services aimed at user convenience, such as nighttime (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) home visit counseling and noise measurement for dual-income families, operation of a noise measurement visit reservation system, and one-stop noise measurement support on the day of on-site counseling, will also be expanded in the future.

Types of Interfloor Noise

Furthermore, before complaints are received by specialized institutions, support projects such as free rental services for noise measuring devices and development of conflict management education programs will be expanded so that apartment complex management entities can manage conflicts at an early stage to prevent escalation.

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We will strive to create a comfortable and safe living environment through comprehensive support and efforts to resolve noise conflicts between neighbors and alleviate public inconvenience."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.