Noise coming from upstairs

ajp166

Guys I brought a 1920s ground floor flat in May last year. It looks like a converted Victorian house it has 8 large flats.. All was fine until upstairs moved in...'in September they were doing a lot of sanding on the floors which was horrendous. I tried to tell her father then that the noise was horrendous but he said the work had to be done. Now the girl is actually living there and I can literally hear her stomping around all day up until 1-3am.. She even moves furniture in the early hours. Now the issue is when she brought her flat there was woodern flooring already, it's natural floor boards... Also her bathroom sink pump is so loud.. It wasn't like this with previous occupants. Now I have read the lease and it's states the floors must be carpeted and only the bathrooms and kitchen cannot be. My wife has tried to talk to her but she was patronising and just said she is a doctor and doesnt have time for this. I know if I talk to her or her father it will end with an argument. I emailed the managing agent today. What can they do?

EverGreen_2

ajp166 wrote: »

Guys I brought a 1920s ground floor flat in May last year. It looks like a converted Victorian house it has 8 large flats.. All was fine until upstairs moved in...'in September they were doing a lot of sanding on the floors which was horrendous. I tried to tell her father then that the noise was horrendous but he said the work had to be done. Now the girl is actually living there and I can literally hear her stomping around all day up until 1-3am.. She even moves furniture in the early hours. Now the issue is when she brought her flat there was woodern flooring already, it's natural floor boards... Also her bathroom sink pump is so loud.. It wasn't like this with previous occupants. Now I have read the lease and it's states the floors must be carpeted and only the bathrooms and kitchen cannot be. My wife has tried to talk to her but she was patronising and just said she is a doctor and doesnt have time for this. I know if I talk to her or her father it will end with an argument. I emailed the managing agent today. What can they do?

I hear you. I sympathize with you. I had been in that same position but 8 y ago. There should be tough regulations/ clear cut. Most likely, the Victorian mansions are bought by cowboy developers in auctions. They convert the houses into flats without sound proof. Most of the work is done as DIY. I was in ground flat. The flat upstair was occupied by a girl who was definitely a "sex addict". She changed her man every other day or so. You can imagine the hell of life it was. Mine was easier because she was a tenant. In yours, she is the owner of the flat. This is a nightmare if you are too sensitive. I hope, she is not bringing a boyfriend or changing the boys frequently. In my case the LL wrote a notice and got rid of here quickly. But obviously the noise can still be there.
See what the managers may tell you. Review your legal rights. Council and police are useless.
Good luck

kinger101

ajp166 wrote:

She even moves furniture in the early hours.

That's a euphemism if ever I heard one.

Evergreen wrote:

The flat upstair was occupied by a girl who was definitely a "sex addict".

You wouldn't by any chance have the address still?

EverGreen_2

kinger101 wrote: »

You wouldn't by any chance have the address still?

I do have the address in Liverpool but unfortunately she left that address.

Crashy_Time

ajp166 wrote: »

Guys I brought a 1920s ground floor flat in May last year. It looks like a converted Victorian house it has 8 large flats.. All was fine until upstairs moved in...'in September they were doing a lot of sanding on the floors which was horrendous. I tried to tell her father then that the noise was horrendous but he said the work had to be done. Now the girl is actually living there and I can literally hear her stomping around all day up until 1-3am.. She even moves furniture in the early hours. Now the issue is when she brought her flat there was woodern flooring already, it's natural floor boards... Also her bathroom sink pump is so loud.. It wasn't like this with previous occupants. Now I have read the lease and it's states the floors must be carpeted and only the bathrooms and kitchen cannot be. My wife has tried to talk to her but she was patronising and just said she is a doctor and doesnt have time for this. I know if I talk to her or her father it will end with an argument. I emailed the managing agent today. What can they do?

Start hoovering and doing the laundry at 6 am, get the telly a few notches louder all the time, invest in a Gibson guitar and amp, any time she is making noise get some heavy jazz on the cd player, Loud, start having parties more, work out when she is sleeping and make noise using any/all of the above, if she complains ask her to keep the noise down, the message will get across eventually. Running baths is another good one to give some back to the upstairs noise makers IME.

tamiami

In my first house I had noisy neigbours who worked shifts. The walls were paper thin, you could hear everything. They were the middle house of three and annoyed neighbours both sides being inconsiderate in early hours of morning. I turned the ringer on my house phone on high and called myself from work every half hour all day!!

Pixie5740

I feel your pain. I've had similar problems living on the ground floor of a (badly) converted house. The person upstairs just had bare floorboards and was an owner-occupier. Thankfully I was a tenant and so only had to live with it for a year.

I know you say there were wooden floors when she moved in but is there anything in the lease forbidding wooden floors or insisting that carpets are fitted?

aileth

You have my sympathies, OP. We aren't in a flat, but a semi-detached, and I would LOVE (or perhaps not) to know what our next door neighbours get up to. Last night we had 3-4 hours during the evening of what sounded like furniture being dragged or picked up and dropped. This happens maybe 3-4 times a week.

The houses themselves are pretty sound-proof, we can't hear their TV or washing machine etc. Maybe they had dinner and decided that the feng shui of the room was all wrong and rearranged it all?

princeofpounds

If the lease insists on soft floorings then you need to contact the freeholder, who is the only person who can deal with this unless it is more than normal domestic noise. Who is the freeholder?

ajp166

Thanks. Yes the lease states there must be underlay and carpeted. How can I find out who the freeholder is ? The management agency asked me what flat it was , I assume they will deal with this problem. What can the freeholder do?

ajp166

This issue is continuing. The managing agent has said I should sort the issue with the neighbour but I don't think it's possible. I am considering not paying my service charge this year and they should have enforced the lease and made her get carpet. Would this work?