Limits for the maximum allowed noise

Happened to me in Benh Thanh district in Saigon. Police told me I can move and left without another word. So I moved to District 7 and never looked back. I guess I could have bribed them to do their job but that just perpetuates the corruption.

The best method may be to buy his plot and just leave it idle

The problem is the Cong An - they need money to investigate complaints.

Noise comes under environmental laws, another duty of Cong An. They even have sound level meters in HCMC buy it's not that effective.

I used to have an office on Tan Vinh Street which has a wedding palace opposite the intersection which competes against a karaoke bar on Tan Vinh. The noise was atrocious, even for Vietnamese.

What shut them up was the 02.00H curfew that only applies in tourism areas. If your bars close before 02.00H (usually midnight) it means you are not in a tourism area.

They passed a national law saying no smoking in public buildings and spaces 2 years ago.

Who do you know has even been warned off let alone fined? That's the duty of the environmental police, too.

One thing you will never get closed down, even in HCMC, is overnight concrete pumping. The reason is that concrete has a finite time between mixing and pouring and the only time the trucks can make in time deliveries is overnight when the traffic is minimal.

Hi Budman1,

My favorite singing place in Can Tho was forced to scrap its stage and build individual sound-proofed rooms about a year ago, much like the typical karaoke establishments, because the neighbors complained to the local authority.

Now, I know for sure that the owner knew the local authorities well; they were on his payroll.  Many of his patrons were in positions of influence as well.  But, one of his neighbors must have trumped them all, in term of power, to have pulled that off.  It cost the guy quite a bit to convert the place, not to mention the lost of customers.  But, the guy had to do it and had to learn to like it.

Base on that, my suggestion to you is check with your other neighbors to see how they feel about the join and if they are willing to do something about it.  Also, learn about the owner background and that of his clan.  Someone must have given him the go ahead.  Find out what that someone is.  Then, find someone who can influence that person to talk to him/her on your behalf.  Once that individual is convinced, he will let your noisy neighbor know about it and the neighbor will take care of it on his own.  In your area, it will probably take about a case of liquor to get that done, it all depends on how high up your "friend" is.  The local authority will only act as a form of formality.  That is the best and most efficient way of getting this thing resolved. 

The other method, through formal channel, is another.  File a complaint with the district cop.  But, your wife being a Viet Kieu and you being an American, it will be tough getting that processed.  It will not be impossible, but it will cost more and take much much longer, Budman.   

Take my advise and use the informal channel to get this done.  It is the better way; and you won't ruffle any feather.  Your neighbors will respect you more. 

Best wish,
Howie

Good to hear from you Howie, and yes good advice.. I started to work the informal procedures as soon as I found out what he was up to. What I was looking for was how enforceable is the information provided in the link so I could have little teeth before I proceeded... As usual you answered it, and with a good summary to go with it, Thanks guy... I'll be sending you another e-mail in a short.

Rick

enforce a noise limit? that would mean close the whole country down. the limit is, what someone can create.

OK, here is a really weird suggestion....hire some really awful singers that are well..."big and tough looking" to hog the microphone every night and nobody will want to go there???
No really, every Sunday we have the same situation here in Phu Nhuan and I often think while they sing....keep your day job.

Hi guys,

It is great to see all of you fellas on here again.  How is your part of Vietnam?

In regard to Vietnamese laws...  When and how they get enforced depends on who you know and how well you know him or her.  If you know the top cop in your city and you know him on a personal basis, heck, he or she will make laws to suit your needs and will do so in no time.  On the other hand, if you don't know anyone, you are not going to see your grievance addressed in a long long time, especially if you are a foreigner.  Vietnamese society serves Vietnamese citizens, Viet Kieus, then foreigners.

I wish you the best with your ordeal, Rick.  I hope it will get resolved quickly.  And I hope the rest of you will never have to go through any thing like this during your stay in Vietnam. 

Howie