Local Authority Dictating Home Decor

[geegee888]

The local authority for the city where I own a rental property has just introduced a new rule that the entire property has to be carpetted, for noise reasons. Not just mine, all flats and houses with 3 or more unrelated occupants.

I was wondering whether anyone considers this a good idea or whether the prevailing view is that its a breach of privacy? My tenants love their sanded wooden floors, they are easy to keep clean and hard wearing and practical, and suit the style and age of the property.

(this is on top of mains smoke alarms, co monitors, intumscent door seals, 30 minute fire resistant self closing doors, cookers chained to walls in case of toppling, annual inspections, fire safety action plans, fire extinguishers and fire blankets, special locks that cannot be locked from the inside in case of fire, only allowed to use a lease approved by the local authority, etc..

I don't know how practical it would be, but I think it should be assessed individually as and when noise problems occur.

We lived below a man with wood flooring and we never knew until he invited my mum to show her his flat, and he had people in and out of his flat all the time - The main noise complaints came from him doing stupid things like knocking his bathroom through at midnight, not his flooring.

Would carpetting under the flooring not solve it? My neighbour had this is her living room (there was a reason, I just can't remember it) and it was fine.

Haven't read the replies but Just wanted to say that I think it's a great idea. We live in a ground floor flat and the upstairs flats floorboards are so bad. Not only can you hear them clomping around their floorboards also squeak. At least these folk are out working all day so I get a break (I'm on mat leave). The last couple had 2 kids and she was a sahm and when the eldest was in her baby walker there was such a noise. I'm sure that both couples are really nice but we don't speak. I'm sure that they must get annoyed with us too when our babies screaming.

I hope it isn't just housing association flats this is for and is for privately owned as well.

Just to add as well, our upstairs neighbours don't have insulation under their flooring.

Carpeted rooms are a requirement where i live too. There are some maisonettes not far from me which are housing authority and i know a woman who lives in one of them. She has had trouble with noisy neighbours. She said when they all had wooden floors the noisy family above used to play what she thought was skittles every night, with the balls rolling along and then knocking down skittles. They all had to have carpet so the noisy ones just turned up their telly and stereo! Weirdos.