Witholding rent due to noise issues

JoeChip

I will briefly explain my situation. I have recently moved into a ground floor flat with neighbours above and below. Since moving in most nights and days have been disrupted with excessive noise from our upstairs neighbours. There are othr minor issues but probably irrelevent.The neighbours have been spoken to, their landlord is aware of the problem and my landlord has been informed. The police have been called in last few days after an incident where the neighbours got abusive. A meeting between parties has been arranged for tomorrow but I doubt will resolve things. Am I able to withold rent due to this ongoing noise issue?

PasturesNew

Rule 1: Never withhold rent.
Rule 2: See rule 1.

seven-day-weekend

How can you have neighbours below if you live in a ground floor flat?

Why should your landlord be penalised for something that is not their fault or doing?

As Pastures New says, never withold your rent, you will be in breach of contract and could be evicted.

Horasio

There are basement flats

SerenaGoode

JoeChip wrote: »

I will briefly explain my situation. I have recently moved into a ground floor flat with neighbours above and below. Since moving in most nights and days have been disrupted with excessive noise from our upstairs neighbours. There are othr minor issues but probably irrelevent.The neighbours have been spoken to, their landlord is aware of the problem and my landlord has been informed. The police have been called in last few days after an incident where the neighbours got abusive. A meeting between parties has been arranged for tomorrow but I doubt will resolve things. Am I able to withold rent due to this ongoing noise issue?

I'm an anti-landlord type of person, but even I fail to see why this is something that you blame on the landlord. It's the neighbours who are the problem, and he isn't even their landlord.

If it's a problem for you, and they are hard to deal with, moving out may be your best option.

There are plenty of perfectly good reasons to withhold rent (contra the poster above), but this isn't one of them.

JoeChip

Thanks for the replies. I thought witholding maybe legally possible. Oh well

Further info. It appears that upstairs neighbours have same landlord as me???!!! Does that make any difference?

I think it will be a case of getting out as amicably with letting agents/landlord as best as possible

pollyanna24

If it was something to do with the property, then I could see how you could maybe have a reason for withholding rent, but even if your neighbours have the same landlord, how can he be responsible for what noise they make?

If there was a case for withholding rent, surely people would ask their neighbours to make as much noise as possible if they were short of rent for one month?

SerenaGoode

JoeChip wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I thought witholding maybe legally possible. Oh well

Further info. It appears that upstairs neighbours have same landlord as me???!!! Does that make any difference?

The only real difference is that it might mean that you can persuade him to bring pressure on them or possibly even evict them. It might not be much use though, unless they are the kinds of people who can be reasoned with.

I have a lot of sympathy by the way. I've had to deal with noisy neighbours and it's a horrible situation.

iolanthe07

Withholding rent immediately puts you on the wrong foot, however valid your complaint is.

silvercar

pollyanna24 wrote:

If there was a case for withholding rent, surely people would ask their neighbours to make as much noise as possible if they were short of rent for one month?

:rotfl: :rotfl:

serenegoode wrote:

The only real difference is that it might mean that you can persuade him to bring pressure on them or possibly even evict them.

So the landlord has one tenant complaining and with-holding rent and one who doesn't bother him and pays the rent on time. Which one does he evict?

SerenaGoode

silvercar wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl:
So the landlord has one tenant complaining and with-holding rent and one who doesn't bother him and pays the rent on time. Which one does he evict?

Yes, I already said withholding rent wasn't appropriate.

But if both are paying rent and one complains he may attempt to intervene. These things are always volatile and difficult. It may also be relevant if other neighbours are complaining about the noise (next door for instance) as that will increase pressure in a variety of ways.

I have been in situations with noisy neightbours where reason finally prevailed and they started to behave better. but I've also seen some intransigent idiots who thought they had a divine right to keep the whole street awake regardless of attempts to get through to them.