Neighbour keep complaining about the noise..

Debbie_Savard

Everyone knows their rights, few care about their responsibilities

jenniewb

It might be worth checking a few things;


Firstly; is there any underlay below your flooring? (I'm assuming it's laminate). This is designed to dampen noise but some cheapskates don't put this in and it means not just an easy transfer or noise, but that it can carry across the whole flood and become amplified as a result.


Secondly; do other neighbours hear you? Some flats are not purpose built- they are made up of old houses cheaply chopped up with cheap walls which do nothing to block noise. It can mean that just talking at a normal level can be heard as if there is no wall at all. If this is the case, other neighbours will also hear and will be able to verify if the person complaining has sound reason to or is just very sensitive to the noise. It can also mean that maybe the neighbour isn't just hearing you but other neighbours (and maybe blaming this all on you). If they are aware of this, they may be able to get a better understanding of what is going on and maybe what to do about it if anything.


I would add that with flats, it is very difficult even in purpose built ones. I live in a purpose build concrete block of a flat and I can still hear what my neighbours say as well as being able to hear music of those two or more floors down. We all can- it's not noise coming from outside the flat front door but travels through the floor/ceiling/walls when this happens. If I step outside my front door, I don't hear the noise for example.
I don't tend to ask the to tone it down unless it's very late (after 11 pm) or very very loud (and not a violent argument) but it's the unsaid rule to those that have lived here for some time that if you can hear them, they can hear you and people do tend to lower their voices- yes even in their own home. Some wont play music unless on earphones or between 9-5pm and it's just how things are done. Things can't be kept silent, they just can't. But it is the unsaid thing that people do what they can do create the same atmosphere they want to live in. It's just what you do in a block of 70-80 odd flats in London. It has to work both ways; your neighbour needs to be aware of this and that you have to let some things go, and you have to recognise that you can be heard and depending on what type of flat you live in, in a great deal more detail than I'd bet you are aware of.


What you could do is (and I understand this is going some), try to talk to the neighbour on more friendly terms. Explain you are really concerned and don't want to make their life a misery- hence you've even asked online on a forum. Don't just catch them on their way to work, actually sit and have a coffee/tea/beer/whatever- but in neutral territory (a caf!, pub or wherever works). It may help to have the landlady or someone more neutral there. Maybe then create some ground rules to both stick to. The person may need to understand there will be noise. But you need to find out what is the worst of it and how you can limit things- are you slamming doors and not realising or leaving windows open to create a breeze which then will slam doors? Are you getting in very late at night and not realising how loud you're voices are when you come in from the outside? (noise can feel louder late at night) and is there anything you can think of to ask your landlady to do to help things out because I'm sure the last thing she wants is to have daily emails/phone calls and so on, asking her to resolve things.

another_casualty

Couldn’t read and run . A few things ( and personal experience ) I would like to add .

As mentioned in the posts above , you will always get life’s complainers even in ‘ normal ‘daytime hours.

I’ve recently purchased a small ground floor Victorian ground floor flat
So far , so good . There are 2 flats above mine . The communal area is outside my door etc.
What happens is the 2 kids above run up and down the stairs now and again. The communal door is often slammed . The woman in that family has recently added a bawling baby .
The other tenant lives on her own I think . Probably divorced.
She tends to slam the door once about 645 am . Then around 10.45am. I’m not working just yet .
Most of the time I know their movements . It’s not too bad . The neighbours are fairly polite . So I think live and let live . If/ when my neighbours move out I’m hoping I get good karma .

My brother ( one of the complaining type ) has a similar situation to mine. When the flat above was bought by by to let people, he chatted with the owner about them putting noise insulation under their wooden floors as they were doing the place up at the time. They listened to him and did nothing . He has noise of the wooden flooring above .
When I was living in my last flat , I decided to put my brother up for a few months..which turned out to be over 5 years of hell. He was made redundant and couldn’t sell his flat . He got a job working nights. I used to live in a first floor maisonette. The lady next door was a piano teacher. One morning ( I was totally unaware of this incident ), he was banging and shouting loudly at the wall at 9.30 in the morning as the neighbour started the lesson for a girls qualification early . I found out and was angry with my brother.
He was totally in the wrong . I smoothed things over with her thankfully.

Another time I was working for a Big name company where the office was a converted house in central London . Complete with garage for directors etc. Every now and again , this lady would visit and complain about noise. Long story short, she was a madam for a brothel she was running in one of the buildings opposite . I couldn’t do much except smile and listen apologetically .

Anyway it seems that whoever does it, carpet and underlay should be installed in the ops place imho .:)