Noisy Neighbours

Minibiker

Minibiker

Minibiker

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2016
Posts
7,585
Location
Bristolian living in Swindon
Hi all

me and the missus have been having issues a lot lately with the neighbour in the flat above us, Constantly arguing, Loud music, Stamping and Banging around after 9:30pm, Slamming doors and the list goes on...

We complained to our housing people and they told us to talk to the neighbour and resolve it that way, Well.... countless times later and it carries on and the housing people dont seem to care, Im not bothered about me being woken up but we have a 20 month old son and hes getting woken up through the night because of them above, My wife has gone up banging on their door at 3am some day to tell them to be quiet but they dont listen..

At one point the gentlemen called my wife disgusting names and said he will smash my face in, However i've come across far scarier people than him so i dont care.... I said to the wife id ask you lot if you know about Soundproofing the walls with foamy things in the little mans bedroom so he can sleep without any issues,

Will they work or do i need to take this issue to the next level?

Thanks
 
You'll have to hope they move or move yourself. They don't seem like the type of people to be reasonable so what can you do?
 
BinnsY said:
This basically. Record it all, get a cheap Dictaphone or something and record it with time stamps so you have evidence then proceed via the proper channels. There is really no other way to go about it.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-can-i-do-about-nuisance-neighbours
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I'm just interested what you think this will achieve? The people sound like absolute cretins so are they really going to care or suddenly change their ways if they receive a letter from the council?

In this situation, moving is the only way to completely solve the problem. I had a similar issue (albeit not in a flat which I imagine would make it 10x worse) and I moved. I have not had to worry about loud music and anti-social behaviour since.
 
Adam said:
I'm just interested what you think this will achieve? The people sound like absolute cretins so are they really going to care or suddenly change their ways if they receive a letter from the council?

In this situation, moving is the only way to completely solve the problem. I had a similar issue (albeit not in a flat which I imagine would make it 10x worse) and I moved. I have not had to worry about loud music and anti-social behaviour since.
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in a block of flats so presumably they are disturbing more than just the OP here.

you really have 2 options here (given that you have already tried reasoning)

the correct channels as advised above, possibly get together with other residents, from what I can tell it takes ages but eventually will lead to them getting evicted if they don't improve.

or you go vigilante on them, this option obviously leaves you open legally. I would myself probably threaten someone in the first instance but not act upon it. :)
 
To answer your question OP. Sound proofing does work if done properly. However it's so expensive you would be financially better off by moving and the money saved on proper sound proofing would get you a better home to live in.

Sound can travel in so many different directions and ways. I have seen people spend £100K+ trying to sound proof a large hall yet don't do the ceiling or flooring and sound still escaped into the adjacent hall.

You could do it on the cheap however it won't be as effective or guaranteed to work. In your shoes I would seriously think about moving into better accommodation where you are less likely to live near such people or even maybe terraced housing or an apartment in a better area.
 
Adam said:
I'm just interested what you think this will achieve? The people sound like absolute cretins so are they really going to care or suddenly change their ways if they receive a letter from the council?
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We simply have no way of knowing that. It's entirely possible that a letter from the council might change there attitudes. Even if not it's all evidence to escalate the claim further should it end up needing to go to court. Ultimately if the OP wants to make any kind of formal complaint at all then recordings / diary entries will be required. Not having them will simply mean more weeks / months of waiting whilst the evidence is gathered.

Suggesting they move is really a drastic suggestion and even then it may not work. There is simply no guarantee that you wont move into a situation that's even worse, or even if it's ok 3 months may go by and new neighbours appear who start the same process over again. The only way to truly guarantee that wont happen is to move into a detached house. It stands to reason that if the OP currently lives in a flat, then a detached house likely wont meet their requirements at this point.

There's nothing to loose by taking the proper channels, and the beauty of the recordings is that you can do them whilst looking for another property should moving be the only option. The other plus side though, is that it may actually fix the issue rather than effectively doing nothing.
 
I'm sorry to read this. Not long ago we had the worst neighbours one can imagine. They rented the property next door for well over a year. It was a disturbing time for me personally. Fortunately, they have moved elsewhere and the property was sold to a quiet family.

