noisy neighbours

fitzroy

caevans wrote: »

This is an ongoing problem and we have spoken to them numerous times as well as contacting the owner of the property. Have had noise pollution people out a couple of times but they are useless. The noise is largely bass which apparently their machines don't record

So far as selling your flat, the damage is already done and you will have to disclose to any buyer the actions you've already taken to try to resolve this problem.

So in for a penny in for a pound. I wouldn't mess about any longer as it's obviously affecting your health. I've had a similar experience and there is no reasoning with people like this. My advice - take them to court. Speak to one of the clerks at the court office; they are friendly and helpful and will explain the procedure, tell you about the fee etc.

See your doctor, more than once, to record how it's affecting you.

Write recorded delivery letters to:

local council (the pollution people you called in?) reiterating the problem, that they've told you nothing can be done;

landlord, repeating your complaints and what her response was. Give her 14 days to put it right or no option but to ask the court to resolve the matter.

tenants, repeating your complaints and what their response was and that you've written to landlord and taking court action.

Keep going back to your doctor.

Keep diary - days and times music on; how it's affecting you (and baby?).

Try to record the music. The Judge will be happy to listen to it in court.

Keep notes of all conversations or telephone conversations especially with tenants and landlord. You may want to refer to them or produce copies of them to the Judge.

One way or another something will be resolved. Either the landlord will come to her senses or the court will make an appropriate Order.

Then you can tell any buyer that there was a problem but it's been resolved. And you get peace of mind.

Oh, and if the tenants keep the music down for a while and then it starts up again then just get to the court and let the court serve papers on the landlord.

I hope you get the matter resolved one way or another because I had a nightmare of a situation like yours and there is nothing like taking control of the situation.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

The_Banker wrote: »

Oi have you been messing about with my posts?:D

:eek: you cheeky so and so lol now you just make me look stupid :rotfl:

OP - have you called the council today? x

caevans

Hi
Thanks for all the advice. Have spoken to a solicitor re. selling our flat and having problems with our neighbours, but she didn't seem to think we would have to disclose it. We had the noise pollution people out (we are in Scotland) - they are the ones that said it wasn't loud enough as it was mostly bass. It also took an hour for them to come out so the noise had gone down by then anyway. Typical. This was at 6am one sunday morning.

We had a similar problem with incredibly noisy tenants in our previous flat. It affected a lot of neighbours and the landlord chucked them out. We had the police out to them. Didn't disclose that when selling that flat.I am hoping that our solicitor is right in not having to disclose that phone call? Can anyone confirm? We have put off phoning noise pollution again as they are worse than useless and we don't want to have a long record of complaints about noise.
We have spoken to the tenants numerous times - during an event and after an event. To start with they were apologetic. Now the are so arrogant they don't give a damn. And yes they know we have a baby. They claim they can hear our baby crying (well, duh. Thats what they do. The Mum also said this....). There is a baby upstairs flat but we can't hear it crying, so I very much doubt they can hear ours. Besides which there is a heck of difference between blasting music and a baby occasionally crying.
Thanks everyone for support. Am going to call Dr today I think. I know myself that I let things get to me that I shouldn't. My husband can live with it okay, although he does find it incredibly annoying. I get on edge now even if I hear a tiny bit of noise.

tandraig

I know what you mean about getting on edge if you hear a tiny bit of noise. I have lived in my house for over 30 years and i swear the walls are so thin i can hear the neighbours changing their minds!!! not to mention i can hear them switch lights on and off and their toilet flushing - when they are walking upstairs it sounds as if they are in my house! most of which i have learned to block out during the years - but one thing which drives me crazy even now is having to listen to thier tv or radio!!! which is one reason i go on computer in evenings - with my headphones on I cant hear them!
as you are in scotland and i am in wales the laws in each country are different so i dont feel i can give advice - just sympathy!!!

checkincherry

Hi - huge sympathy for your situation. Hang in there. I've been there. Its awful. After a while even the first notes of music set your nerves on edge. COuple of comments:

1) I'm in England, but on the point of disclosure, the advice my solicitor gave me was that asking them to turn it down is surely just a discussion between neighbours? Rule of thumb was is the situation so extreme that if the potential purchaser had known about it it might/would have changed their mind about buying your property. Which brings me to point 2)

2) Not everyone will feel as you do about the noise. If the next owner ( or tenant - had you considered renting the flat out?) has their own enormous sub-woofers, they may be oblivious to the situation.

