Noisy neighbour upstairs, help

paddy's_mum

I too suspect that it is poor sound insulation that is at the root of this problem. However, I don't believe that Local Authority involvement or solicitor's letters are the way to go.

Why not consider writing a very courteous letter to your neighbours, expressing your concern and the disruption that noise is causing in your life. Don't make it accusing but instead ask them for their help in dealing with the whole issue. Point out perhaps that you really do want to get it sorted out as amicably as possible, and indeed are unhappy that there has been this rift between you all.

Perhaps invite one of them to spend an hour in your flat while the other continues daily living upstairs. Will the remaining one vacuum the floors or scrub out the bath so that they then understand just how difficult it is for you?

I would also be seriously considering writing to the neighbour below you to enquire whether your daily living sounds are bothering them in their turn. It seems to me that this may best be resolved by getting all the residents to add their piece rather than targetting (or appearing to) just one family. Good luck and I hope that peace can be made to return.

inmypocketnottheirs

I have experience of this very problem. TBH there has to be a llot of give and take on both sides when 'apartment' living. Properties generally are not well insulated. I lived in a three storey block (ground, 1st & 2nd floors) on the 1st floor. I could hear neighbours coming and going (in all senses of the words!).

I actually had at one stage a neighbour above who expected no noise at all. Moaned about TV and music at normal volume, doors closing, toilet flushing etc etc. I suggested he went and lived in a field, because these are all things you have to expect in a communal living environment.

An alternative approach may be to involve the Environmental Health officer. They will take details of your complaint over the phone and write an anonymous letter detailing your concerns. But beware, as granville says above, as you will have to details any concerns if/when you come to sell.

hev_2

If the HA are not helpful, could you turn to the Noise Nuisance people from the council. We ended up doing this, and we had recording equipment in place plus the officers came and witnessed the noise (Ours was an extreme example). Being taken to court can sometimes concentrate people's minds (our neighbours moved out just after the court date :j:j:j) Obviously, this is going to have to be declared should you sell.

It depends how much grief you are going to get from your neighbours and which you are going to find toughest - the noise or the grief. Two year olds don't get quieter!

Maybe have a night in a hotel or something so that you can consider all pros and cons with a clear mind after a good night's sleep.

Good luck, whatever happens.

Hev

Dead_Eye_Jones

I feel for you, I had noisey neighbours once. I think it was the result of an ongoing war between the flat next door and the one above. At one point the people next to us put on a CD on repeat for an entire day, we also had them play CDs of noise - you know traffic, baby scream, that kind of stuff. Its depressing that such people exist isnt it? Really pathetic. I remember banging on the wall once - they just banged back! Hell is other people as they say!

Anyways, we complained to our agency, they wrote letters, there was some peace for a bit, we moved on. In a nice house now!

Personally Id suggest the only real solution is - NEVER live in a flat! But that doesnt really help you!

Dunno, what you can do really, Id honestly be looking at moving. Oh, and also, there isnt much you can do about child noise. Its not really reasonable or realistic to expect a child to be silent all day - must be hard being in flat all day.

A friend who has just had a baby has had their neighbour banging on the wall. I mean, what does he expect? Oh sorry, we'll just tape over the baby's mouth...? Geesh.

Of course music/TV etc can be controlled so im entirely sympathetic and know its a 'mare.

Good luck !

Somerset

My aunt is in exactly the same position. She is Council, the flat over her is private/rented out. She and her family on her behalf have been complaining for the past four years, but there's nothing the Council can do. They've spoken/written/investigated noise levels from above. It's catorgorised as low level ie normal day to day stuff not noisy parties. Her neighbours are shift workers and flat-sharers so about 4 live there. The flat has laminate flooring which makes noise worse. My aunt now sleeps in the living room, not bedroom.

Point is, it's not deliberate anti-social noise. It's just normal walking/talking/tv type living. The block & flats were poorly designed and insulated. Complied with regs at the time but not acceptable by today's standards. There's nothing a person can do except put up with it. I'd sell up and move if I could but I'd try to have no record of a dispute ( which you have to disclose ) otherwise you'll struggle to sell.

beverleyhills

Paddy's mum wrote

Why not consider writing a very courteous letter to your neighbours, expressing your concern and the disruption that noise is causing in your life. Don't make it accusing but instead ask them for their help in dealing with the whole issue. Point out perhaps that you really do want to get it sorted out as amicably as possible, and indeed are unhappy that there has been this rift between you all.

Perhaps invite one of them to spend an hour in your flat while the other continues daily living upstairs. Will the remaining one vacuum the floors or scrub out the bath so that they then understand just how difficult it is for you?