The problem with noisy people and yes I am generalizing a little, is that they take offense to complaint. They don't like their lifestyle being criticised. They would rather feed their egos and believe what they are doing is right than to address your concern.

You can try the above mentioned steps, sadly I don't have anything to add other than just hope they move out soon. And if it is possible, perhaps find a different place yourself. I can't imagine a place being called home where you can't find peace and quiet. Good luck!
 
Saffy said:
I'm sorry to read this. Not long ago we had the worst neighbours one can imagine. They rented the property next door for well over a year. It was a disturbing time for me personally. Fortunately, they have moved elsewhere and the property was sold to a quiet family.

The problem with noisy people and yes I am generalizing a little, is that they take offense to complaint. They don't like their lifestyle being criticised. They would rather feed their egos and believe what they are doing is right than to address your concern.

You can try the above mentioned steps, sadly I don't have anything to add other than just hope they move out soon. And if it is possible, perhaps find a different place yourself. I can't imagine a place being called home where you can't find peace and quiet. Good luck!
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This is exactly my point, you can't reason with people like this. They won't suddenly change their lifestyle because you don't like it. They see it as criticism.

It's drastic but I stand by my comment that the only way to resolve it is for either you or them to move.

I experienced this myself when I bought my first house and in all honesty it probably wasn't that bad. The guy next door was on his own, lonely and used to play loud music. It used to wind me up as I knew it was there and I couldn't do anything about it. I asked him to turn it down, he didn't (if anything he turned it up). People who behave like this aren't reasonable and considerate people.
 
Adam said:
This is exactly my point, you can't reason with people like this. They won't suddenly change their lifestyle because you don't like it. They see it as criticism.

It's drastic but I stand by my comment that the only way to resolve it is for either you or them to move.

I experienced this myself when I bought my first house and in all honesty it probably wasn't that bad. The guy next door was on his own, lonely and used to play loud music. It used to wind me up as I knew it was there and I couldn't do anything about it. I asked him to turn it down, he didn't (if anything he turned it up). People who behave like this aren't reasonable and considerate people.
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I'm sorry you encountered that after buying your first house.

Like you said, they see it as a challenge and keep up their behaviour or make it worse just so they can wind you up instead of reflecting on their own actions and their consequences.

I think it's down to 1 thing. Poor parenting. Parents simply aren't teaching their kids the basic etiquette of life. And that could simply be because the parents themselves weren't taught anything. It's a sad reality.

These people exist and ideally they should have their own little communities where they can annoy one another and leave the rest of society to be as they wish. In peace and quiet.
 
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Approach reasonably to start with. Give them the opportunity to come to a compromise or adjust their habbits. They might not understand how much it effects you. As others have said, take a recording. Show this to them so they can see just how disruptive it is to your family. They might actually be quite unaware of the effect its having on you.

Explain that they are keeping your child awake and its becoming hard to deal with. Sleepless nights are hard for anyone to manage. If they seem to "not care" and decide to ignore your reasonable request then change approach.

I personally would provide them a swift serving of the "same medicine".

EVERYONE has a button. Literally everyone. Learn how to push theirs and upset their lifestyle. I guarantee they will soon stop once they experience the same lack of consideration. No one wants to live in a negative environment.

Failing that - As others have mentioned, if they don't change the only real option is to move.
 
DiAry with recordings and the council noise control people it will take time but it works, better still if you can get the other surrounding flats on side as weight of complaints will help. Threats of violence and venal abuse should be reported to the police and added to the diary.
 
Record and timeline everything.

formal letter to them
formal letter to lease agent etc a week later
formal letter to them

Formal letter to council and police all evidence back.

Or

Hire people and scare with violence.
 
Minibiker said:
Hi all

me and the missus have been having issues a lot lately with the neighbour in the flat above us, Constantly arguing, Loud music, Stamping and Banging around after 9:30pm, Slamming doors and the list goes on...


Thanks
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:(

Just out of interest, what area of this "delightful" town are you in?
 
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