Loud music and all-night parties are major sources of neighborhood conflicts in Caracas. In response, the Libertador municipality has an ordinance imposing fines starting at €50, prioritizing community mediation.
The Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civic Responsibility, and Community Peace Justice establishes consequences for those who disturb the peace through excessive noise. Article 31 stipulates a fine of 50 times the highest-value currency according to the Central Bank of Venezuela, that is, 50 euros or its equivalent in bolivars.
If they are unable to afford it, they are required to complete a 40-hour community service day, which includes cleaning, painting or restoring health centers, schools or sports fields, as well as attending training talks on coexistence.
For serious offenses, the penalty can amount to 100 times the official exchange rate or, failing that, the performance of two community service projects.
Regulations. In the Libertador municipality, the main legal tool for combating noise is the Coexistence Ordinance, approved in May 2023 and published in Municipal Gazette No. 4940-23. This instrument, in Article 11, defines noise pollution as excessive sound that alters the normal conditions of the environment in a given area, deteriorating the quality of life. Article 31 specifies that noise pollution includes noise generated by parties, gatherings, musical performances, or similar events that disturb the peace and quiet of residents and neighbors.
The regulations also categorize loud shouting and foul language as disruptive sounds that threaten public order, especially in spaces where children and teenagers are present. These regulations penalize excessive noise levels in commercial establishments with openings to public spaces and in passenger transport vehicles.
According to officials from the Community Police Service attached to the Bolivarian National Police Corps, disturbances can be caused by constant celebrations until late into the night, by blows in construction, masonry work, carpentry, machinery and other reasons, both in residential and commercial areas.
Article 25 considers disturbing noises as behaviors that affect peace and respectful relations between people. In such cases, the authorities may "identify, record, deactivate, or temporarily and preventively detain the source of the noise," the regulations state.
Complaint. The regulations prioritize dialogue and mediation. Before resorting to a fine, the affected citizen and the defendant in a noise complaint have access to alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation, negotiation, arbitration, conciliation, or settlement.
For this purpose, they will have the guidance and support of the competent authorities, such as the Caracas Police, community policing services, municipal public authorities, community justices of the peace, organizations within the comprehensive child and adolescent protection system, and key representatives of community councils and communes. They may mediate, culminating in agreements that are recorded in conciliation documents.
The neighborhood conflict resolution offices of the community police service, located in the capital's parishes, receive a high number of complaints about excessive noise. Those affected typically report sleepless nights, tension, and stress that can lead to anxiety, and even escalation of conflicts into verbal or physical violence.
Citizens also have access to the Municipal Office for Citizen Coexistence, Civic Responsibility, and Peace, located at the corner of La Palma, across from the Basilica of Santa Teresa, in the Santa Teresa parish. Its hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Another entity is the Urban Control Office of the Caracas Mayor's Office.
To formalize the complaint, the affected party can present evidence, such as video recordings or testimonies from other affected neighbors.
Laws. This municipal regulation is complemented by the national legal framework, such as Decree No. 2.217, which refers to the Standards on the control of noise pollution. Article five establishes the following tolerable noise levels: up to 55 dB in residential areas, hospitals, and schools; 50 to 60 dB in residential areas with multi-family dwellings; 55 to 65 dB in residential areas with few commercial establishments; and up to 70 dB in commercial and industrial areas.
Likewise, Regulation No. 5 of the Organic Law of the Environment relating to annoying and harmful noises.
The legislation in detail
- Annoying noises. Article 11 of the Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civics and Community Peace Justice of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas defines it as the emission of sound produced by any activity or process, which exceeds the levels of tolerance admitted, which cause discomfort to the health of the population and disturb the environment.
- Permits. Article 25 states that devices that generate noise in duly permitted construction or repair work are not confiscated.
- Duties. The municipal regulations state in article 16 that public or private organizations, such as schools, municipal and state entities, companies and community organizations, must collaborate in promoting education and applying the ordinance for the control of noise and sound pollution.
- Traffic. The Municipal Ordinance, in its article 20, sanctions infractions related to traffic and land transport such as driving or remaining in public or private vehicles with high-volume sound devices, generating environmental disturbance and noise pollution.
Good afternoon, this needs to be applied in all sectors of Caracas. Here at the school in the La Gruta sector of Carapita, it's every weekend with that racket from a Jeep with a high-end sound system, not letting anyone sleep. And then we have to go to work! It's not fair. The noise pollution in the San José del Alto neighborhood is so bad that there should be severe punishment for those idle people. Send a commission and you'll see.
Good afternoon, where can I find the Municipal Ordinances and Rules of Coexistence?
with all its articles and laws. I'm very interested. Thank you.
It would be good if that law were extended nationwide, for example in Filas de Mariche, El Limoncito sector, Sucre municipality, Miranda state
Hello, where can I file a complaint? Every weekend in the El Velle sector, La Rampa, we experience this situation with honking horns, cars playing loud music, people shouting, and excessive noise. It's awful; we can't get any rest. We are asking for help, please, as there are elderly and sick people in this area who need to sleep and rest, and they can't. Thank you very much.
In the San Andrés sector of the Valley, businesses that sell beer until dawn play loud music every weekend. Some have been fined and shut down, but since there is no surveillance in the early morning hours, some of them open anyway without damaging the stickers put up by the mayor's office, just for their economic benefit. It seems that this ordinance is a dead letter for these businesses.
I bet they don't even have liquor licenses.
And when will this happen in the Sucre municipality? It urgently needs to be implemented in northern California.
This ordinance is very good, but in Caracas, and more specifically in the Santa Rosalía area, it's not being enforced. You call the police and they answer, "We're on our way," but we're still waiting for them since Carnival.
I think this ordinance is excellent. It should be extended to private public transport vehicles, which have horns installed that generate a noise of at least 120 dB, which they play at will, causing a deafening and disturbing nuisance. I hope it becomes law.
And to Valencia when
The regulations aimed at controlling noise pollution are excellent. However, they say nothing about the noise from motorcycles and cars with modified exhausts… If I'm in my neighborhood and there's an extreme noise problem, how do I report it so the appropriate authorities can take action?
Good afternoon…the problem is getting this enforced…and the noise from motor vehicles on the road and highways…isn't covered by these regulations. Why?
Where are these complaints handled? Because we have a similar case with neighbors playing loud music every day, often until the early hours of the morning here in Los Rosales, on St. Rosalía, La Cruz street. We've contacted all the relevant authorities in the area, even the mayor, and nothing and no one is taking action. The situation is becoming unbearable, affecting senior citizens and children who have to go to school sleep-deprived because of the noise.
Hello, how are you? I'd like to know how this works because I'm having problems where I live. I'm fed up with a so-called cultural center that makes noise for more than three days straight, until dawn, making it impossible to sleep. Since they opened that cultural center, everything is chaos, and we also live in an alley where they don't respect the elderly. I'm from Caracas, Avenida San Martín, El Guarataro, Callejón San Diego. Please, if you could give me some advice on how to resolve this.