How to deal with dog barking in Malta?

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Rick - you have to just find a Newman   ;-)

throw something over the fence to keep them barking? something to chew on maybe, fuzzy toys? spiked sausages :-) only kidding,

dont know what it is with this island and the number of pets, its too small to share with wandering cats and dogs. good luck !

I agree that this situation would be VERY annoying and unfortunately nothing has been done and you and your neighbors complaints have seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. I'm not saying that this is an excuse, but this is Malta. Nothing might ever happen about the situation unfortunately  
And by taking it through court, would that be a long and expensive process possibly that might have no outcome?
But if you and your neighbors feel this strongly about it and everyone is in agreement to go ahead with paying for a lawyer then by all means go for it and I wish you luck!

I think, you will not manage to do something with it... Maltese lawer will always help maltese client.

Hi,

The interesting part here is that all the neighbours involved and who want to solve the barking problem once and for all are ...............MALTESE ! I'm only on the sideline as it is clear that I would not get anywhere.

So there will be Maltese lawyers for Maltese clients against a Maltese dog owner!

My lawyer will be mainly to get us out of the rent contract if the dog problem persists !That is what our landlord is scared about.So he is also in on the case!

So lets see how things go or else we go-)))

Have you contacted the animal welfare department ?

Hi George,

Will be one of the next steps to contact animal welfare although I think they won't consider barking a major problem.
Maybe the yard with dog poop in a residential area !
He is actually keeping the dogs in a ground floor garage off Old College Street in Sliema with 'Reserved Parking' in front of the garage for his car as the garage is full of junk and three fat bull dogs. The Sliema town council might not like that misuse of the parking space.!

Thanks for the tip.

Ricky

Dogs became really great problem of small Malta, I think. Maltese people keep too many of them, but they do not have opportunities for dogs.
Not only barking all the time everywhere. You understand what I mean. You always should be very careful walking along the street. ))

Update !

Things are escalating now !

After the police visited the guy the barking got even worse! So now we have stepped up our action.It appears that the problem has been around for two years and no one took real action.Our landlord even moved out of his own appartment and rented it to us without telling us about the problem with the dogs.

We have been told that on these grounds we can terminate our contract ( 3 years) and both the dog owner and our landlord are starting to s--- in their pants.

We are threating to move out soon and our landlord is finally having  his lawyer send a final letter to the dog owner.If the dogs don't stop barking  we will move out and our landlord wants to claim  damages from the dogowner as he will not be able to pay his mortgage if we move out. This is the final Maltese dog showdown!

Either the 3 bulldogs go or we go !

This is starting to be intriguing.It seems that Maltese dog owners don't expect to be taken the full course !

I will keep you updated.

Ricky

I know someone in Gozo who had their lease terminated due to dogs barking. The advert for the flat said "quiet residential area" and that was enough for their lawyer to stop the lease. Do you have something similar in writing ?

Hi George,

No, we don't. But that is not really the problem in our case as our landlord admits that we have reason to terminate our contract ! He knew of the problem and did not inform us as he should have because we asked before we signed the contract.

And that is our landlord's case against the neighbour.He intends to sue the neighbour for damages after we leave .Our landlord happens to be a manager of a big real estate company in Malta so he also knows what is at stake.

But we really don't want to leave as the place is very nice (apart from the dogs)so we still hope that the dogs will go and not us.

But thanks for your post. I would certainly be very cautious with our next lease in Malta and have that written into the contract before signing.

Ricky

A few days ago, I had asked a quiet apartment to an agency. I insisted and the agent found me something. With him, everything was quiet, nice, even the landlady.
First day, a dog in the courtyard from the building at the opposite was barking, and didn't stop until late the night. The day after, I required from my landlady that I wanted to leave. In France or Canada, never things got better even when you call the Police or ask your landlord to solve the problem. So, no way of staying here. We had a intense conversation. She wanted to keep the deposit but after arguing in a harsh conversation, I decided to meet all together the manager of the agency. I explained that the lease was not valid because my landlord hadn't signed it, we had talked to a neighbor before and who said that in the building everyone was aware and he said that he was disturbed. So I said that she couldn't ignore the problem. Then I said that if she didn't want to terminate the lease, that would be a hell for her.

She agreed to terminate the lease under the pressure. I was about to blow out. After that, she told my agent in Maltese, she no longer wanted any French in her apartment. God bless her, less people will live a hell. Though, I could have sued her for racism.

I understand that she was not directly responsible as a landlady but she didn't care of solving my issue, she just wanted to get the money.

I was lucky. Now I'm relieved not to live in this apartment. The dog was barking almost every time, I have never seen this before. The worst thing before that is when I met bedbugs in Canada and when my landlady was aware of the problem.

Crazy landlords.

Hi John,

Thanks for your input.

You really did the right thing to terminate the rental contract immediatly.

As I have heard from other Expats the dog barking problem in Malta is widespread and the main reason to leave an appartment.

And, as you report, the agents will promise everything just to make the deal and get your money.

In our case the dogs have now been completely quiet since December 12 th after 8 months of barking.I'm not quite sure why but they are still there - just inside so you don't hear them.

