A question for you legal buffs – Person who lives below me

[KaHn]

Hi All,

I am having a bit of a problem with the guy who lives below me, every few days for the past week and a bit he has been banging on my door between the hours of 5:30am - 7am then running back down stairs and locking the front door.

Today I caught him in the act and as he ran down the stairs. What legal standings do I have to stop this as it's becoming annoying.

I wouldn't have a problem with this if it was due to me making noise but as I have stated its in the hours of me being in bed! And when I try to talk to him he just locks his door and ignores me.

Apart from nuking him from orbit or punching him in the ovaries what can people suggest, I am going to start logging all of this from today and was planning a trip down to the local police station at the weekend.

So to OcUK what can you suggest?

Cheers

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Get up and bang his door at 3am, or whenever he is in bed, then run up to your gaf and lock the door.

Yeah but that starts to put me in the wrong, which is something I would like to avoid, aswell as punching him in the face etc etc.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

In all seriousness, note it all down and then try the police, though there's not an awful lot which can be done really.

Thats what i'm worried about, I am going to talk to the landlord today (not sure if he owns more than one flat in the building), but I think he is the reason the previous tennant left.

He seems to think infuriating people will get them to move, but I have to live here for a year now (contract) so am going to see who can become the grumpy man.

Also the banging doesn't really bother me, its the fact that he is doing it and running away.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Is he nuts?

He's late 30's early 40's I would guess.

Not nuts, he did however call me unsociable because I have to get up for work in the morning.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Sounds like he's escaped from the mental home.

Any local to you?

Not sure just moved in here, but he was here before me.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

If it were me id stay awake one morning and actually confront him as he does it

Like I said i confronted him this morning and he ran off, I think this is beyond talking although I will try again when I get in from work tonight, I do not want to start swinging for people as it always leads to more problems.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Surely he's not just doing it for the craic. Have you provoked him in some way?

Apart from gettin up at 7am, nothing that I am aware of. He complained at me for making noise when I first moved in (while getting ready for work), since then I have tried being quite and he has never banged on the door while I have been awake since then, always when I am asleep so its not retaliation for me being noisey as I'm not even awake!

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Wireless webcam outside your door (out of reach?)
PC connected, and recording 24/7 2fps
should be sufficient to catch him in the act.
put a nice sign on the door saying it is covered by cctv.

Will look at that when I move my PC in at the weekend.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Unless the noise is made between 11pm and 7am (which in your case it is) you can report him for noise pollution!

BB x

iirc, thats only excessive noise over a certian level, I have emailed the landlord this morning, (I deal with him directly), I will look at the council but I will start logging it from now.

tbh i think he is just a ****, the previous tennant was a young girl(student) who I think he bullied out early (as it was a random time of the year she left).

If I wasn't in such a rush to sort out a flat out I think I would have asked a few more questions but its something you just don't expect.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

BB x

Your problem seems exactally the same as mine (you never lived in aberdeen have you? hehe) I will get on to the council today.

Cheers.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

is it possible that there's other noise disturbing him at that time and he thinks it's you?
although then i wouldnt have thought he'd run away after knocking, does just sound like a prat

I am going to talk to the person who lives next door to me tonight (we live flat 1 right and 1 left ) so when he bangs on my door it must wake him aswell.

Its just annoying me that he has a problem and wants to act childish, I dont want to resort to turning speakers up etc.

Got this from the aberdeen council website

http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/acci/web/files/HousingAdvice/Practitioners_Helpline.pdf

giving it a call now.

Cheers for your advice people will let you know how it unfolds.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Just spoke to the anti social behaviour team and they have told me to contact to police.....

Will go in after work and get them to log down my first complaint and take it from there.

Will ring the landlord at dinner time if he hasn't contacted me via email.

