My neighbor’s A/C is preventing us from sleeping. It is facing the side of my balcony at a distance of 125 cm (distance between the back part where the heat goes out to the wall of the balcony). Is it legal? Where can I find the minimum distance in the law texts? What service should I call to make this nightmare stop?
Bad situation. My gut feeling is you are going to end up moving.
Perhaps if you stumbled and tripped while carrying a broom handle or similar it would puncture the condenser or the fan and it wouldn’t work anymore. It’d be a shame of course, but you’d have your peace and quiet. 
If you own the property you might want to go to the Lichang first as he might be able to help negotiate with the offender to move the a/c. If you are renting, tell your landlord you will move out if you can’t sleep at night and he will have some incentive to help you.
Of course you could contact the EPA, but you would have to be 100% sure the a/c is going to be running when you arrange for them to come check. They don’t just believe you about the noise and they won’t want to come back a second time to hear a noise that isn’t there when they show up. If you can do that, the EPA inspector will check for noise with an SPL meter and make a note of the source. Then you have to keep chasing them that they issue a notice to the offender, and that they follow through with threats of fines etc. until it actually gets moved.
Chances are the neighbor is better connected than you are and all your complaints will go nowhere. Win or lose your neighbors will gang up on you and make your life so intolerable that you move away. If you go to anyone and complain about the noise, no-one will believe it was an accident when you trip with that broom handle in your hand. 
I assume you have tried working this out with the offending party(ies), correct?
Look on the bright side, you can hang your laundry in front of the AC and use it as a free clothes dryer.
We have already tried working with the neighbors, with no result. The A/C is still there and they still use it at any time of the night or the day.
Their A/C also have other problems:
- Very old, became really noise.
- No water pipe, you can ear the water falling down every second when they use it.
You could offer to fix the AC for them.
I already offered them to pay half the price for replacing it by a new, quiet one. Nothing changed.
EPA can fine them for this. No condensate is supposed to fall from an a/c. If you’ve already warned them by discussion, then next step is whoever has power over them. Talk to your Lichang or have your landlord do that, or call the EPA in. If they run the a/c all the time it’s easier for you to arrange the EPA to visit while it’s running.
They sound like lovely people. Sorry for your troubles.
Redwagon has it right. I recently had an altercation with the hotel down my alley when their kitchen extractor worked itself loose and started sounding like a jet engine when it started up, descending to the noise of a diesel train engine when running to speed. They’d fire that puppy up for the breakfast service – 6am. Phone calls, visits to management, etc., by the wife had no effect whatever. Then one day at 6 I snapped and stormed over there in my flappy old boxer shorts with my knob showing through the fly, hair touseled and clutching a baseball bat and basically just ranting at the desk manager in front of a just alighted coachload of bemused Chinese tourists.
The thing was switched off within two minutes and replaced the following day.
But the difference is, they were actually TRYING to help. God knows what would have happened if they’d told us to fuck off and mind our business.
Be careful.
[quote=“redwagon”][quote=“karmaGfa”]
- No water pipe, you can ear the water falling down every second when they use it.
[/quote]
EPA can fine them for this. No condensate is supposed to fall from an a/c. If you’ve already warned them by discussion, then next step is whoever has power over them. Talk to your Lichang or have your landlord do that, or call the EPA in. If they run the a/c all the time it’s easier for you to arrange the EPA to visit while it’s running.[/quote]
Hey-zeus, if the EPA actually fined everyone guilty of this the TW gov’t would be rich beyond its wildest dreams.
I think you need to figure out what kind of neighborhood you live in. There are a lot of reasonable people in Taiwan, but they tend to live in clusters, but so do the ignorant locals that could give less than a fuck that some stupid adogah has trouble sleeping at night.
You offered to pay halfsies for a new A/C but that was to no avail, I am afraid you either need ear plugs or a new address, because it is much too mafan for any lichang to appease some transient foreigner at the expense of losing someone who could vote for him in the next election.
[quote=“sandman”]Then one day at 6 I snapped and stormed over there in my flappy old boxer shorts with my knob showing through the fly, hair touseled and clutching a baseball bat and basically just ranting at the desk manager in front of a just alighted coachload of bemused Chinese tourists.
[/quote]
That would be enough to scare just about anyone. Think you could do something about World Peace?
[quote=“twonavels”][quote=“sandman”]Then one day at 6 I snapped and stormed over there in my flappy old boxer shorts with my knob showing through the fly, hair touseled and clutching a baseball bat and basically just ranting at the desk manager in front of a just alighted coachload of bemused Chinese tourists.
[/quote]
That would be enough to scare just about anyone. Think you could do something about World Peace?[/quote]
As you know, I’m a shy, retiring, wallflower type, with a penchant for embellishment and exaggeration, embroidering my stories with fanciful and often slanderous claims.
Not this one, though. You can ask the wife. I swear to god up above that every word is true. I was positively SEETHING with rage. Language barrier was not an issue at all, seeing as how I was basically incoherent.
Its NOT something I’m proud of…
wait, strike that. Its something I’m INORDINATELY proud of. I can’t wait to see how the tale has developed by the time the wee lad’s old enough to understand my stories. 
Your first option is the EPA. If I were you I’d go to the EPA in person. If you own the property it would probably be worth suing. I have used the sandman approach as well with some success, but you might get killed.
You can also try the cops and the Jian Guan (building control). You might be surprised at what they can turn up in terms of illegal structures, wiring, etc.
[quote=“sandman”][quote=“twonavels”][quote=“sandman”]Then one day at 6 I snapped and stormed over there in my flappy old boxer shorts with my knob showing through the fly, hair touseled and clutching a baseball bat and basically just ranting at the desk manager in front of a just alighted coachload of bemused Chinese tourists.
[/quote]
That would be enough to scare just about anyone. Think you could do something about World Peace?[/quote]
As you know, I’m a shy, retiring, wallflower type, with a penchant for embellishment and exaggeration, embroidering my stories with fanciful and often slanderous claims.
Not this one, though. You can ask the wife. I swear to god up above that every word is true. I was positively SEETHING with rage. Language barrier was not an issue at all, seeing as how I was basically incoherent.
Its NOT something I’m proud of…
wait, strike that. Its something I’m INORDINATELY proud of. I can’t wait to see how the tale has developed by the time the wee lad’s old enough to understand my stories. [/quote]
you had me at ‘knob showing through the fly’
My original question was about the minimum distance between their A/C and my appartment. Nobody know where to find this information?
If it exists it will either be the EPA or Taipei City Jian Guan, which is in the Taipei City Govt building in Xinyi District.
use a tape measure? It won’t vary much except during earthquakes or bouts of violent sex.
You have violent sex with your air conditioner?
Jimipresley has a rival on his hands.