Noisy Neighbour - Not sure of next steps

unholyangel

Kimbmy1989 wrote: »

As a new user I!!!8217;m not allowed to submit links. But if you go onto the UK government petition website search !!!8216;make it law for all property to be soundproofed if above another!!!8217; and you should find the petition.


This is a petition calling for it to be law for all flats above another property to have sufficient soundproofing for the well being of people living below others. Noisy floorboards bothering you? Footsteps keeping you awake at night? Sound of voices from above? Sign and share this petition. Let!!!8217;s make our well being law.

Devils advocate but sound doesn't just travel downwards. By all means make it mandatory for every abode to be soundproofed, but you can't just plonk all the responsibility on the ones above. Especially when downstairs neighbours can be just as annoying/noisy as the upstairs one - sometimes more so. Also, a lot of the noise can travel up through the walls rather than through the ceiling/floor.

When I first got my own place it was a top/3rd floor flat. Ground floor neighbour would have parties occasionally and you could hear everything so clearly, you'd easily think it came from the flat underneath rather than right down the bottom. I had already (being considerate of my underneath neighbours) paid for soundproof flooring (they only heard me when hoovering or if i dropped something heavy), but the noise from the ground floor neighbour travelled very easily up the walls.

Unfortunately noise is a side effect of cheap housing. Particularly flats where people are living on top of one another. There are houses that have been standing for hundreds of years and will continue to do so. There are houses being put up now that will be lucky to still be there in 50 years. Yet they call it progress. Go figure.

Jimmy_Boy

ilovepeoplesoverymuch wrote: »

OP, I relate to you so well. I have longterm mental health issues now since a landlord above my old flat, bought the flat and rented it out to one noisy neighbour after another. I even had a day of tinnitus after one fat woman upstairs kept stomping around. She was a horrible woman, who shouted at me after I asked a couple of times politely if she could keep it down.

Then I moved to another flat via the council and the woman below me would slam her door so hard the whole flat rattled. The council asked her to install soft closing things on her cupboards and doors and she refused and like your neighbour, said she didn’t need them. She also said that she wasn’t slamming doors and it was just her “microwave peeping”. She asked my parents, “What’s she got?” as in mental health problems because I’m autistic.

There are evil people out there, who purposely want to hurt others. I don’t understand it. I was starting to go so far beyond there I felt like setting the flat on fire. I wanted to hurt those people after how suicidal I felt because they deliberately hurt me. I’m never like that, and I’m not anymore, thank goodness.

Bear in mind this all happened after years of living completely peacefully with my old neighbours. The place I’m in now is fine as well.

I signed the petition. I would get legal help if you can, or like the others say, move out. I had to move twice.

I feel for you. I think this is one of those issues that is really hard to portray how it is affecting you mentally unless you have experienced it yourself. Im glad things are better for you now.

Jimmy_Boy

Loz01 wrote: »

Its almost as if HE'S up at 7:30am so everyone else should be.

For a long time, I've been of the mindset that 'morning' people are inconsiderate with the attitude of 'well, I'm up, so you can be too'. I have another neighbour on the other side of the road 2 doors down who is often out at 7:15 sawing wood for a shed he is building which has took MONTHS lol

If I hadn't discovered using headphones to block out the noise, I seriously think I would of lost it by now!

