LISBON (Reuters) – The construction site outside the Lisbon apartment on the outskirts of Brazilian journalist Giuliana Miranda did not bother her much, until remote work began and the sound of drilling drowned her. interviewed in Zoom. He soon moved house.
But luck was against her. Just before it became mandatory again last month, two of its eight neighbors in the new building began renovating their apartments. Others have started two more.
“The works had the municipal permission to start at 7 in the morning and also worked on Saturdays. I was moved by the noise, ”he said by telephone. “But … now, the new building also has four people renovating their apartments!”
A new legislative line in a decree passed Thursday extending Portugal’s national closure for two more weeks could end up bringing calm to Miranda and other people struggling to concentrate when neighbors crash into walls and tear up flats.
According to the decree, the government can impose limits on decibel levels inside residential buildings during the working day, so as not to disturb remote workers. Currently, construction can take from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and some projects are licensed to work on weekends.
The government did not respond to a request for more details on its plans.
Hugo Fernandes, a 44-year-old musician who said he has suffered from the noise of renovating the building next door for more than two years, has high hopes.
“A new rule could change things. We have complained to the council before, without success “, said Fernandes. “It’s unbearable and, as a musician working from home, it’s just impossible.”
Still, the loopholes in the legislation could leave those struggling with the noise of construction work outside their building out of luck. The standard states that noise levels inside a building must be regulated; does not specify whether noise from the street can be stopped.
But for companies hired to do renovation work inside the apartments, legislation can be a problem, especially if it is open, said Ricardo Gomes, head of the Portuguese Construction Association.
“There will be short-term damage to the industry, yes, but the real question is, how long would these rules last?” Gomes said. “COVID will end, but remote work will not. Like everything that is imposed on the state of emergency, these rules must be limited.
Reports from Victoria Waldersee; Edited by Alex Richardson