Any private landlords here? Advice needed...

Lisey_Loo

I have been having problems with the neighbours in the flat upstairs for the last 10 months since they moved in.

They make so much noise it`s unbelievable.
They have 3 children and 3 adults in a tiny 2 bedroom flat which is a converted house. I have the ground floor flat.

The children run up and down, kick footballs, the parents shout at them and each other, the parents argue all the time, the youngest cries all the time. They throw things down the stairs, which is really noisy as their stairway is the wall next to my living room. The blokes are always drinking and have threatened me several times when I`ve told them to turn the muisc down.

I have spoken to my landlord countless times about the noise, and the fact that they leave the main front door open all the time. The new tenants just deny everything, and the landlord says he can`t do anything.

I`ve just been out into my garden, and found about 200 cigarette ends, a plastic boat, a tube of toothpaste, and a bath sponge which have been thrown out of their window. The fag ends have landed in my pond and killed my fish, which I`m gutted about.

Having just been on the phone again to my landlord to complain about the noise, door, rubbish in garden etc, his attitude is if I don`t like it, then I should move out!!!
He says he can`t do anything, but he really doesn`t give a !!!! that I`m having to put up with all this hassle from them.

Do any private landlords here have the same thought as him? Does he not have any responsibility to his tenants to ensure that we all live in harmony and don`t act like ignorant idiots?

Sorry for the huge rant, but I`m about to have a breakdown. I like my flat, I`ve been here nearly 7 years, why should I have to move because of their behaviour??

VfM4meplse

What a horrible situation, but from what I have read on this site you are far from alone.

I am assuming this is a leasehold property? If so check out the terms, there is usually something included about not causing disturbances to others etc that the freeholder can invoke. Not wishing to make assumptions but if the rent is met by the local authority then maybe there is a reasonable course of mediation?

McKneff

you cant mediate with neighbours like that, they just tell you to fffkkk off then punch your lights out.

clutton_2

This must be so awful for you - go to Environmental Health - or write them a letter - they have legal powers to prevent such behaviour - musical equipment can be confiscated/removed and noisy tenants can be evicted. EH will write to them (not giving your name) about their anti social behaviour.

your council may have a dedicated ASBO team also

meantime - start to keep a Noise Diary - and record exact times and dates when things happen.

Landlords ARE responsible for their tenants behaviour and if they are ruining your life - he should be writing to them at least.

Old_Git

why is the landlord renting a flat to 3 adults and 3 children. is it in an area that is difficult to let ?

poppy10_2

The landlord isn't your parent, he can't sort out your squabbles. If you have a problem with noise, go to the council.

Lisey_Loo

To VfM4meplse - They rent privately, the same as me, from the same landlord.

anniehanlon - I know, they`ve already tried to hit me. I`ve been to the police, but that hasn`t made any difference.

clutton - Have been in contact with EH. With a noise complaint, the noise has to be of a certain amount of time and at a certain decibel level. They seem to have some kind of psychic ability when they turned the noise down after a few minutes. You have to actually stay with the EH tape recorder and turn it on/off yourself as they only have a small amount of tape in them. I`m sure my landlord has a responsibilty to ensure his tenants are not bothered, at least I`m not the only one thinking that.

Old Git - Not sure about why the landlord has six of them up there. I know one of the blokes is working for him.

poppy10 - Thanks for your constructive advice.

tbs624

As you’ve been there for 7 years I’m assuming that the conversion was done prior to current building regs specific sound insulation requirements for when buildings are converted.

Lisey_Loo wrote: »

...Do any private landlords here have the same thought as him? Does he not have any responsibility to his tenants to ensure that we all live in harmony and don`t act like ignorant idiots?

Sometimes the problem can be that once one neighbour has annoyed/upset another, then everything they do/say starts to get to you, and whilst there are some things that your LL could and should deal with (like the front door being left open) s/he is not a social worker.

You perhaps need to think about which noises are just part of family life - kids do run up and down, babies/toddlers cry and couples sometimes argue. These things, also including stuff like slamming doors, come under the broad heading of ” lifestyle noise” and there is not a great deal you or a LL can do about them, as case law indicates that noise from ordinary use of residential premises can’t be considered to be a nuisance. Are you in your home for much of the day?

Kicking footballs around indoors & chucking stuff down the stairs etc are perhaps a different matter and you’d think the LL would want to safeguard the property, if nothing else. (How do you know that this is what they are doing btw?) Chucking rubbish into the garden is also clearly not on.