dontone

I feel for all of you going through this. We had to put up with it, and it's a horrible thing to go through. Not just because of the noise, but also for your own peace of mind. It grates and gets you down.
We had a couple move in several years ago who, when drunk on a Saturday night would have a real go at each other. He beat her up one night, - they'd only been in the house about 3 weeks - and I called the police who arrested him. They were both lovey dovey the next morning. We reported them to the council, and it went quiet for a while. Then it got to about 4am on a Sunday morning, you could set a watch by them. They'd come in from clubbing, start with the door slamming and that was it for about 2 hours.
Then they split up, and he, as we found out later had owned the house, rented it to 2 women, who were friends of his, and he's obviously told them about 'Them next door'. So, we ended up with two numpties who slammed every door as loud as possible, run up and down the stairs as if they had pit boots on, and basically made noise at every opportunity. I blame all of them for retriggering my anxiety issues, because I used to listen for it on a night, and it puts you on edge.
I'll admit to getting my own back occasionally, when they used to be up late, and sleep well into a morning, a vuvazela air horn works wonders. It was just a way of saying 'We are disturbed - you are too'
In the end, they moved out, and someone had else bought the property halfway through their lease. I actually met the new landlord about 3 days after they moved out, and told him, that if we got anymore disrespectful, noisy people moving in, I was going to sue him. We'd had it for about 8/9 years, and had enough. He took my threat seriously, 'cos we now have a cracking couple next door. I'm dreading it if they decide to leave.
Hope everybody gets sorted out. Some people don't know how to behave. It's not fair.

productspy

Hi there

Noise complaints can be dealt with by the local council. They have the power to attend the property and issue on the spot fines. They can also put recording equipment within your property. Try keeping a noise diary as this is one of the first things they will ask you for.

Good luck!

Primrose

productspy wrote: »

Hi there

Noise complaints can be dealt with by the local council. They have the power to attend the property and issue on the spot fines. They can also put recording equipment within your property. Try keeping a noise diary as this is one of the first things they will ask you for.

Good luck!

In an ideal world yes. But many councils have lost staff from their Environmental and other departments over recent years and the most that is likely to happen is that you will be asked to keep a noise log or diary for several weeks and then your complaint may get lost in a deepening Pending file.

Don't give up on this route but don't expect miracles from it either.

dekaspace

Ah memories for me of neighbours doing shift work at a few properties ones that would wake me around 5am then say its acceptable as they have work to do and in fact I was lazy for waking up at 8am/9am, then when I woke at 5am would complain how I woke them up as its their day off/they were doing different shifts difference was I was tip toeing about and they would put radio on and sing in shower and such and I was quiet.


As much as I complain about noise from neighbours overall it hasn't been much outside of the norm, you expect it in student accomodation for example, and house shares can be a nightmare however some people on both sides can be a nightmare I also remember when I rented a studio flat 10 years ago and went to bed most nights at midnight and neighbour 11.30-midnight, used to have him at my door threatening me claiming I was having all night parties just because I went to toilet during night or got glass of water, even went away for a week and when I came back he claimed I had parties every day for that week! I wasn't even in the property! It ended up he assaulted me cowardly when I was carry heavy bag and threatened to stab me, of course he claimed to police he was victim and I was lying and that I had parties was on drugs etc.

ilovepeoplesoverymuch

I think like train carriages there should be A and B accommodation like A and B carriages - Noisy or Quiet. I think it would work very well.

Jimmy_Boy

So, I contacted my local councillor who has raised this with the council, and ultimately it doesn't look promising due to last paragraph of the reply from the council which states

"It would be unreasonable for Cornwall Housing to take, or propose to take any action against the tenancy of Mr x's neighbour on the basis of the evidence available as it is not sufficient to warrant any enforcement action. The age, design and the layout of the flats potentially do not help as sound insulation was not considered as such a significant issue when these flats were designed and built. Modern build standards are not applied retrospectively, so there is not a requirement for us to ensure that our 10,500 properties meet specific standards in respect to sound installation, similar to that of a new build home."

He says he doesn't think there is much he can do.

ajs88

Send an email to the heads of the council, housing department and environmental offices, your councillors and MP. Make it one email with everyone attached.

Stipulate the nature of the noise, severity, frequency, how long it has gone on for and what has been done so far. Be appreciative of the work the council and the officers have done so far but that the issue is still ongoing with no resolution in sight. Finish with a description of the effect on your health, ability to work etc. and that you are at the point where you feel unable to live in your own home but have no other means of housing.

I did this and the case got fast-tracked and resolved, in my case with his eviction.

*Be aware that if you sell legally you have to declare that you have reported your neighbours for noise issues or you could be sued for costs incurred including hotels/rent and loss on sale.