Loud and obnoxious neighbor below me.

Jowo_2

Again, don't know how it works in the US where you are based but in England/Wales, problems with noise or relationships with neighbours are not the landlord's responsibility - this is something out of their control and nothing they can influence. It's for tenants to deal with.

Local councils here do have an environmental health department, including teams that monitor and deal with noise nuisances but this generally excludes 'living' noise like footsteps.

The only thing that you can do is control your response to any perceived provocation and don't let it wind you up - only you can let yourself be annoyed and if it does upset you, he is winning. Instead of getting stress each time he bangs the wall or slams the door, learn to laugh at the daftness of it instead of getting angry.

Or move out.

Welshwoofs

I was in that exact situation many years ago. I rented a 1st floor flat in a converted Victorian house and the neighbour below me was on benefits due to depression and at home all day. I'm a pretty quiet person (no music blaring, parties till all hours) and I worked all day so generally thought I was a good neighbour. One day the woman went off her head at me, screaming/shouting and claiming that I was causing her depression to get worse with my noise. I was absolutely reeling from the onslaught (I thought she was going to clobber me) and explained that I walked around barefoot, the flat was carpeted, I didn't play music or have the TV on loud etc etc

One day a friend of hers banged on my door to try and mediate (by that point I was having her screaming at me from downstairs a few times a week) - I repeated to her that I was very quiet and couldn't understand it. We did a test, I sat downstairs whilst the neighbour's friend walked around my flat, opened a few cupboards etc. I was shocked that you could hear everything and in fact I'd have been driven mad by the noise if it were me.

The problem was.... it wasn't my fault as I was living normally and not being noisy. It wasn't the neighbour's fault because in her flat she it was noisy. The fault rested with the conversion and the lack of noise proofing.

It could well be the same situation with you and if that is the case, only the owner of the building can really sort it out. In my situation I'm afraid I moved out, the LL wasn't interested and I couldn't cope with someone screaming abuse at me on a frequent basis.

Fire_Fox

Economan wrote: »

Hi,I live in an apartment building that creaks and cracks. I have to walk on egg shells and tip toe to avoid making noises (creaking, etc.). Knowing that the building is old, I do my best to treat my neighbors as I would want to be treated, so I walk like a ninja to avoid any conflict with my neighbor below me. Well...whenever I walk across a section of the floor which creaks, bump the wall in accident, close cabinets, fridge, bathroom door, put down objects, etc, etc, etc., the person who lives in the apartment below me bangs the walls and slams things. I confronted him twice about this and he lies to me saying that he doesn't do it on purpose. I don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that he does since it happens immediately after I walk across a section of the floor which creaks, bump the wall in accident, close cabinets, fridge, bathroom door, put down objects, etc, etc, etc. He then told me that he will try to keep it down of put some cushion between the cabinet doors to lower the noise level (he's trying to get me to do it which is why he said it, but he's using reverse psychology). This morning I tiptoed as I got dressed, washed up, tried to make breakfast as I stealthly closed the cabinet and fridge doors, and as I put on my shoes and shut the door behind me to leave to work...he slams (BAM!!!) the stairwell door below me. He does this a lot and tries to lie to me by saying it's other people that are doing it. I have lived there for 6 years and know the people who live on his floor and he's just moved in there, so I know he's lying through his teeth. I'm stressed out every day about this, and the other day until 2 in the morning he slams (BAM, BAM) his bedroom door (the apartments are identical) below me twice. He also slams the bathroom door a lot when he lives by himself and has no friends. I don't know what to do and the landlord never does anything about complaints. Any suggestions or advice? also, am I alone on this situation or has anyone else experienced this?Sincerely,Daniel

If you know your floor creaks, screw the board down properly. If your cupboard doors shut loudly enough to be heard downstairs, look into buying soft close mechanisms. If you can hear your neighbour at night, buy wax ear plugs (not foam they are rubbish). If your neighbour prefers to keep the bathroom door closed that is none of your business. You also say he has offered to cushion his cupboard doors, why not take him up on that offer?

I have new-ish next door neighbours and they bang cupboard and room doors an awful lot. However I can also hear her high heels clicking on the laminate floors so I know there is rubbish soundproofing. She has been over for a drink and swears she can't hear us at all but we do have wedges holding open all the room doors.

Grovester_2

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I was in that exact situation many years ago. I rented a 1st floor flat in a converted Victorian house and the neighbour below me was on benefits due to depression and at home all day. I'm a pretty quiet person (no music blaring, parties till all hours) and I worked all day so generally thought I was a good neighbour. One day the woman went off her head at me, screaming/shouting and claiming that I was causing her depression to get worse with my noise. I was absolutely reeling from the onslaught (I thought she was going to clobber me) and explained that I walked around barefoot, the flat was carpeted, I didn't play music or have the TV on loud etc etc

One day a friend of hers banged on my door to try and mediate (by that point I was having her screaming at me from downstairs a few times a week) - I repeated to her that I was very quiet and couldn't understand it. We did a test, I sat downstairs whilst the neighbour's friend walked around my flat, opened a few cupboards etc. I was shocked that you could hear everything and in fact I'd have been driven mad by the noise if it were me.