For me this is a sign that our landlord who is also agent/manager of a real estate company did have a deal with the neighbour to keep the dogs inside and quiet for the first weeks until we had moved in as our Maltese neighbours told us the dog problem had been there for two years.

As we don't trust the quiet situation we are still planning on moving out in the next months.

So , as a tip for anybody looking  for a rental home, include a line in the contract confirming that there is no dog barking in the neighbourhood and that it would be a reason to leave immediatly.Also try and ask future neighbours about any noise related problems in the area.

Do not trust anything you are told by the real estate agent.

Regards
Ricky

This whole thing is crazy....

I'm glad to hear that you were able to get out of your lease agreement John. Noisy neighbors and pets can be quite annoying.

I will say though, that you will soon find out that things don't work the same here in Malta compared to other parts of the world. Saying that you "could have sued her for racism", you'd get no where with that most likely. Living in Malta is a very different way of life; slower paced, very different views on some things and to be very honest it can even be a little corrupt at times. But what country isn't )

I have found though, that if you go into things here with the same mentality as you might have in North America or many other countries...its quite possible that you might not make it in Malta. What might be quite common practice in other parts of the world could very well not be here. You have to have a lot of patience and an open mind. I had some family from Canada visiting back in July and though it was lovely to see them, it was also quite frustrating because they kept on comparing things here to North America. They just couldn't seem to wrap their head around how some things work here and it made it frustrating for me. You kind of just have to go with the flow here at times. Know when to be persistent, know when to keep your mouth shut and views to yourself, know when to take a stand. its hard for me to explain without coming off as being rude I think... I'm not trying to say that you won't make it living here and I'm not saying that you always have to just lie down and take it either when you come across a situation that seems wrong. I'm just trying to say that Malta is Malta. Its not like any other place so we can't treat and compare it to the ways of any other place.

I'm afraid this has gone off topic, so I apologize

Hi RubyMarie,

Trust me , we are well-integrated into Maltese society and are here to stay . All the things you say are true but there comes the time when people loose their patience.

In our case it is actually the other three Maltese neighbours who are taking the next step through police and a court case.Their problem is that they own their homes and cannot just leave like we are doing.Going with the flow does not help in this case and after 8 months of being patient we are cutting our losses .We are not waiting to see if and when they get a ruling and action against the 3 bulldogs being kept in a small backyard.

And believe me, the barking is not just annoying which would be around 70 dB's loudness.Measurements done in our yard reach 80 dB's of sustained loudness which can even cause damage to hearing.

After reading about what you are not trying to say and that Malta is Malta, I'm not quite sure what you are trying to say.

But , as you said, it was off topic anyway.

Regards
Ricky

I was simply trying to say that sometimes trying to take things through the legal system here is a dead end and that things don't always work the same in malta as they do in other countries when it comes to complaints or other things. I wasn't meaning that its malta so deal with it. I'm glad it worked out for John and that he was able to move and get out of his lease. I wasn't trying to offend anyone, obviously I did so I apologize I guess for that. we'll just leave it at that rather than take this into some huge argument or disagrence. sorry again to ruffle feathers if thats what happened

why not take matters to the european high courts as there are now new european laws put in place,and take the landlord to court as if you have enough evidence that he stayed there before you moved in get theat in writing, and the laws would be a lot fairer than those in valletta, after all they are now in teh EU why should anyone take that crap, as i can already write a book and make money as i have been here for 5 years they can do what they like but a foreignor or another EU citizen can go on their hind legs,

You can't go to European court until its gone through the Maltese court system...

Hi Maura,

George is right .

But the problem with dog barking is really a problem with individual dog owners who have no respect for their neighbours , whether Maltese or Foreign. It is the same attitude  that leaves lots of big heaps of dog s... in the streets and on the promenades.

I have a dog myself and know many Maltese dog owners who do care and are responsible.Sadly the few 'rotten apples' blur the view.

It should not have to go to court in the first place.

I wish you all a Happy New YEar (without dog barking)

Ricky

at least we will then know how maltese courts do things if it has to go that far, does'nt say much then?

The biggest hurdle with the Maltese legal system is time - the simplest cases drag on for years - someone doesn't appear in court, and so its delayed 6 mnoths, then someone else doesn't etc etc

in other words they need their asses kicked as they are now in the EU and need to meet EU requirments as this is law

Hi Maura,

I wouldn't use such hard words.

Being in the EU is one thing but all member countries have their own national laws and regulations.
The same goes for the enforcement of laws and regulations.

So the court procedure in Malta is a national question and not specifically connected to dog barking.

Malta has been in the EU for a few years only so they are still in transition.And you will find many things in other EU countries ,who have been members for much longer, that do not show the true European spirit.


And , on a positive note,our landlord had a major argument with the dog owner after our most recent complain on Monday..And since Monday afternoon,we have not heard a single dog bark!
And it was really perfect being able to enjoy our appartment without repeated annoying barks.

So now we are hoping a little that it stays quiet.

A Happy New Year everybody.
Ricky

so why all the fuss? what was your problem and why did'nt you do that in the first place you seem to know a lot about your courts in malta, but then again i have been a EU citizen since 1973, so i do know my rights wherever in the EU i am same rule applies.

