Submissions & Regulations · 29 September 2026

Construction Noise on a Landed A&A: The Working Hours and Noise Limits Your Builder Must Keep

Noise is the first thing neighbours notice about a landed A&A or rebuild, and it is usually the first complaint. Most owners assume the rules are vague: "the builder will keep it reasonable". They are not vague. NEA sets working hours and measurable noise limits for construction sites in Singapore, and it says plainly that it regulates A&A works on landed properties. If you are about to build, or someone is about to build next to you, the numbers are worth knowing before the first hacking starts.

What counts as "construction work"

NEA's definition is wider than most owners expect. Construction work covers the construction, erection, alteration, repair or maintenance of buildings and structures, plus piling and demolition. It also includes the loading and unloading of materials from cranes or vehicles inside the site boundary. So a lorry offloading steel at 6.45am is not "just a delivery" — it can be construction work, and it sits under the same rules as the breaker.

The working hours

From NEA's construction noise pages, the pattern is this:

Monday to Friday: work is allowed after 7pm on weekdays (except public holidays), but the noise limits get tighter after 7pm and again after 10pm.
Saturday: work is permitted until 10pm, under the same tightening limits.
Sundays and public holidays: no construction work. Under the "no-work rule", a site within 150 metres of a residential building or noise-sensitive premises (such as a hospital or a home for the aged sick) may not carry out construction work from 10pm on Saturday to 7am on Monday, or from 10pm on the eve of a public holiday to 7am the day after it.
The exception: NEA allows selected sites to do quieter work, or work of public interest and a safety-critical nature, on Sundays and public holidays through a permit system with stringent conditions. NEA's examples of "quieter work" include plastering, putty work, waterproofing, and electrical and plumbing installation — work without heavy machinery or noisy powered tools. Do not assume a permit exists for your site; ask to see it.

One point catches people out: "allowed" is not the same as "sensible". A limit that permits work until 7pm on a weekday does not oblige a builder to run the loudest task at 6.30pm next to a family with young children. Hours are a ceiling. What the builder actually schedules within that ceiling is something you can discuss and agree.

The noise limits themselves

The limits sit in the Environmental Protection and Management (Control of Noise at Construction Sites) Regulations. For residential buildings less than 150 metres from the construction site, on Mondays to Saturdays, NEA's published table gives:

7am to 7pm: no more than 90 dBA over any 5-minute period, and a 12-hour average of no more than 75 dBA.
7pm to 10pm: no more than 70 dBA over any 5-minute period (65 dBA averaged over an hour).
10pm to 7am: 55 dBA, on both the 5-minute and the one-hour measure.

Schools, hospitals and similar premises have lower limits again. On a landed street, the neighbouring houses are well inside 150 metres, so the residential row is the one that matters. Check NEA's page for the current table before you quote it to anyone: the figures above are what the page showed when this was written, and limits can be revised.

Two things follow from how the rule is written. First, the limit is a measured level, not a matter of opinion. "It felt loud" is a complaint; a metered reading over the limit is a breach. Second, the limit applies to what reaches the affected building, so a noisy task that is fine on the far side of a wide plot can still fail on a narrow inter-terrace lot where the party wall is a few metres from the machine.

How NEA checks it

NEA says construction sites within 150 metres of noise-sensitive premises are required to install noise meters, so that it can establish quickly whether a limit has been breached and act on feedback. It also says a noise app on a phone may not give an accurate picture, and that it relies on Class 1 meters that are calibrated and serviced periodically. Practical consequence: if you are the neighbour, a screenshot from your phone is not the evidence NEA works from. Note the date, the time and what you could hear, and report it.

Breaking the regulations is an offence. NEA states that offenders are liable on conviction to a fine of up to $40,000.

What good noise control looks like

NEA has published guidance for contractors on landed projects where residents are close to the worksite, and it is specific. Two of its "poor measures" surprise people:

Nettings do not reduce noise. NEA says they exist to stop debris falling and to give visual screening, and they are made of material that does not absorb sound.
Tarpaulin and canvas sheets do not either. NEA says they are too thin to shield sound and can cause it to reverberate within the work area.
Barriers with gaps do not work, even good ones. Coverage matters as much as material.

What NEA lists as effective: acoustic panels or padded noise blankets placed as close to the noise source as possible, with gaps and joints sealed and the work area enclosed where practicable; silencers or mufflers fitted on excavators and generators; quieter equipment where available (it cites crushers instead of breakers, where practicable); orienting noisy equipment away from neighbours; limiting the number of noisy machines running at once; scheduling the noisier activities for less sensitive hours; and talking to affected residents before the work starts, with a clear channel for them to give feedback.