The problem was.... it wasn't my fault as I was living normally and not being noisy. It wasn't the neighbour's fault because in her flat she it was noisy. The fault rested with the conversion and the lack of noise proofing.

It could well be the same situation with you and if that is the case, only the owner of the building can really sort it out. In my situation I'm afraid I moved out, the LL wasn't interested and I couldn't cope with someone screaming abuse at me on a frequent basis.

Same here. It's an added stress that no-one needs.

Personally i think there should be grants available for sound-proofing flat conversions that don't meet current standards.

Economan_2

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I was in that exact situation many years ago. I rented a 1st floor flat in a converted Victorian house and the neighbour below me was on benefits due to depression and at home all day. I'm a pretty quiet person (no music blaring, parties till all hours) and I worked all day so generally thought I was a good neighbour. One day the woman went off her head at me, screaming/shouting and claiming that I was causing her depression to get worse with my noise. I was absolutely reeling from the onslaught (I thought she was going to clobber me) and explained that I walked around barefoot, the flat was carpeted, I didn't play music or have the TV on loud etc etc

One day a friend of hers banged on my door to try and mediate (by that point I was having her screaming at me from downstairs a few times a week) - I repeated to her that I was very quiet and couldn't understand it. We did a test, I sat downstairs whilst the neighbour's friend walked around my flat, opened a few cupboards etc. I was shocked that you could hear everything and in fact I'd have been driven mad by the noise if it were me.

The problem was.... it wasn't my fault as I was living normally and not being noisy. It wasn't the neighbour's fault because in her flat she it was noisy. The fault rested with the conversion and the lack of noise proofing.

It could well be the same situation with you and if that is the case, only the owner of the building can really sort it out. In my situation I'm afraid I moved out, the LL wasn't interested and I couldn't cope with someone screaming abuse at me on a frequent basis.

Your past situation is almost identical to the one I had a few years back. I was living normally but the people below me didn't realize that that's just the way the building is -- no noise proofing. The economy is really tough now, the company I work for is downsizing, the rent has been raise in our builing, and there are no cheaper apartments available around so I'm stuck with the one I have now. I guess the only thing I can do now is pray.
Sincerely,Daniel

RobertoMoir

Economan wrote: »

He then told me that he will try to keep it down of put some cushion between the cabinet doors to lower the noise level (he's trying to get me to do it which is why he said it, but he's using reverse psychology).

At this point, it's clearly one of two things. Either he's crazy or you sound as noisy to him as you say he does to you, and he was actually trying to reach out to you to suggest a compromise right there in the situation you mention above and you didn't see it. And with the greatest of respect, your comments about his lack of friends and whether or not he closes his bathroom door when he's in there are somewhere between pretty damn creepy and none of your business. Have you considered that despite all your ninja tiptoe actions you may appear from his flat to be the villian in this play?

Not to be rude but I'm fairly sure I could write a "loud, insensitive and obnoxious neighbour above me" post based purely on your own descriptions of your own behaviour.

So where do you go from here? Have you considered knocking on his door, apologising for the noise issue creating a bad atmosphere between you and asking him if he thinks you are being noisy, and what he suggests you can both do to make things better for everyone concerned?

Economan_2

You seem to misunderstand me to a great degree. That's ok, because I'm usually misunderstood by those who don't know me, especially by those over the internet. All of my friends would tell you, including the Landlord and tenants who live on the same floor, that I am as quiet as a mouse and most respectful. Also, I don't go creeping or spying around his apartment to come to the conlusion that he has no friends and live by himself, and that isn't my business and I could care less. I do however pray for him, and I hope that you won't think I'm creepy for that. As a matter of fact...he is the one who has told me that he has no friends and lives by himself as I asked him where are all the noises coming from? He replied by telling me, "I don't know, I live by myself and have no friends so I don't know where so much noise would come from." I don't expect you to understand my situation because you're not living here and haven't lived in my apartment complex. As per your comment on how I should confront him... I stated in the OP that I "confronted him twice about this and he lies to me saying that he doesn't do it on purpose." Also in my prev ious post I stated that he's slamming almost 100 out of 100 times as I walk across the floor which makes a creeking sound, open the fridge, etc, so I'm using common sense. And as for apologizing, I see no point in apologizing for trying to live a normal life. I have prayed on this and he has quited down and that's matters a lot to me.
Sincerely,Daniel