Recently purchased flat. Noisey neighbours

Penelop26

It's interesting seeing that this topic has caused so much debate. I niavely assumed neighbours would consider one another. I'm 40 and lived in many properties including apartments and never had issues. I know now that I have clearly had good neighbours in the past. Some people on here have said that if it's such an issue that I should simply sell or sound proof. Selling means finding at least £1500 to pay solicitors etc then there's stamp duty to pay again when moving. It's not so black and white. I did consider sound proofing but at £4k just for my living room floor and the same for the bedroom ceiling, it's financially unachievable. Many people don't have thousands in the bank. I personally need to save which will take time & which means I have to just put up with everything thats happening in the meantime and put up with being so exhausted all the time. For those that say I viewed the property and should have known what I was getting myself into, I viewed the property four times all at different times of day, before putting an offer in. The flat was silent and I thought I'd bought the perfect property. I've obviously been unlucky and can't wait to leave. The funny thing is when I mentioned that I might consider renting the apartment out, she barked at me saying "you'd better not get a noisey person or a young tenant in, we've had too many of those in the past"....

Thank you for everyone's feedback though. I think it's time to save as much as I can and move on

Murphybear

DoaM wrote: »

Edited to show what I thought I first read. :rotfl:

That would probably have been a lot quieter :rotfl:

lookstraightahead

I feel your pain op. I have lived in all types of accommodation and have been lucky as my neighbours have always been considerate. I think constantly about what behaviour affects my neighbours, but others don't (it's like the way some people drive without a thought in the world for others, or allowing your dog to mess on the pavement without picking it up). Some people really don't have the emotional ability to see things from another perspective.

Having said that, I live where you can hear road traffic and it drives me mad. I use a fan now as I'm happy with fan noise and it blocks out other noises.

IMO there is an acceptable flat etiquette - just like anything else.

lookstraightahead

Slithery wrote: »

I thought that this was a money-saving site?

The most economical thing to do if you are on on dual-rate is to have all of your chargers/appliances on timers so that they run during the night. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with anyone who did this as that's what I've always done in the same situation.

I've obviously been really lucky with neighbours in flats. None of them would have ever put their washing machine on in the middle of the night. Do you mow your garden at 6 in the morning as well?

Spriggan

A downstairs neighbour in one of my flats once came up to have a screaming go at us because she said we were making too much noise. Accused us of banging on the floor, dropping a guitar at all hours (!) and moving furniture late into the night. The truth is we were honestly doing none of these things. Didn't even own a guitar! She said she could hear when one of us went to the toilet in the night. But short of keeping a chamber pot under the bed, what were we supposed to do about that? We tried our best, didn't even wear shoes in the flat, but it was just a terribly built place. The whole building shook when a lofty went past! We pointed out that we could hear everything they did too, but it wasn't until we got her flatmate to go downstairs and put on their kettle while she stayed with us that I think it became clear.

That said, the intent behind it is sort of irrelevant when it's wrecking your life, and I've been there too. OP- I know you said you're moving, but have you tried sleep headphones? You can get wireless noise cancelling ones that are built into a soft band that your wear, so are comfortable. Not particularly cheap, but potentially worth it. I would then find a nice podcast (I've got a very soothing history one), or something like the Calm app.

Norman_Castle

Penelop26 wrote: »

The funny thing is when I mentioned that I might consider renting the apartment out, she barked at me saying "you'd better not get a noisey person or a young tenant in, we've had too many of those in the past"....

That suggests there's been a high turnover of residents, I wonder why? I'd be tempted to rent it out to a young and noisy person just to spite her.


Op, try earplugs and a radio tuned to white noise or Radio 4. It'll be a distraction from her noise. If the noise bothers her thats a bonus.

pimento

Penelop26 wrote: »

The funny thing is when I mentioned that I might consider renting the apartment out, she barked at me saying "you'd better not get a noisey person or a young tenant in, we've had too many of those in the past"....

That's your best bargaining chip.

DottieDam

Having been on the receiving end of this type of complaint I can add that it is probably causing her some anxiety also. Maybe after you first complaint she tried (or thought she had) to be quiet and after you complained again she thought stuff it.

Having to try and be quiet in your own home for fear of upsetting others isn't pleasant.

My upstairs neighbour would complain about me making noise at 5:30am. That was the time I went the gym, it was the only feasible time for me to go. I literally got up without an alarm, got dressed in bathroom and wouldn't even flush the toilet as it was a noisey system and left the house as quiet as possible. There was nothing else I could do to be quieter.

She then complained more and more about little things like the dog barking if someone came to the door (dog never in house alone and would bark maybe three times when someone knocked which happened maybe twice a month).

Then it was tv too loud late into night which was also ridiculous as I was in bed by 10pm max to get up at 5:30!

Reached the point where I realised she would never be happy so I stopped making myself miserable trying to please her.

If you live in a flat you have to accept you will hear noise from other people. If the person above you worked nights you would hear more noise most likely!

And not everyone has the time to do their laundry during the day. And have you ever wondered if she has a medical condition that makes her drop stuff? Maybe she just can't help some of the noise.

Sapphire

jamesperrett wrote: »

As you are in the downstairs flat it should actually be fairly easy to create a decently soundproofed ceiling. You'll need to remove the existing ceiling (but you won't need to touch the floor above), add in a second set of joists slightly below the existing joists and then attach your new ceiling to the new joists. Separating her floor from your ceiling by using two sets of joists is going to make a huge difference.

In fact, I believe that if your ceilings are high enough you can have a false ceiling put in below them – the space between the false ceiling and 'true' ceiling doesn't have to be very big, and some sort of wadding can be put in between the two layers.

I have such a thing in one of my rooms (with no wadding), and I don't hear a thing from above. In my sister's place, there is the same thing. If the noise got really bad, I would certainly consider installing the same elsewhere, especially along the corridor, which seems to be the noisiest bit. Might be worth it.

I do empathise with you. Noise can be really bothersome to some people (it is to me). I have a white noise machine somewhere, but don't use it now. One shouldn't have to use such things to enjoy one's home.