3)Your baby really is a great "weapon". When my dd started screaming in th eearly hours in the room adjoining my neighbours bedroom ( through the party wall)sometimes I didn't rush to quiet her down. My best moment was when I could hear the neighbour banging on the wall in frustration ( in the knowledge she had to get up for work early the next morning). I know its mean, but I considered it payback for all the late night music and most of all the two weeks when she had contractors banging holes in concrete to fit new bathrooms from 8-7 everyday ( including Saturdays and Bank Hols) when I was on sick leave having almost miscarried my baby.

To be fair your neighbours are clearly as unhappy about the baby as you are about their music/parties. Sell up or rent out as soon as possible. Find yourself a detached shoebox somewhere. Its worth having less space in return for not suffering other people's lack of consideration.

caevans

Thanks Checkincherry - great advice.Nice to know I am not alone, though its awful that we all have to suffer noise from arrogant idiots who don't give a damn.
The unfortunate thing (or great thing really) is that our baby hardly ever cries. Never wakes up during the night and doesn't wake up particularly early. Have thought about recording her crying, as when she cries, she REALLY cries. Loudly and very high pitched!!
We can't rent out our flat as our mortgage is too high and we are fixed :-(
Keeping my hopes and fingers crossed that we can sell early next year. And YES, it will be somewhere quiet with no neighbours! Having lived in a city pretty much all my life, we have decided to become country bumpkins and get a (cheaper) house in the country. Can't wait!!

smartpicture

If you're adamant that you don't want to take it further with the council, then the level of noise is unlikely to decrease, and you have to focus on coping strategies for yourself instead.

The first step would certainly be to go to your doctors if you think you're on the verge of depression again, because if your general mood is lower then it's bound to affect you more.

Other strategies could include ear-plugs or headphones, or going out for walks when it's at its worst, or timing your sleep patterns for the quiet periods wherever possible in the way that new mothers are advised to sleep when their baby sleeps regardless of whether it's bedtime or not. Possibly sleeping one night a week at your mums, or maybe just the occasional night when you feel you really really need a good nights sleep, because after one night's good sleep things don't always seem so bad. Or training yourself to tune out the noise as much as possible - I know you'll probably scoff at that, but it can be done. At a previous house, the neighbours son played music very loud and there were trains going past the end of the garden every 15 minutes, but after a while I honestly didn't notice either, and was in fact surprised when visitors asked how I put up with it. Look up advice for tinnitus sufferers, who constantly hear noises in their own ears and can be trained to tune it out.

I know it's hard, and must be much harder in a flat, but what I'm saying is that if you can't change the situation then you have to focus on changing your own reaction to it as much as possible. And focus on the fact that you know this is for a limited period only - at least it's not your dream house that you hoping to stay in until you retired!

caevans

Thank you. I totally agree with your advice and that is what we are trying to do. I bought wireless headphones so I can listen to tv in peace when they are noisy. However, even with those on I can still hear their music! Have used earplugs at night, but I hate doing that as obviously I can't hear my baby as well as I would like. Watching dvds in our spare bedroom works well, so will keep doing that too.
Can't remember if I said but I also have tinnitus! Think that is why when their bass is on it affects me more. I have constant throbbing in my head anyway and this seems to make it worse.
Have made dr apt for this week. Its been a long time since I have gone to the Dr about depression and I am not sure what to say to Dr. I am practicing what to say so that I don't break down into tears which has happened before.

checkincherry

Excellent advice smartpicture. WIsh I'd had your advice a few years ago.

Hang in there caevans. You never know, your neighbour might move?

red_devil

caevans wrote: »

Hi
Not sure if posting in right place. Not even sure if looking for advice really. We have noisy neighbours downstairs and now know the meaning of neighbours from hell. Last night their music was so loud we couldn't sit in our own livingroom we had to sit in the bedroom. This is an ongoing problem and we have spoken to them numerous times as well as contacting the owner of the property. She is worse than useless though and clearly thinks we are exaggerating (we aren't).
Don't know what to do next. We want to sell flat but can't because will be in negative equity, but hoping that property market might pick up next year so we can sell then. Have had noise pollution people out a couple of times but they are useless. The noise is largely bass which apparently their machines don't record Also, because we want to sell next year we don't want to have a record of dispute with neighbours.......
So tired and upset by it all. Worked hard to buy this flat and loved living here until they moved in.
I can feel the old black cloak of depression descending on me. Don't know whether to go to Dr for anti-depressants before it gets worse. Feels stupid that a little bit of noise affects me so badly
thanks

ask the landlady to come and listen to the noise? Ask the neighbours how they would like it if the boot was on the other foot what would they do?