Neighbour has complained about my tenants!

hethmar

Thanks Richard, Ill have a look. I cant see they can hold him as in breach when he asked and got permission and for 3 years had no problem until this new person moved in below him and seems fixated by him. Further a number of flats in the small development have laminate flooring yet none have been asked to remove it. He has done as recommended by the carpet fitters to alleviate any possible noise to the person downstairs. He has no children, no pets, does not have all night parties nor loud music, apparently her objection is to hearing footsteps as he goes to bed.

janey_uk

naijapower wrote: »

This is exactly what i was trying to say as well. I am also convinced largely on the balance of probabilty after assessing the entire post (as no factual exist) that this neighbour may dislike the Polish tenants due to parochial reasons.
I rest my case

The council would be required to translate a letter if someone does not have good English, it is standard practice; it doesn't indicate anything other than a desire to give everyone a fair chance to respond.

If they sent the letter in Polish it is quite conceivable that the problem may have escalated purely because of the language barrier, where it might have been easily resolved otherwise. I don't think that can be interpreted as anything on the information given, if you pardon the pun.

l21ynz

I agree with the majority and say put carpet down.

When I moved into my flat (Housing Association) they left the laminate down, which I was glad about as I couldnt afford to carpet every room and still cant, but we all take our shoes off including the kids (age 3 and 1) when we go in the door, we have laminate in the bathroom, hall and living room both bedrooms are carpeted and underlayed.

However we also have an old woman staying under us (we are on the top floor) and she was as nice as pie when we moved in 2 years ago, then we started getting complaints re loud music etc that wasnt coming from us but infact through the wall to us in the next building.

Then it went to me raising my voice (which I do when im really stressed which isnt often)

Then she complained at other kids out the back 5 or 6 years old at the summer when they were playing away from the flat and there was no washing out at all but they werent allowed to play there.

And now between 8am and 9am when the kids get up (9am) on the weekends, they play in their room for a bit (their room is the front the old womans is the back) I get stop the f'in noise or shut the f up, I ignore her she only shouts twice and ive not had any of the housing officers out for a long time now. Even last week when virgin media were in the close installing for a neighbour she was shut the f up etc.

But if you meet her on the stairs she will talk away to the kids and say hi to us.

Id understand if the kids were animals or teenagers but they are not, short of tying them down to the chair what else do you expect from a 3 and 1 year old. And they are in bed by 7pm and straight to sleep.

Altho she can have her tele loud all day even at midnight/bang and drill at 10pm/11pm at night.

Needless to say we are looking for a new flat, its to stressful.

Sorry to ramble on :eek:

hethmar

How strange, that sounds like the same situation as son. He says one minute she is all smiles and saying hello next she is saying he is driving her to madness because of the noise! She even complained to the management company he was hoovering at 11 p.m. one night when he was out of the country!

izzybusy23

archie9uk wrote: »

I have today received an email from my letting agent about the property that I let out to tenants. The property is a first floor maisonette, and the tenants are a Polish family (parents and two young boys) who don't speak English.

The email says:
"Could you please call xxx xxx at Environmental Health as they have had a complaint from a neighbour about the noise the tenants are making because of the laminate floors and she wants to discuss with you what you as a landlord could do to improve things, she is going to send out a letter in Polish to the tenants as well."

I am not at all happy about this. We lived in the property for two years prior to letting it out (me, my husband and our dog) and never had any complaints from our downstairs neighbour (who is the only one who could be complaining). In fact the irony is that we found the downstairs neighbours to be very loud - their TV would be on full blast at all hours of the day and night. I get the impression that they may be suggesting I carpet the property, which I think is ridiculous. Surely the issue must be the tenants, rather than the floor?

Any ideas how to approach this with Environmental Health (I can't really see them being on my side)??

Unless you've ever lived underneath somebody then you have no idea just how awful it can be to have un-necesssary noise. I've lived in a flat and a maisonette in the past. The maisonette had a communal balcony right above my bedroom and I had to hear people walking up and down it and kids skating.. but as I was younger then it didn't really annoy me and nothing could be done anyway. When I was older I bought a flat in a converted house. Awful. Cheap thin carpets on the floor and we heard everything. The first couple were amateur actors and were for every bouncing about above our heads dancing.. then a younger couple moved in who were unemployed and did nothing all day except play loud music and had a stream of visitors. It was a nightmare and made our life hell. So unless you have actually lived underneath a flat, you have no idea,

TBH I think laminate flooring in a flat is very inconsiderate to the people below as it is obviously going to be very noisy.

ipod_killed_the_musicshop

barnaby-bear wrote: »

OP also said the floor insulation was so poo he could hear the DOWNSTAIRS neighbour PEE-ING!!! If the insulation is that bad - mice let alone two kids on inappropriate flooring like laminate must be hell to live BENEATH.....

Some of the posts in this thread remind me of a Brass Eye episode, and the concept of "good aids and bad aids" (in the view of the presenter, if you're straight and have aids, you deserve to not have aids, and if you're not straight, you deserve to have aids). For that, read "good noise and bad noise". It's ok to make noise - as long as you're an adult. Reminds me of an article I read, where someone complained to a woman on a train because her baby was crying, yet said nothing to some roudy lads in the same carriage.

As for the TV, since none of you have actually heard it, none of you are in a position to judge that the tv "was probably just up a bit". But hey, it was an adult, not a kid who put the tv on, so that's alright:rolleyes:

I grew up in a house of 5 and as the youngest, I always had last pic of bedroom. I know all too well what it's like to live under someone, but as my brother said, "noise travels up as well as down" (which any scientist would agree with).

It is not the original posters fault that the floor was already laminate. I have to agree with what others in this thread have said already - funny how someone who has the TV on all through the night and has never complained before is suddenly complaining when the tenants are Polish...

janey_uk

ipod_killed_the_musicshop wrote: »

Reminds me of an article I read, where someone complained to a woman on a train because her baby was crying, yet said nothing to some roudy lads in the same carriage.

Oh my that is so true! I have commuted to work for years and never seen anyone say a word to the idiots who have their headphones on loud or shout down their mobiles, but have seen Mums subjected to tuts and rude remarks on several occasions. The last time it happened I stuck my nose in and told the complaining man where he should shove his sexist remarks, as he didn't tell the man next to him to turn his music off!

Wickedkitten

The downstairs neighbour might have had his telly turned up in retaliation for the herd of rhino he probably heard trooping back and forth over his head all day.

HH62

notlongnow wrote: »

my 2 boys can make a horrendous amount of noise when they are racing around. If these two boys are running around all the time with shoes on then I can imagine it to be very noisy.

Agreed. I lived in a first floor flat and the couple above would have the lad's child staying with them at weekends. She used to run up and down the long hallway and in and out of the rooms, drop toys on the floor, just being a kid really but it sounded as if they had a herd of elephants up there.
To echo another poster, flats and laminate floors don't go, but flats, two small children and laminate floors is even worse.

Sorry OP, I get that you don't like the man downstairs but really, noise like this can make your life horrible. I had it for 18 months and it was awful.

Squish_21

Some chunky large floor mats may soften the noise of the laminate.