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Noisy neighbours - help!
tom.senex
Posts: 221 Forumite
Hi All, I hope someone out there could help with this. I'll try and summarise, and be factual, as much as possible
Basically, we are leaseholders and live in a mix tenure block. Our neighbour below, who is a housing association tenant, young and out of work, spends most of his days indoors smoking drugs and listening to music. Unfortunately for us, who sometime work form home, the base travels through the walls and ceilings and we can hear a constant and distracting "thumping" in the background.
Things used to be much worse but after a long lengthy battle with the housing association the music is now only being played during the day. However the Housing association thinks this is reasonable.
One of their officers happened to be in our flat when he had his music on and stated that it wasn't loud enough to be considered anti-social but as this constant thumping can go on for hours we find it distracting and annoying. Also, the level at which the music is played can vary.
Our lease agreement clearly states that no "mechanical music must be heard outside of the premises", which it can.
The housing association is now offering the service of a professional witness to come and sit in our flat, but as we don't know what their noise threshold is, we worry they will label us noise sensitive. However, our point is that his music is audible and is even more audible in the evenings when there is less general background noise.
So the question is, where do we stand legally and is there a role to play in this for the freeholder? We are told by the property management company that the freeholder gave a lease to the housing association under strict rules which are not being enforced.
Any help as you can imagine would be very much appreciated.
Thom
P.S. we're also separately liaising with the council noise team but as we are the only ones affected there is very little they can do.
Basically, we are leaseholders and live in a mix tenure block. Our neighbour below, who is a housing association tenant, young and out of work, spends most of his days indoors smoking drugs and listening to music. Unfortunately for us, who sometime work form home, the base travels through the walls and ceilings and we can hear a constant and distracting "thumping" in the background.
Things used to be much worse but after a long lengthy battle with the housing association the music is now only being played during the day. However the Housing association thinks this is reasonable.
One of their officers happened to be in our flat when he had his music on and stated that it wasn't loud enough to be considered anti-social but as this constant thumping can go on for hours we find it distracting and annoying. Also, the level at which the music is played can vary.
Our lease agreement clearly states that no "mechanical music must be heard outside of the premises", which it can.
The housing association is now offering the service of a professional witness to come and sit in our flat, but as we don't know what their noise threshold is, we worry they will label us noise sensitive. However, our point is that his music is audible and is even more audible in the evenings when there is less general background noise.
So the question is, where do we stand legally and is there a role to play in this for the freeholder? We are told by the property management company that the freeholder gave a lease to the housing association under strict rules which are not being enforced.
Any help as you can imagine would be very much appreciated.
Thom
P.S. we're also separately liaising with the council noise team but as we are the only ones affected there is very little they can do.
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Comments
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Hi All, I hope someone out there could help with this. I'll try and summarise, and be factual, as much as possible
Basically, we are leaseholders and live in a mix tenure block. Our neighbour below, who is a housing association tenant, young and out of work, spends most of his days indoors smoking drugs and listening to music. Unfortunately for us, who sometime work form home, the base travels through the walls and ceilings and we can hear a constant and distracting "thumping" in the background.
Things used to be much worse but after a long lengthy battle with the housing association the music is now only being played during the day. However the Housing association thinks this is reasonable.
One of their officers happened to be in our flat when he had his music on and stated that it wasn't loud enough to be considered anti-social but as this constant thumping can go on for hours we find it distracting and annoying. Also, the level at which the music is played can vary.
Our lease agreement clearly states that no "mechanical music must be heard outside of the premises", which it can. - what does his lease say though?
The housing association is now offering the service of a professional witness to come and sit in our flat, but as we don't know what their noise threshold is, we worry they will label us noise sensitive. - are you part of the housing association? if not why are you entertaining them? However, our point is that his music is audible and is even more audible in the evenings when there is less general background noise. - That is unfortunate, but generally they're correct. Noise is basically a fact of life when you share a building. Buy/rent a detached property for peace of mind
So the question is, where do we stand legally and is there a role to play in this for the freeholder? We are told by the property management company that the freeholder gave a lease to the housing association under strict rules which are not being enforced. - It's not really relevant.
Any help as you can imagine would be very much appreciated.
Thom
P.S. we're also separately liaising with the council noise team but as we are the only ones affected there is very little they can do.
Assume the chap is an owner occupier like yourself (since his status actually has no real bearing), you have no right to tell him what to do. Just like he would have no right to tell you what to do.
The HA will protect their tenant.
The freeholder may take action, but it's long and drawn out and not always successful.
Have you actually spoken to the guy?0 -
He's a tenant we understand, and have been advised not to approach.
Basically what you're saying is that in your opinion he can play loud music whenever he wants and we just have to put up with it? Or move to the countryside?0 -
He's a tenant we understand - what I'm saying is him being a tenant is not really relevant. He's got the same rights as you do. , and have been advised not to approach - by who and on what grounds? .
Basically what you're saying is that in your opinion he can play loud music whenever he wants and we just have to put up with it? Or move to the countryside?
Not quite, there's much stricter rules on noise between11pm-7am. But ultimately yes, he can play music. Conversely it's not his fault you work from home, if you worked away it would not affect you.
*I don't think you need to move to the countryside to get a detached property.0 -
The long and the short of noisy neighbours is you either move, or suck it up - especially when it's during the day.0
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Well, you can always simply speak with the neighbor and try to figure it out with a polite chat, rather than escalating it up. You may be surprised by the results.
But as said before, if you want proper peace and quiet, detached house is the way to go. Or if a flat, then expensive new built that was built with sound-proofing in mind. I used to rent a flat like that, and you could haul furniture around the place without creating much noise to downstairs neighbour.0 -
The HA will protect their tenant.
Many HA expect their tenants to behave properly and respect their neigbours. In this instance they have intervened and helped reduce the noise. Its unfortunate their opinion of the daytime noise is different to the ops.- are you part of the housing association? if not why are you entertaining them?
A HA will not "protect" a tenant who is causing problems.
OP. Why have you been advised not to speak to the tenant? Have you ever spoken to them? If they are otherwise reasonable try talking to them.0 -
Norman_Castle wrote: »Many HA expect their tenants to behave properly and respect their neigbours. In this instance they have intervened and helped reduce the noise. Its unfortunate their opinion of the daytime noise is different to the ops.
A HA will not "protect" a tenant who is causing problems. - Indeed. But equally the HA must take a pragmatic view, and that is they have a duty of care to their tenant.
OP. Why have you been advised not to speak to the tenant? Have you ever spoken to them? If they are otherwise reasonable try talking to them.
If the tenant isn't in breach of their lease the HA wont act.0 -
A tenant won't have a lease they will have a rental agreement. The HA will get involved as proven in this thread.If the tenant isn't in breach of their lease the HA wont act.
"Things used to be much worse but after a long lengthy battle with the housing association the music is now only being played during the day."0 -
Norman_Castle wrote: »A tenant won't have a lease they will have a rental agreement. The HA will get involved as proven in this thread. - What do you think a lease is? ......
"Things used to be much worse but after a long lengthy battle with the housing association the music is now only being played during the day."
I'll give you a hint - a tenancy = lease....0 -
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