I can see this being a right **** on

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

I had a similar problem in my last place, had some scallywags living upstairs & they must have lost keys to the communal entrace so just used to ring everyones buzzer in the early hours. They also played ***** music really loud at all hours. Anyway we got in touch with the council who sent them some threating letters, if there is no improvement the council can then contact the landlord of the premise so the landlord is liable.

The people in my flats ended up moving on once the landlord got contacted as it was found out they were dealing from the flat.

Its nothing that bad tho, the flat I live in is perfect, quiet, good location, nice flat to live in.

The people above me make noise walking around, shutting doors etc, but its something I knew I could put up with when I moved in to the flat.

Bar putting rugs and sound proofing down everywhere (which in that case it should be him doing it to the ceiling surely?) I am at a lost as what will actually work.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

BB x

Yeah will keep a log now, he seems like a true nobber so I don't think he would have made a complaint yet otherwise he wouldn't be banging on my door as that will just hurt his case.

The words the Anti-Social behavior team used were "I have no powers to help as this is a case of breach of peace, you will have to get in touch with the police, have no contact with the person in question and let the police take care of it."

Will be speaking to the landlord before talking to the police. Unless he doesn't answer his phone

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

It was me ha ha. I come knocking on your door because you snore so loudly it wakes my pet chimp.

wow funny

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Hmm to be honest if it had got to this stage of frequency I would be looking at having a quiet word with the bloke,... surely you must be able to catch him at some point. While I wouldn't touch him physically for obvious reasons, i'd definately throw a few quiet threats his way regarding things that might start happening to his gaffe if he doesn't stop the knocking. In fact for putting up with it for this long you must have the patience of a bloody saint... i'd have snapped long ago. I mean wtf, someone banging on your door then running away, and in his late 30's too, ridiculous.

Not the patience of a saint I just dont get annoyed by noise, I can sleep through pretty much anything and for intial couple of days i didnt think he was banging on my door, this is the first weekend i've been here for the past 2 so I will see if he does anything this saturday morning, if he does then I will really be annoyed.

For the size of the bloke comments, he runs away when i confront him so does that say anything? As I have said I DO NOT want this to become violent or petty as I will still have to live here, so little jokes will just escalate.

I have contacted the land lord (he only owns my flat in the building) and he is going to see if there is anything he can do or what the other guy thinks the problem is.

I will make a complaint at the police station tonight so something will be on record and start logging things and talk to the flat next to mine to see if he can comment on anything.

Hopefully this won't go on for much longer!

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Andrew I know what it must be like living in the bottom floor flat, but like I have said I do try and keep quiet, I am up here on my own so going out is limited and since I work pretty hard I am normally in bed by 10 or 11pm, I don't walk around my flat with shoes on as i know that will make lots of noise.

I do really think his problem is that I have to get up for work.

looks as if you cannot or are not willing to do so

Sonny, I have a simple caution on my criminal record for stopping a fight between my girlfriend some women and her son. This involved blows and all were cautioned as a result.

This means any direct physical attacks from me may land me with a full criminal record which is something I do not want , hence the peaceful solution.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

I would have gone downstairs and knocked the crap out of his front door and shouted until he answered it, and then demanded to know what the **** he was playing at.

I had to goto work

Yes pretty much any noise tbh, I can sleep with kids crying, loud music, random bangs. The noise isnt the problem its the reason behind it which is annoying me!

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

Set fire to his gaff, after sticking a copy of "The boy who cried wolf" on your door.

He lives underneath me, that will be a bit of an upgrade on the heating.

KaHn

 

[KaHn]

It is a strange one. Did you ever talk to the chap before the banging started?

On my second week day in the flat, he banged on my door and I opened, he told me I was making too many banging noises, I asked him what were they? He told me I was being unsociable, I told him I wasn't trying to be noisey but this is the time I have to get up for work so theres nothing I can do.

They were no more bangings after that untill about 1 or 2 weeks ago.

I tried talking to him today and he ran off like I said, I have been informed by the Anti-Social Behavior people not to contact him again and just contact the police, which I will do on the way home tonight.

KaHn