I would also be seriously considering writing to the neighbour below you to enquire whether your daily living sounds are bothering them in their turn. It seems to me that this may best be resolved by getting all the residents to add their piece rather than targetting (or appearing to) just one family. Good luck and I hope that peace can be made to return.[/quote]

Does your local council have a mediation service for neighbours disputes? They may be able to help you and your neighbours work through the problem and come to some agreement.
There are some good suggestions in this and other posts on this thread.

I have lived in a first floor flat for 45 years, Neighbours do vary in the amount of noise they make. As someone said, apartment living is give and take. We try to be considerate for example we don't flush the toilet during the night unless it is really necessary.

Good luck

Nicki

Personally I feel you are being very unreasonable and I would hate to have you as my neighbour!

You are complaining that when your upstairs neighbours walk across their floor to get ready for work in the mornings, and when they watch TV (at presumably a normal volume) or listen to music, because you say it affects your quality of life. How much would it affect the quality of your life, if you were expected to sit still in your own home at all times, not be allowed to watch TV or listen to music or to the radio, or play with your child, or walk other than on tiptoe. This is what you are asking your neighbours to do, and how can you be surprised that they are upset with you for doing so!!!

If there is such a problem with the noise travelling this is a building issue, and on the basis of what you have said your complaint is, nothing to do with the unreasonable behaviour of your neighbours. Therefore they have nothing to learn consideration about. You need to be making your complaints to whoever is responsible for the fabric of the building, and asking to see whether the sound insulation can be improved. If it cannot, then you need to move to somewhere else.

Your complaint is no different to someone moving into a new house and suddenly realising that the noise from the adjoining motorway or railway is louder than they anticipated. In those circumstances, the house owner is going to get nowhere asking cars not to use the road or the train company not to run trains on the track, and must look to properly sound proofing their own property, or else to move.

My sympathies would have been different had you been complaining that your neighbours held wild parties every night, played their music very loudly late at night or did DIY or vaccuuming before dawn. This isn't the case here though, and your complaints to them are interfering with their right to quiet enjoyment of their home, more than their everyday noises interfere with yours.

Christal_2

Thanks guys for all your support, it does make me feel better reading all these posts.

Well to answer Picnic's question, my neighbour below has never talked about any noise/problem except once I had a couple to come and visit, they had a 2/3 year old boy who was running around in our flat, after 10 mins of his running, my neighbour came upstairs and asked me to keep it down, so as far as I'm concern my day to day noise(if I'm making any) is not bothering anyone.

And the thing is I don't hear any kind of noise from anyone except upstairs, nothing from neighbour next door or downstairs at all, so I think my upstairs is making noise worse than everyday ones.

I did try banging on the ceiling to tell them I have had enough after all my nice talking lead no where, what I got in reply is them banging on their floor, or heavier step! What makes it worse is once I banged on my ceiling around 10PM after it felt like my upstairs is dropping watermelon on the floor for fun, then my downstairs neighbour came up and talked me because he thought I was banging my floor! So you can imagine how bad the insultion is, if me banging my celing can be mistaken by downstairs as me banging my floor.......

I have gone to "Neighbout from Hell" website to see what they have discovered, to my comfort I'm not the only one who's having this problem, and apparently the noise I'm having is "Impact Noise" which is one of the worst to solve, the only way seem to be either for the upstairs to put some sound/vibration absorbing underlay under their floor, or me to put it up on top of my ceiling. But the height of my floor is already low........if I do that my fingertip can easily reach my ceiling just by standing on my toe.......

So I'm really stuck.......unless my upstairs can keep it down. Does anyone know how and where I can find information to check on the insulation in our development? Cause that sounds like one possibility to me.......

Christal_2

Nicki, I think you really misunderstoodd my complaint, the point is me and everyone else in the building are having a normal life, watching tv/listening to music and walk around etc, but I can't hear no one by my upstairs, if it's onlly the building problem then assume everyone could hear everyone. The girl who used to live in the other flat upstairs has spoken to me about the noise too, so this is not just me who is effected. And as I have just posted above, my neighbour downstairs never had any problem means my everyday life has not been making noise to him.

I can't understand where you come from, to complain about me when you have never lived in my flat for one day, and try to sleep at 12am in the night but being kept awake because of the heavy banging from your bedroom ceiling and the light shaking.

olly300

Christal wrote: »

I can't understand where you come from, to complain about me when you have never lived in my flat for one day, and try to sleep at 12am in the night but being kept awake because of the heavy banging from your bedroom ceiling and the light shaking.

To find out what regulations your building complies with you need to find out when the date the property was built. (Most people seem to find this out when they buy the property.) Then you can try talking to your local council building control department about the development to see if there were any problems during the construction. If the construction had particular problems or was extremely good they would remember it.

BTW I hope your problems are with the adults not with the child. One of my ex-neighbours child use to wake up 4-6am in the morning and start playing. The child wasn't noisy but as soon as I heard the child I knew the entire street would be woken up, as the mother use to start shouting and swearing at the child.