Exhausted Hamilton residents dealing with 'nightmare' noise next door say pleas to city, police go unheard

The sounds of drilling, sawing, banging, yelling and smashing at 4 a.m. reverberate through the wall separating Samantha McArthur's bedroom from her next-door neighbours' home. 

This early May 17 morning is like many others in the past year and a half — the noise and vibrations emanating from the middle Hess Street North row house for hours makes it impossible for McArthur, and her neighbour Patrick Flynn, to sleep. 

"You can call this the nightmare on Hess Street," McArthur said. 

McArthur and Flynn each own the respective end units of the three row houses in downtown Hamilton. 

On security cameras and phones, they've recorded the neighbours who live between them, engaging in violent arguments that spill onto the street, piling up large objects like bikes, electric scooters and commercial-grade construction equipment in their back and front yards, and doing what sounds like extensive renovation work — all overnight. 

But there is no authority willing to help, McArthur and Flynn said, even though their neighbours appear to be violating the city's noise bylaw and they say they've contacted municipal enforcement officers upwards of 100 times to file complaints.

The city said it has laid six charges against the residents of the middle row house between last September and February, with three related to noise. 

None have been laid since, despite the situation getting worse, said McArthur. 

They and other neighbours have also implored police to investigate whether the disruptions meet the bar for criminal mischief, but to their knowledge, that's yet to happen. 

"We want change," Flynn said. "We have a right to live peacefully." 

Their neighbours did not respond to requests for comment.

As a rule, Hamilton police do not respond to noise complaints unless there's a threat to public safety — a policy change that began last year in an effort to free up resources, said spokesperson Jackie Penman. 

Bylaw officers, who also have the power to charge and fine, do not respond to noise complaints past 4:30 p.m. with the exception of Friday and Saturday nights until 1 a.m.

The hours are restricted because of "safety reasons," city staff said in a report to council last year.