You say that you “told” them to turn down the music & they threatened you? Two things here -one, IMO it often goes down better if you ask rather than tell, however stressed their racket might make you feel , and two - if they do threaten you , you should ring the police.

You could maybe put together a simple letter for your LL (keep a copy) formally giving him a list of the difficulties and saying that you are asking the Council to act under the Environmental Protection Act. They can serve an Abatement Notice on people who commit a statutory nuisance, and sometimes the Notice can be served on the LL as well as the tenant.

Check your own tenancy agreement for any clause on not creating nuisance to other tenants/neighbours & mention it in the letter to the LL, also take photos of any further rubbish that gets chucked into your garden. In the letter ask the LL if it would be possible to have some form of self-closing mechanism put onto the front door because you are concerned about the lack of security for the whole building when the door is left open on a regular basis, as it may invalidate insurance policies in the event of a burglary.

The Council have to act on complaints about noise nuisance and they can deal with it under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 S79-82 (you can also bring a case yourself in the Mags Court if necessary) As Clutton says, keep a noise diary.

You should maybe also talk to the Private Sector Rentals Team at your Council - they can liaise between you and the LL if necessary.

As you’ve been there a long time, have you ever had a rent increase?

Is your tenancy now a periodic one, ie the original Fixed Term AST has expired and neither side has signed a new agreement? If you are on a periodic then the LL has to give you 2 months’ notice and you have to give him one month’s notice .

You mention that one of these other tenants works for the LL - is it possible that the LL would like to you to leave so that he can re-let at a higher rent?

(In which case discuss this one with the PSR Team because LL-condoned behaviour likely to make you give up your tenancy may in certain circumstances amount to tenant harassment)

Its always difficult if you have had quiet neighbours before,& then get a noisy set ( been there) but if the sound insulation is as poor as it appears to be and your LL is so unsupportive, then I think I would make my own decision to look around elsewhere anyway. Why not go and view some other properties in the area?

Wings

MOVE....... might not be the advice you want, but in the long term will be possibly the best course of action you could take. Landlords, Police, Council including the Environmental Health have little powers to deal with such problems.

As a landlord I myself received a complaint from a neighbour to one of my flats, noise going on from my tenant until 4 in the morning, gave the tenant a warning, following week another complaint, this time noise until 3 in the morning. Today I served the tenant with a section 21 Notice, those neighbours now have a minimum of 2 months to put up with further outbreak of early morning noise.

Lisey_Loo

@ tbs624 - Thank you so much for your great post, it`s been very helpful to me. I really appreciate it.

The noise they make, yes some of it is just `everyday` noise, but a lot of it isn`t. They bang on my wall every time they go up their stairs, shouting and kicking my wall and front door. They`ve run up and down the flat so much that it`s like Chines water torture!
The footballs & chucking stuff down the stairs has happened so much, I recognise the sounds. It`s the buggy, toys, etc that bounce down all the time. The rubbish in the garden is just ignorant imo.
When they first made noise, with the loud music, i knocked on their door, and politely asked them to turn it down. The bloke stood there and blatantly lied and said they didn`t have any music on. That`s their attitude.
I`m home pretty much all the time, as I`m disabled. The last tenant went to work then come home drunk every night and sob her heart out so loudly for hours on end! She knew I could hear her, but that didn`t stop her. I`d rather have her back than the t**ts up there now. Better the devil you know, eh?
I had a rent increase last December of £80 per/mth, which took it to £400 pr/mth.

It`s so stressful, especially when I make a point of keeping my TV & music down so I don't disturb them.

I`m in the process of doing everything you`ve suggested, so fingers crossed my LL can see that they are a huge problem, and I won`t be happy until the matter is dealt with once & for all.

@ Wings - Why can`t you be my LL? You have acted in the way I wish mine had.

Thank you very much to everyone who has posted, I'll keep you informed of what happens - although as someone on here has said, they are paying the rent and that's all he seems to care about.

milliebear00001

Hi there

i understand exactly how you're feeling. Several years ago my partner and I were happily renting a flat in a HA block when the neighbour from hell moved in upstars. Noise, overcrowding, police visits, doors being kicked in - the works. After 6 months of direct contact with them - starting off pleasantly, ending acrimoniously, repeated calls to my powerless LL, calls to the LA environmental health team and the HA who owned the block (all completely disinterested and useless) we moved!