How to File a Noise Complaint in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known for its party destinations, holiday celebrations and high-class clubs. Behind the glitz and glamor, however, lies a rich base of locals who live and work in the community. Luxury apartment complexes and housing communities situated far off-strip should supply a respite for those who want to get away from the noise of the main part of the city. Unfortunately, frequent visitors to Las Vegas often decide to rent a Las Vegas apartment to act as a party homebase when they are getting ready for a night on the town. If you have a rude neighbor who is blasting music or won't shut up with his booming bass, online and offline resources can help you with the problem.

First, think about where you live. If you live in a 1 bedroom apartment right off the strip, and the complex is party central, and you don't pay much for the room, you might have to move to get a quiet spot. However, if you are paying more than $700 per month for a one bedroom apartment located way off-strip, you have every right to get ticked at your partying neighbors. There are plenty of places to party and get loud in the city; right next to your quiet home environment does not need to be one of them.

It would be nice if you could just walk up to your neighbor and ask them to turn down the racket, but the reality is that in some neighborhoods, asking for the volume can come down can end up with retaliation like property damage or a physical attack from the neighbor. The safest thing to do is to contact authorities who can help you with the problem. In Las Vegas, assistance is available to help you deal with your noise complaint.

The lowest stress course of action is often to contact your apartment complex manager for assistance with the noise. Remember that you are a customer of the apartment complex, and you deserve what you paid for: a habitable apartment under the terms of your lease. Call or email your apartment manager with a description of the problem and ask for their help. If they seem reluctant to help, drop terms like "noise violation" and "uninhabitable dwelling" to see if that loosens them up.

If your apartment complex does not take responsibility for their noise issues, you may need to contact the local government for help. Depending on where you live in Las Vegas, different sound and noise level ordinances may apply to your area. Las Vegas Municipal Sound codes are more strict than Clark County noise ordinances, so if you live within the technical city limits of Las Vegas outside the Strip Area, you have more room to complain than Las Vegas area residents living in technically unincorporated areas of Clark County. The difference can be hard to tell without a map of the city zoning, so it may be easiest to work with Clark County ordinances until you can figure out where your home falls on the map.

Clark County noise ordinances are based on the frequency of the sound; the more shrill and high-pitched the sound, the lower the sound is required to be. Obvious exceptions include emergency alarms and business noise doing the day. In general, by Las Vegas standards, if the noise is bothering you, it's already kind of in violation of codes, and if you can hear the noise 50 feet away from the source, it is technically and clearly in violation.

You can guess at the approximate level of the noise using this chart, but decibels are tricky because they are relative. However, if the noise is louder than a vacuum, you can be fairly sure it is a noise violation.

References and Information:

Prohibited Noises in Las Vegas
Clark County Noise Ordinance
Noise Level Chart