Noisy upstairs neighbour...what can i do?

[Coffeeebean]

Hi all

Looking for some advice really as im not sure where i stand on this

I have just moved into a flat and having problems with our upstairs neighbour

I understand when living in a flat you need to be tolerant of noise to a degree but I can hear EVERYTHING

As far as i can tell they have entirely wooden floors and no carpets. They play music all day everyday and have the tv on loudly all evening (so loud we can hear it over our tv)

I wfh and i can hear the music even with my headset on/on a call

I can hear every footstep, their alarm wakes me up in the morning, i can hear them on their work calls and even when they go to the toilet!

I have tried approaching this (very politely) just to ask if they would mind turning the music down slightly during work hours

Was met with a lot of hostility, 'i have the right to play music etc etc and since then nothing has changed'

I have looked at the conditions of the lease - whilst it recommends that living areas are carpeted for sound proofing it isnt a requirement.

I dont know what else i can do. Its driving me mad and we have only been here a week.

Any advice?

I feel for you! I couldn't cope with that.

years ago I lived in a flat where it sounded like they were moving heavy furniture around at 3 am every morning. They seemed like 'normal ' people , said they weren't & said they couldn't hear it. It was in a normal residential area, never did get to the bottom of that one!

I thought there were laws now that upstairs flats had to be of a specific range of flooring? & I don't think it was only new builds. Worth seeing if you can find anything. Try your council.

As for the music & TV, again isn't it a law/by law tgat it can only be x decibels?

Basically look at jaws covering flats rather than just your agreement.

is upstairs owned, rented or SH?

go up through the authorities.

You're not going to be able to do enough to sound proof it from your flat, the cost woukd be ridiculous. But you could try a lot more sift furnishings in yours to try to absorb the music & TV noise.

Did you tell them you could hear them using the toilet?? That mught embarrass them into soundproofing the bathroom.

i can hear my make tall, mud 70's neighbour going for a wee he pees like a race horse, except niw, with age, he stops & starts a lot & it takes ages. I can't hear anything else through the walls. I hear their tv when the windows/doors are open & him bellowing over the top of it! 🙄🤣

best of luck getting it sorted!!

I feel for you. We had similar issues when we were a ground floor flat (I actually could hear upstairs going to the toilet it was awful). If it helps you aren’t alone I’m sure many people in the U.K. have this problem! Hopefully someone will be along soon with some helpful advice xx

Do you own the flat or do you rent?

Thanks for the replies - we own the flat ( as does everyone in the building, not allowed to rent them out)

Just had to take myself out for a walk because their tv is louder than ever and im hormonal and about to lose it!

Can you invite them down to your flat so they can hear how loud their tv is etc? They might not realise how much noise is carrying down to you.

It might sound immature but I’d turn my tv up really loudly. At the moment they’re not moderating their noise because they don’t know how much it carries. If they’re being disturbed by you then they might realise how noisy they are being.

but at the end of the day it is unfortunately one of the perils of a ground floor flat.

I 100% would do this....

But im first floor and would feel awful for my downstairs neighbour

Sounds like it’s not really the upstairs neighbours fault. If you can hear work calls then that’s just talking - sounds like it’s just a building where noise travels.

how long is the lease? Could you negotiate with the landlord to leave soon?

If you can hear them on work calls, their alarm and going to loo, it just sounds like terrible sound proofing. These things aren’t them making a huge noise.

When upstairs flats have hard floors and a gap underneath it really amplifies sound into the flat below.

What I would do first is check the general sound proofing regulations as well as your building regs, remembering the rules for new builds and old flats is different.

Assuming they don’t have to do anything legally, I would research sound proofing costs - from carpets with a rubber underlay (cheap ish) to redoing the soundproofing under a hard wooden floor (expensive, in part because you have to rip up and replace much of the floor).

I think you are going to have to offer to pay towards sound proofing - so once you know what you are willing to contribute ask them down to hear what it’s like, and see if they are willing to carpet their flat if you paid half or whatever.

What can you do OP? Not much is what I think. They are clearly horrible and inconsiderate- fancy being so hostile and rude when you expressed your problem with their noise. So it doesn’t look like they are going to co-operate. But there is also clear poor sound insulation in the building. You could see a solicitor to get an opinion on the matter generally- but I think if you have such uncooperative neighbours I’m not sure you’ll get a solution.

The alternative is to start planning to move, ie sell and cut your losses.

ps. I was just offering my practical opinion. But I am also really sorry about the position you find yourself in. No wonder you are so upset. I think when you buy a flat it’s very difficult to judge these things in advance. Noisy neighbours or poor soundproofing are quite hard to assess before purchasing. A friend of mine said to me once always buy a flat that’s on the top floor. But even then of you could still have noise issues even then … it’s like Russian roulette.

Tbh I had huge problems with my old downstairs neighbours who came to my door (three of them!) the day we moved in to complain about the noise. I mean, we were moving in and building beds etc?

Then it was every other day they were at my door because the guy worked nightshift.

But I genuinely wasn't doing anything abnormal. My kids would be in socks / slippers, being told not to stomp / run, genuinely as courteous as possible but still they complained. I'd watch the TV with subtitles just to save them coming to my door!

Then I realised I could literally hear everything too. Conversations. Tv. Music. Phonecalls. I would always know when she was about to hoover because I could literally hear her get it out of the cupboard and could hear THE PLUG GOING INTO THE WALL just before it started.

It's just the joys of living in shitty flats.

They moved out very quickly and we got new neighbours who are very noisy too but lovely. We manage to remain friendly despite the fact we can hear each other's children, washing machines, arguments, alarm clocks, "bed creaking" and toileting. It is what it is... but I do dream of being able to afford a house one day.