Noise & Anti-Social Behaviour

In Romania, there are a number of laws and rules in place surrounding noise and anti-social behaviour. Whether you are planning a little get-together or you’re dealing with your neighbour upgrading their bathroom, it's important to know and understand the rules that are in place to protect the peace and wellbeing of residents.

"Quiet Hours" - orele de liniște

There is actually a law in Romania, specifically Law No. 61/1991, which is aimed at ensuring that certain hours of the day, and throughout the night, are protected against acts which would "violate" public order and peace.

The law describes these offences as:

• disturbing, without right, the peace of the inhabitants by making noises with any device or object or by shouts or noise;
• disturbing the peace of the tenants between 22.00-8.00 and 13.00-14.00 by any person by making noises, noise or by using any device, object or musical instrument at high intensity in the premises of legal entities, in the dwellings of natural persons or in any other place in buildings with the destination of dwellings or located in their immediate vicinity;
• the organization of private parties and the use of music equipment at an intensity likely to disturb the peace of the inhabitants, in tents, other facilities or in uncovered space, located in the perimeter close to residential or social buildings, in urban areas.

What are the risks?

In February 2020, the law was changed to allow larger fines for people who break it, and it has been amended again since then. Under the current version of Law No. 61/1991:

• disturbing the peace with noise or shouting can be fined 200–1,000 lei;
• making noise during the quiet hours (22:00–08:00 and 13:00–14:00) can be fined 1,000–2,000 lei;
• holding a loud private party in the open near residential buildings can be fined 4,000–6,000 lei.

If the same offence is repeated within 72 hours, the fines are higher: 1,000–3,000 lei for disturbing the peace, 4,000–6,000 lei for noise during quiet hours and 6,000–12,000 lei for loud parties, or community service instead.

How do I report anti-social behaviour?

In most cases, it's a good idea to see if you can reason with the individual(s) that are the source of the anti-social behaviour. However, in some cases, you may not know where exactly the disturbance is coming from, or feel uncomfortable handling the situation.

You could try having a conversation with your landlord and seeing whether they would be prepared to address the issue, or alternatively, if you live in an apartment block, you can report the disturbance to the block administrator.

If you wish to request official help with such a situation, you can notify "Poliția Locală" (Local Police), which can attend as a non-emergency to check out what's going on and intervene when needed.

You can contact the local police in Cluj-Napoca, by calling: 0264 955