What to ask your builder before you sign

None of this needs an acoustics degree. It needs the answers in writing before work starts. Ask:

Which days and hours will the site work, including deliveries? Saturday evenings and weekday evenings are legal but are where neighbour goodwill is spent fastest.
Which phases are the noisy ones, and roughly when? Demolition, breaking, piling and cutting are the ones neighbours feel. Ask for them to be described in the programme, not just "hacking".
What kind of noise barrier will be used, and where? "We put up netting" is not an answer, given what NEA says about nettings. Ask about panels or blankets and how gaps are closed.
Is a noise meter needed on this site, and who reads it? If the site is required to have one, ask how alerts are handled during the day.
Is any Sunday or public-holiday work planned, and under what permit? If the answer is yes, ask which tasks and to see the permit.
Who is the named contact for neighbours, and how quickly do they respond? NEA's guidance treats pre-work engagement and a feedback channel as part of good practice.

You can also agree a house rule stricter than the legal one. A start time of 9am rather than 7am, or no noisy work on Saturday afternoons, is a contract matter between you and your builder. It may add a little to the programme, and that is a fair trade to discuss in advance rather than a surprise on day ten.

If you are the neighbour

You do not have to argue it out over the fence. NEA takes complaints through its Online Feedback Form, the myENV app and the OneService app. Before you do, it helps to have the builder's contact and to have raised the problem once; the earlier reading in what you can ask when a neighbour builds covers what to request first, including a dilapidation survey of your own house.

If you are living in the house while it is built

Living on site does not change the hours or limits — the same working-hours discipline applies, as set out in staying in your home during a major rebuild. It does raise the stakes on scheduling: agree in advance which days are the loud ones.

Where noise meets the rest of the site plan

Noise is tied to access: a tight road limits when lorries and cranes can operate, and that pushes deliveries into the hours everyone is trying to protect. That planning is covered in site access on a landed build. Raise noise at the same time as access, not after the first complaint.

Quick checklist

Know the hours: no Sundays or public holidays, Saturdays until 10pm, weekdays after 7pm under tighter limits.
Know that the limit is a measured level, and that it tightens at 7pm and 10pm.
Ask what barrier will be used; nettings and tarpaulin are not noise measures according to NEA.
Get the noisy phases, deliveries and any permit for Sunday work in writing.
Agree a named contact and a stricter house rule if you want one.

Planning a landed A&A or rebuild and want the working hours and noisy phases spelled out before you commit? WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 and tell us what you plan to build and how close the neighbours are. Wong Lye Pte Ltd holds a BCA General Builder Class 2 (GB2) licence and builds A&A works, extensions and reconstructions on landed homes across Singapore. See A&A works for landed homes.

Common questions

Can a builder work on a landed A&A on Sundays and public holidays?

NEA says no construction work is allowed on Sundays and public holidays. A site within 150 metres of a residential building may not work from 10pm on Saturday to 7am on Monday, or from 10pm on the eve of a public holiday to 7am after it. NEA does allow selected sites to do quieter work, or safety-critical work of public interest, through a permit system with stringent conditions, so ask to see the permit if Sunday work is planned.

What are the construction noise limits near homes in Singapore?

For residential buildings less than 150 metres from a site, NEA's table for Monday to Saturday shows 90 dBA over any 5-minute period from 7am to 7pm (with a 12-hour average of 75 dBA), 70 dBA over 5 minutes from 7pm to 10pm, and 55 dBA from 10pm to 7am. Check the NEA page for the current table.

Does netting or a tarpaulin sheet reduce construction noise?

According to NEA guidance, no. Nettings are for debris and visual screening and do not absorb sound, and tarpaulin or canvas is too thin to shield noise and can make it reverberate. NEA lists acoustic panels or padded noise blankets close to the noise source, with gaps sealed, as effective measures.

Where can I report construction noise from a neighbour's A&A?

NEA takes feedback through its Online Feedback Form, the myENV app and the OneService app. Breaking the construction noise regulations is an offence carrying a fine of up to $40,000 on conviction.

What should I ask my builder about noise before signing?

Ask in writing for the working days and hours including deliveries, which phases are the noisy ones and roughly when, what kind of noise barrier will be used and where, whether a noise meter is required on the site, whether any Sunday or public-holiday work is planned and under what permit, and who the named contact for neighbours is.