He might have stopped his dogs from barking but wait until his wife starts

Seriously theres nothing worse than constant noise all night when you're trying to sleep - hope it stay quiet now for you

steve

That's not funny Steverowley - mother-in-law and wife jokes went out of fashion in the 20th century:(

i think it still exists, and will never go out of fashion as maltese do speak very loudly and half the time you think that they are fighting when they are 'only talking' 'hello' then if you lose your temper its' 'your making me nervous' 'hello'
new years resolution how do you make a maltese speak without shouting?

Hi Steve,

The dogs owner's wife died years ago of cancer and the problem is not at night , it is the constant barking during the day.

The problem culminated last week with another bad day of barking sending our landlord to the St.Julians police station. He filed a second complaint and the police are now taking the owner to court.

The police recommended to also start a civil case . Next week is a meeting of all neighbours to discuss the situation and next steps.

And our landlord told us that the dogs owner's son had asked him if he could rent our garage for his car as his father's dogs are kept in their garage !

This is all happening in Sliema just a few meters from Tower Road.

Will keep you updated.

Ricky

Well good luck Ricky, hope everything gets resolved as soon as possible. I tell you something , you're far more patient than I could have been in the circumstances!

Is this dog barking common everywhere in Malta?

steve

Hi all,

We had our dog court case today and it was a real experience but I think it went really well for us and our Maltese neighbours. I could have posted this under the new thread ' pyschotic experiences ' too !

First of all the Maltese court room. In our case a smaller room full of benches , the magistrates desk , assistants writing the minutes, lawyers, witnesses , accused all standing and in a free-for-all.

Then there was serious discussing going on between lawyers and magistrate in Maltese with a lot of shouting.We were told that the police had filed the case wrong stating that we were accusing the dog owner of contuinuous barking - not his 3 big,fat bull dogs!

But when his lawyer said that we should all go home as his client , the dog owner could not bark, the magistrate got up and started screaming at the lawyer. He should take the case seriously as there was obviously a case if so many complainants had turned up. That must have been a lawyers joke that went very wrong.

Luckily the dogs had been barking inside the adjacent building from yesterday midnight to 3 in the morning. Even another Maltese neighbour had woken up at 1.30 am and sent the dog owner a sms. I was told this just when we were leaving for court and was able to get this point through to the magistrate. He then asked the dog owner if it was true and he had to admit that he had received the sms at 1.30 but that they were only barking a little!.

This seemed to turn and finish the hearing as soon after that we were all dismissed (thrown out)and told to sort things out and that the dogs were to be kept quiet. If not we are to go the police station with the lawyer and the dogs will be removed by the police immediatly.

The discussion contuinued in the corridor in front of court room 2 and our lawyer told us it had gone really well for us. So know we hope for the dogs sake that their owner gets it and seriously keeps them quiet , however he does it !.

It had already been quite quiet the last week before the hearing except for last night which might have turned the case for us.

So now we have a good feeling and are hoping for the future as we really don't want to have to move because of these dogs.

Regards
Ricky

Thanks for the update Ricky - hope it goes well for you....so far so good.

Fortunate you don't come Barking in Essex - the Lawyer might have argued you were accusing yourself!

Tim

good going Ricky well done

I think Ricky you should start thinking about forming a Malta Residents Association, like they have in switzerland and  germany the Mieterverband, which also has some teeth and not only accepts the membership fees.

Help the rest of us out there fight these cases.

Good to hear things are going well, and it's nice to have you back in country...   I'll sign up for the residence associatoin with you all.

So is there a law against having a dog barking in an apartment during daylight hours? It turns out our dog is a barker when left alone (we were unaware until a neighbour complained earlier!). I am at home 75% of the time so he doesn't bark all day everyday just a few hours on some days. We are going to take action to train him, but in the meantime is there a law that can actually be enforced against us?

Hi Sliema,

the answer is a simple yes !

The dogs that bothered our neighbourhood have been removed!

Cheers
Ricky

Out of interest was that enforced simply by the police or through lawyers etc?
And it sounds like they were barking all day every day, my problem is only probably for several hours one day a week...

Hi Sliema,

in our case it had to be enforced by a court case and decision. In the end the judge said to the owner if the barking is bad enough that 4 neighbours have to complain it is bad enough for me to order you to keep your dogs quiet.

The procedure was quite simple:
1)Complain at your local police station
2)Police go out and warn the person ( if you have a Maltese neighbour in your ranks it makes it easier)
3)If it goes on you file the official case once again with police
4)Sometime later you are asked to show up at court and the case is discussed (there again , if you have the right contacts the case can come up quite fast).

Our neighbouring barking dog owner removed his dogs altogether so further enforcement was not necessary.

There can also possibly be problems with your rental agreement if owning a dog is not allowed in your building and you are renting.

So it is not a matter of small dog/big dog, whole day or just a few hours or during the day or at night.

Of course I don't know any details of your case but I hope that anti-barking training helps to solve the problem or that the dog gets a dog sitter when you are away. THere are also technical gadgets that might work

Cheers
Ricky