Neighbour keep complaining about the noise..

punk84

apologies for the long winded post. My wife and I recently got married. Prior to this we hadn't lived togeather. So before the wedding we looked into buying a home but we were too busy. So we decided to rent. we found a lovely little top floor end flat on a gated street. it has all the bells end whistles. our neighbours downstairs were initially very polite. they came over and introduced themselves and we exchanged numbers should there be any problems. What a mistake.
Since then I have been barraged with text messages Constantly complaining about us making noise. initially we did what we could, we stopped wearing shoes or trainers around the flat. they complained to our landlady who bless her has been great and said to just ignore them. however now a complaint had been made to the company that runs the building who wrote to us to tell us of the complaint. citing banging, screaming, loud music at all hours doors slamming and most embarassingly "noises of an intimate nature"They have even sent me a quote for carpeting. cheeky. I will not carpet a flat just to placate the neighbours. I am open to sitting down and discussing the matter and reasonable suggestions but they refuse to do this. we are planning on moving out possibly in 12 months. but because of the start text messaging and complaints (mlst.of which are untrue) is really affecting our living in this flat as they are now treating to get the council's environmental health involved.

TL:DR Neighbours keep complaing about noise from our above flat despite us doing everything reasonably practical to stop. And the complaints keep
escalating to them wanting to get the local council involed.

What would I do?

Doozergirl

It’s probably a good thing to speak to Environmental Health. They’re actually pretty reasonable people and if you are telling us that much of it is untrue, then they will find nothing. None of us are expected to live in silence.

Just be nice to the officer.

Hopefully the neighbours will then go quiet when they run out of options. I’ve had it with neighbours here gossiping and complaining about us. It’s all because we wanted planning permission for a house, which we now have. Thankfully the worst complainants moved out a few years ago and we have 2 sets of nicer neighbours.

If the floors are solid in your flat, carpet really would be a good idea. Speak to your landlady about it and explain that she will benefit from longer term tenants if the neighbours aren’t constantly complaining.

VfM4meplse

Doozergirl wrote: »

If the floors are solid in your flat, carpet really would be a good idea. Speak to your landlady about it and explain that she will benefit from longer term tenants if the neighbours aren’t constantly complaining.

Agreed, wooden floors are a nightmare for the person underneath.

When a friend bought a new flat a couple of years back I spent one rainy afternoon cleaning his kitchen thoroughly. I couldn’t get over the noise from above: everything was magnified. The washing machine and baby I could forgive, but the deafening music and soundtrack of footsteps was awful. The tenant upstairs didn’t seem to believe me, perhaps it was the first time she’d been told? Interestingly, wooden floors were explicitly forbidden within the lease (but then it was written a century before the introduction of cheap laminate).

Friend is not bothered but I would be in his shoes: he spend so much time at work his relaxation time should be sacred. Even now I don’t enjoy sitting in his living room to a soundtrack of thuds.

OP - if you heard the noise from above, I think you’d change your mind. And fast.

Davesnave

VfM4meplse wrote: »

OP - if you heard the noise from above, I think you’d change your mind. And fast.

Surely that is part of the solution. You go and listen in the flat below while your wife walks about and does 'normal' activities.(We'll skip the intimate ones!) Your Environmental Health officer might even act as mediator to set such a meeting up, if necessary.

That way your neighbours can demonstrate to you what they're experiencing, which may, or may not, be genuinely hard to live with.

Then, you and your landlady can consider ways to improve things, if that's what's needed.

Of course, there's also the possibility your neighbours are being over-sensitive and unreasonable, but either way, you'll know what you are up against.

lstar337

I wouldn't worry about environmental health, you would need to be using pneumatic jack hammer 24/7 for them to blink an eye.

When our neighbour above was physically beating his girlfriend to death virtually every night, we were told we would need 6 months of evidence including noise level measurements in db's plus recordings all documented in a diary. Needless to say, we didn't bother.

When we called the police they told us that they can only act if they can actually see the 'domestic violence', and they are not allowed to enter the property unless invited by the tenant. !!!!!!?

Anyway, we just moved.

If you are only going to be there for 12 months, I would just carry on doing your best and ignore them. If they are commenting on your bedroom activities, they are obviously just jealous busy bodies.
Whenever I overhear our neighbours intimate moments I just think 'Fair play guys, have fun'. Lets face it, if it's that loud then they must be doing it right. :T

Norman_Castle

I've been in the same flat for decades with a regular turnover of neighbours. I had a noise problem from the flat below mine. New tenant, daily loud music, doors banging, shouting. All dismissed by them as normal noise for over two years. This has now stopped almost completely I suspect due to a new tenant in another flat linked to theirs who was also very noisy. My noisy neighbour learnt what it was like to have a noisy neighbour! Same flats, same tenants, just a change in behaviour, problem solved.

Just married, young couple in your first home. I suspect you are noisier than you think. Its not your neighbours fault that they can hear you and I doubt they want to complain.

they complained to our landlady who bless her has been great and said to just ignore them

She would say ignore them. The noise isn't a problem for her and you're paying her mortgage. Carpets and thick underlay would probably make a big difference but she doesn't want to pay for them.
Bless her? I doubt your neighbour will be blessing her. More likely to be cursing her.

EssexExile

punk84 wrote: »

I will not carpet a flat just to placate the neighbours.

I would, problem solved. Hard floors in flats are madness.

macman

Why not ask your LL to provide the carpeting? It should make a huge difference.

J_B

punk84 wrote: »

What would I do?

This question should be on the mobile phone board really - just block their number?

betsie

Some people just can't be pleased.
My elderly parents lived in a bungalow next door to a childless couple in their 40's, they constantly moaned and banged on the wall. My parents were both in bed by 9pm so no noise in the evening but my mum was up and about from 7am only making cups of tea and morning to on. She had a cleaner that came at 9.30am who we had to change to 10.30am as they complained about the Hoover ( he laid in bed till 1pm every day) if she had friends round in the day chatting they banged on the wall. My mum swept her drive every day at about 9am they went mad as the broom was too noisy. I could go on and on.
The women is now going mad as someone across the road wants to develop their property, she has written the longest letter moaning about how it will disrupt her human right to peace ����. her bungalow is on a fairly busy road and 3 doors down from a bus stop so hardly a quite area anyway.
My parents also got a letter from the environment guy at the council but it never went any further. Just do your best to be quite but don't be afraid to live - some people just like moaning.

elsien

I used to work in a small group home for people with learning disabilities. The neighbour was always complaining about the noise. He continued to complain about the noise for a good three months after the property was vacated and completely empty.