Problem with neighbours

Guest101

m0bov wrote: »

There might be something in your lease. I would suggest:
Face to face (why do they not open the door? Would make me suspicious.) - ? Because they don't like to open doors to strangers?
Contact their landlord - Could work, or landlord could tell the OP to jog on.
Council - if the letter doesn't work then this.
Do you have legal cover with your insurance? - what for?
Management company? Can they help? They could write to the tenant and the landlord.

I'm sure they could, but that seems extreme. Why not try the friendly approach first.

m0bov

CheckDigit wrote: »

If I need to contact the landlord, how would I get their details? Is it from the land registry?
Also, just for clarity, I have purchased the flat whereas the new neighbours are renters.

Their landlord has a lease, they have a tenancy agreement, the landlord might not want the grief so they could have a word.

moneyistooshorttomention

CheckDigit wrote: »

Also, just for clarity, I have purchased the flat whereas the new neighbours are renters.

as above.....OP is a home-owner (even though place is not freehold).

Land Registry would confirm:)

CheckDigit

If they only moved in last week, then the loud thudding noises are probably the sounds of unpacking, positioning furniture, building flatpack stuff, etc. Do they work? If so, that would explain why the noises are worse in the evening.

My guess is that they do work as we don't hear as much during the day. Although, my wife did note loud thudding between 2pm and 5pm yesterday so I'm not sure. Also, they had a party on Saturday which went on until after 1am (with music). I excused that, as I felt it was perhaps a one off but will need to keep an eye on that.

LEJC

In the first instance I would opt for a polite note or if you see them in passing on the stairs or on the lift introduce yourself.

It is a difficult situation as noise is a subjective thing....it bothers some and others will tolerate.
Without trying to cause issue with my response to you....it could be said that a crying child at the "wrong " time of the day for an upstairs neighbour could be considered just as off putting as you are now finding the noise issue with the tenants that have moved in above.

I also agree that a week is not a long time,they could be still settling.

You could check your lease to see if there are any noise restrictions on the block...usually they are quite specific and include things like playing loud music at unsociable times or revolve around musical instrument playing.
You could approach your management company if you feel that they are in breach of a leasehold condition,but from experience I know that how a management company deals with enforcing the restrictions vary considerably...some will be willing to help,others may not be so understanding.

To be honest,the LL may not be the most understanding of your situation, however the LL owns the flat and ultimately is the one who is responsibly bound by the same lease conditions that you are,so if the tenant does not abide by the lease conditions the LL is the one who could in extreme situations have their lease revoked....however this is as I say an extreme measure and would only probably be considered after repeated and very prolonged ignorance of the lease.

On the plus side for you the tenants have probably signed a 6 month tenancy and may not decide to stay when that is up....at least there is the potential that they could move on of their own accord rather than being owner occupiers who will have invested in staying many years.

Whichever way you choose to approach this you need to be mindful that you still live in close proximity to these new tenants....they may not even realise that whatever they are doing to cause the noise is even having an effect on anyone else.
Be friendly .....getting angry with them is only likely to cause further unrest but a few words or a polite note should set the scene for the way going forward.....

Guest101

LEJC wrote: »

In the first instance I would opt for a polite note or if you see them in passing on the stairs or on the lift introduce yourself.

It is a difficult situation as noise is a subjective thing....it bothers some and others will tolerate.
Without trying to cause issue with my response to you....it could be said that a crying child at the "wrong " time of the day for an upstairs neighbour could be considered just as off putting as you are now finding the noise issue with the tenants that have moved in above.

I also agree that a week is not a long time,they could be still settling.

You could check your lease to see if there are any noise restrictions on the block...usually they are quite specific and include things like playing loud music at unsociable times or revolve around musical instrument playing.
You could approach your management company if you feel that they are in breach of a leasehold condition,but from experience I know that how a management company deals with enforcing the restrictions vary considerably...some will be willing to help,others may not be so understanding. - also if the tenant has not had access to the head lease, they cannot be bound by it.

To be honest,the LL may not be the most understanding of your situation, however the LL owns the flat and ultimately is the one who is responsibly bound by the same lease conditions that you are,so if the tenant does not abide by the lease conditions the LL is the one who could in extreme situations have their lease revoked....however this is as I say an extreme measure and would only probably be considered after repeated and very prolonged ignorance of the lease.

On the plus side for you the tenants have probably signed a 6 month tenancy and may not decide to stay when that is up....at least there is the potential that they could move on of their own accord rather than being owner occupiers who will have invested in staying many years.

Whichever way you choose to approach this you need to be mindful that you still live in close proximity to these new tenants....they may not even realise that whatever they are doing to cause the noise is even having an effect on anyone else.
Be friendly .....getting angry with them is only likely to cause further unrest but a few words or a polite note should set the scene for the way going forward.....

just to add if the tenant has not had access to the head lease, they cannot be bound by it.

LEJC

Sorry Guest...you are correct...I just tend to assume that because I make tenants aware of the lease it's standard practice....not always the case....TY

OP you could go via the letting agent and discuss your concerns but again it depends how good the letting agent is...they may pass your concerns on to the tenant or indeed the LL but ultimately they are not able to offer anything other than an observation to the tenant which the tenant could ignore if wished.

You could contact the LL via an address obtained though the Land registry...but again if they are non resident or living 400 miles from the property it's unlikely that they will be too much of a hands on LL....the fact that they have a letting agent who deals on their behalf would maybe suggest that they do distance themselves from the running of the property and tenant matters.

I'm sorry there are no hard or fast ways to deal with this straight off,communal living suits a particular type of person,not all and when you own a flat or indeed live in it you sometimes share much more general noise with eachother than say if you were living somewhere more isolated....you are very much at the mercy of those you live around.

I hope you can get something sorted or at least meet on common ground with upstairs.

FBaby

No point in contacting the LL at this stage. They are bound by an ast, most likely to 6 months, maybe more, and couldn't give them notice to leave on the basis of some noise, unless they could evidence a break of contract and were prepared to take them to court to evict. Let's face it, why would they do that when it would only mean an expensive process for them?

They could write to them but if they are ignoring you, they can just as much ignore their LL.

It is sad to say, but unless it is a case of them having no idea of the inconvenience and be prepared to change their lifestyle because they have standards that mean that they wouldn't want to disturb their neighbours, the chances are that things are not going to get any better. It's the dreaded circumstances that we are all hoping to avoid.

aneary

I really don't get people's attitudes these days, I got the keys for a new flat on Saturday I know when I move in (next Sunday) it's going to be a nightmare for my neighbours with loads of stuff being moved in, Ikea furniture etc so I spoke to my downstairs neighbours to warn them and it's only a one off. I also met the neighbours across the road by chance and mentioned it to them. No I don't have to tell anyone but it's the nice thing to do and keeps good relations.

m0bov

Its possible the tenants are not looking after the property or making modifications. The LL might want to know about this.