Selling flat with hellish footsteps from upstairs

pinkshoes

Is the house upstairs an HMO or a family? I was under the impression that HMOs in apartments had a new law introduced in Edinburgh about all floors having to be carpeted if they were above another residential home?? This was about 5 or so years ago.

What did the landlord of the above flat say when you spoke to them about the noise? (this would not be a complaint, just a chat...) If you have NOT done this, then I suggest it would be a good starting point. 


There is quite a lot of info about this online as so many people in Scotland have apartments rather than houses:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2011/07/home-improvements-noise-guidance/documents/home-improvements-guidance-pdf/home-improvements-guidance-pdf/govscot:document/Home+improvements+-+guidance.pdf

davidmcn

Yes, I was going to say if it's an HMO you might have a bit more leverage (if only to threaten to complain next time the licence is up for renewal). While noise from normal household activities (amplified by the poor construction) isn't something you can generally do much about, I think it's legitimate to say it's not a suitable property for the additional noise created by 3+ tenants rather than just a single household. A landlord might be reasonable enough to stick some carpet down rather than deal with the hassle of complaints.

Xiaolongbao

Sorry for so many posts.. I just want to say... a home purchase is the biggest financial decision we all make in our lives.. I'm a 1st time buyer... and it seems that, legally, in Scotland, You can make someone else's property uninhabitable, unsellable, and the law says okey-dokey, deal with it. 

Xiaolongbao

pinkshoes said:

Is the house upstairs an HMO or a family? I was under the impression that HMOs in apartments had a new law introduced in Edinburgh about all floors having to be carpeted if they were above another residential home?? This was about 5 or so years ago.

What did the landlord of the above flat say when you spoke to them about the noise? (this would not be a complaint, just a chat...) If you have NOT done this, then I suggest it would be a good starting point. 


There is quite a lot of info about this online as so many people in Scotland have apartments rather than houses:

I'll have to research this... I'm not sure what a HMO is... this building is one of the traditional tenement buildings that is split up into 16 flats, each with their own freehold owner... some owners live here, other's rent out their flat.. these are all 1 bedroom flats..  

davidmcn

Xiaolongbao said:

pinkshoes said:

Is the house upstairs an HMO or a family? I was under the impression that HMOs in apartments had a new law introduced in Edinburgh about all floors having to be carpeted if they were above another residential home?? This was about 5 or so years ago.

What did the landlord of the above flat say when you spoke to them about the noise? (this would not be a complaint, just a chat...) If you have NOT done this, then I suggest it would be a good starting point. 


There is quite a lot of info about this online as so many people in Scotland have apartments rather than houses:

I'll have to research this... I'm not sure what a HMO is... this building is one of the traditional tenement buildings that is split up into 16 flats, each with their own freehold owner... some owners live here, other's rent out their flat.. these are all 1 bedroom flats..  

HMO = House in Multiple Occupancy (i.e. several tenants each renting a bedroom), so doesn't sound relevant here as it would need to be at least 3 tenants.

Have you tried talking to the tenants? They might be able to do something if they're aware it's causing you a problem, even if that's only taking their shoes off or putting a rug down.

Xiaolongbao

I haven't for two reasons... first, upstairs is a short-term let so the people upstairs change constantly (I'd have to have the same chat every time someone new comes upstairs, and It's unpleasant I don't like confrontation and second, I'm terrified of the impact on my finances come time to sell (property questionnaire). 

Xiaolongbao

The only incentive I can imagine the owner in london (or even overseas) having for spending 2k plus on carpeting is that If I reach out to him/her then they also have to declare it as a dispute on future property questionnaire.. even then they might be unscrupulous enough not to care or have no plans to sell their cash cow. Unfortunately I could never rent out my place, even now as I type this the stomping is atroutious. 

verytired11

This is a naive question, but is speaking to a landlord about noise automatically a dispute?  Is there a way of framing a request along the lines of you have special and particular needs for quiet at certain times and is there any possibility of carpet being laid?  In other words framing it as a request not a dispute.  After all, if the request were to be granted it would improve both your quality of life and that of any subsequent buyer, and if the request is denied and you accept that, you are not really in a dispute about it, just in exactly the same position as you are now.  Any request would presumably be made verbally over the phone.

davidmcn

Xiaolongbao said:

The only incentive I can imagine the owner in london (or even overseas) having for spending 2k plus on carpeting is that If I reach out to him/her then they also have to declare it as a dispute on future property questionnaire.

The questions are a bit more limited than in England & Wales. There's nothing general about neighbour disputes in the Home Report standard seller questionnaire, and the standard missives has a clause "there are no current disputes with neighbouring proprietors or occupiers or any other parties relating to access, title or common property" which I wouldn't interpret as including this.

theoretica

Is it every room?  I am just wondering if full expensive carpets are needed, or if a single rug would help. 

How old is the flat?  One of the problems sometimes come across is the original sawdust sound insulation under upper floors is removed during renovation https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/soundinsulation/soundinsulation.htm