Big Badger House (aka Noisy Lodger) HE'S GONE!

Badger_Lady · 16 May 2008 at 2:07AM

We might have got rid of Lodger 1, but the story's far from over...

Here's a run-down of all the lodgers that have passed through Big Badger House:

NoisyLodger (Lodger1)
March 08 - June 08
Played loud music to cover his sex noises - evicted.

NiceSoFarLodger (Lodger2)
March 08 - September 09
Good strong relationship - got his rent reduced... moved out to get his own flat for his son to visit.

SickInTheBathLodger (Lodger3)
September 08 - November 08
Kept trying to sleep with me! Moved out suddenly.

MauritiusLodger
December 08 - Febuary 09
Didn't flush the loo. Wanted his internet girlfriend to stay over, so moved into a rented flat

AngelLodger
February 09 - May 09
Monday-Friday lodger, very chatty, was only doing a short contract

QuackersLodger
May 09 - October 09
DSS - got very behind with rent, and also took over the cleaning duties for a while doing a dismal job. Eventually fell pregnant and moved out, then gradually repaid the outstanding rent.

SleepyLodger
October 09 - December 09
I don't even remember his real name or what he looked like :rotfl:Never saw or heard from him at home. He moved out for Christmas and expected to be able to move back in afterwards, but I'd already filled the room.

ClumsyLodger
January 10 - August 10
Quiet as a mouse, polite and sweet. Never a moment's trouble. Moved out to live with her boyfriend and now has a baby daughter with him.

ChattyLodger
August 10 - September 10
Talked a lot! And cleared the garden of weeds. Moved out to be closer to work.

BigBruvLodger
September 10 - July 11
Nice enough bloke, but increased his alcohol consumption and suddenly flipped out about having to live with Tufter. Left under mutual agreement.

BigGunsLodger
May 11 - January 12
Smoked indoors and bothered the neighbours - evicted with rent arrears

JoannaLodger
July 11 - present
Good as gold - not a single complaint

___________________________________________________

For the last two months, I've been renting out a couple of bedrooms to lodgers. I've sung their praises on here before - two great guys, late 20's, full-time workers who always pay their rent and are becoming good mates.

However, Lodger 1 is starting to be a problem with noise - I think purely because he's fairly well off and has moved here from a detatched house where he never had to worry...

Now, me personally, I could sleep through anything - noise never has bothered me, as long as it's consistent. But I have always been very wary of neighbours (having lived in a few flats), and as a result I've had a chat with him a few times now:

- Having a party down in the basement on a weekend - I think we can get away with this, because it's two storeys below the bedrooms (in a large edwardian house) and is half-underground. However, one night at 4am he was singing (or shouting?) along to music at the top of his lungs and opening the back door.

- Twice when friends have been in the spare room (inc once when Lodger 2 was home), his mobile phone has been going off periodically throughout the night.

- I didn't get involved, but I suspect Lodger 2 had a word last week when he was still playing music quite loud in his room at 11:30pm.

Well, just now the doorbell rang - I was fast asleep but managed to stumble into a dressing gown - and my next door neighbour was looking very distressed, saying that the music was keeping her kids awake. I of course apologised straight away and knocked on Lodger 1's door - he instantly turned the music off.

But I'm really worried about this going into the future - I don't want to be the arsey landlord but I REALLY don't want to be the "neighbour from hell" I'm always hearing about!

Any suggestions on how to nip this in the bud? How do you teach "consideration for others" to a 28-yr-old businessman?

frank.hopper · 16 May 2008 at 3:15AM

Any suggestions on how to nip this in the bud? How do you teach "consideration for others" to a 28-yr-old businessman?

maybe!! eject the inconsiderate halfwit,

Honestly, if I had to share my home with strangers, I would rather sleep in a park.

IveSeenTheLight · 16 May 2008 at 3:57AM

I would just have a nice cosy chat and explain as you have done hear your concerns.
If he does have consideration, this might be enough.
You've already said that he instantly turned the music off when asked.
this may indicate that he is happy to be a good lodger (he did not get @rsey) and maybe did not realise the effects he was having.

Good communication can resolve a lot of things, if it doesn't then maybe you need to say that it is not working out (not sure on legality issues with lodgers. Does he have an AST?)

dopester · 16 May 2008 at 4:28AM

If it were me in that situation - I'd just try and be fair and ask them to keep noise to a minimum past a certain time of night - perhaps in writing - or via email (so it's datestamped and proven).

The sooner the better cause you sound like a person who is very fair, but if you leave it too long they might take advantage by having gotten used to being as noisy as they like. Good luck.

PasturesNew · 16 May 2008 at 5:13AM

Noise can travel in older houses up/down the chimneys. In my last house I had a cast iron fireplace in the living room and when next door had a rowdy party (which invariably included singing loudly to 1980s songs) it would reverberate through my house because of the chimneys. In my living room the effect of having a cast iron fireplace was that it acted like a giant speaker. Next door had his speakers alongside the fireplace on his side I suspect.

So although you might not be able to hear it from your room, maybe it's louder next door.

I'd have no idea what to say to the lodger about it to be honest ... but only yesterday evening I was wondering how you were getting on with your lodgers.

I am very affected by noise, especially noise I can't control. It causes me deep anxiety.

It's a work night for most and many people who are working like to go to bed early, so this may be affecting your neighbour's worklife and ability to function the next day. This 28 year old "businessman" is no more than a very naughty boy really.

Good luck.

poppysarah · 16 May 2008 at 8:10AM

Get rid.

Say it's not you its the neighbours.

Badger_Lady · 16 May 2008 at 8:21AM

Thanks for all your comments!

- He doesn't have an AST, both the lodgers are just on a one-month rolling houseshare agreement. However, he is a great guy to live with and he intends to stay a long time - he's just refurnished and decorated his room (with my permission!) and is just about settled down now - so I'd hate to have to evict him

Not least because I'd have to go back on Freecycle for replacement bed / wardrobe etc that I've only just given away! :rotfl:

- Good point about fireplaces - another advantage of the shared living room in the basement is that it doesn't have one (the chimney breast has been removed), so the noise really does contain quite well down there.

Now I've had a chance to wake up and clear my head a bit - do you think setting a "house rule" when they're both around would be reasonable action? I'm thinking:

"No music/TV/card games in bedrooms after 10pm (unless it's very quiet or on headphones). Reasonable noise is allowed in the living room all night."

poppysarah · 16 May 2008 at 8:24AM

You can't say no noise in the bedroom after 10pm. Well you can, but...

If he doesn't realise he's inconsierate noise wise you have to educate him. Usually telling someone twice does this. If they don't learn then they may never.

PasturesNew · 16 May 2008 at 9:03AM

Maybe 10pm is a little early. I'd probably tend towards 11pm on a work night.

Certainly the "all night" in the living room would give the impression it's all right to make as much noise in there as you like whenever you want.

I think the problem here is the definition of reasonable. Everybody has a different opinion... and when it's you sat round, a few sheets to the wind with your mates, laughing/joking/playing music .. the noise levels escalate as your senses dull.

What do the neighbours have in their basement, the other side of those walls? Perhaps you could find out from the neighbour what they could hear and where they were. To gain an understanding of how the noise travels.

I lived in an old house with wooden floorboards. Next door had theirs stripped and when their kids were running about it would bang all the way through my house too.

Different materials will transmit sound in ways that might not be obvious unless you're on the receiving end of it.

Also, now it's summer, people having a window open or not makes a big difference to how sound is travelling.

tbs624 · 16 May 2008 at 9:15AM

How well do you get on with the neighbours? It can be useful to put the music/TV etc on at the usual sound level and then actually go next door to hear how it sounds to them. As you say part of the problem will be that your lodger has been used to living in a detached property.

It's always difficult to balance noise and neighbours - some, as PNew says, are more susceptible to noise nuisance than others. We've had neighbours whose own kids could be heard screaming & shouting and thundering up and down on laminate flooring from 5.30 am in the morning onwards, but once their darlings were in bed at night the parents would complain if anyone else's noise could be heard by them from either of the neighbouring properties.

Rather than setting a house "rule" which tends to get adult backs up, can you not just sit over a glass of wine and discuss the issue as you have done here and jointly agree the way forward for more harmonious living? If he's decorated etc he'd not want to have to think about moving on again, anymore than you'd like to lose him as a lodger.

Alternatively point him towards Pastures New's recent post about DEFRA's noise mapping and tell him you don't want to be be listed

Edit: P New - hadn't seen your post immediately above. Had started a response to OP and then had to deal with work things before hitting send! Obviously on a similar wavelength on this one.

Snooze · 16 May 2008 at 9:22AM

I believe 11pm is the time before people can officially start complaining so set it at that. 10pm is taking the !!!! imho but your neighbours would probably like to see that.

I've had plenty of arguments with neighbours over noise in the past, usually targetted at me because I'm a hi-fi enthusiast and like listening to my music. You should be glad you've not got my neighbours - a couple of weeks ago they phoned me up at 8.20pm on a Friday night asking me to turn it down when were in the middle of a party (and the music wasn't even particularly loud - you could easily talk in the room). What !!!!ed me off about it is that they have 2 babies that are teething and scream their lungs off 24/7 but although it irritates the hell out of me I've never once complained about it even though they regularly keep me awake, but apparently this is okay because they're babies and there's nothing you can do about it so I'll just have to put up with it. :rolleyes:

Fine, you can put up with my music then, oh and by the way, I'm turning it up another notch. :rolleyes:

Rob

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Big Badger House (aka Noisy Lodger) HE'S GONE!

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