To wonder what the fuck is going on in the flat upstairs?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

We have lived in a small block of flats for years. The same amount of time as the man on the top floor. About two years ago, his partner moved in with him. Very nice chap, friendly, helpful with things like the bins. He is still living there. But over the past 6-8 months there seem to be more and more people living there - yesterday there were letters on the stairs for five people at the flat, none of whom are the original chap and his partner.

The other thing is that it has become a lot more noisy. There is music playing at all hours, people going in and out all the time. The family directly underneath are going mad with the noise, and we can hear it in the stairwell.

We are not there all the time, and the DDs (who are 20 and 18) often stay there alone at weekends. And I am a bit nervous about them being there on their own with all of these random men, whom we don’t know at all, coming in and out.

Any idea what is going on, and what we can do re the noise? He has said he will look into getting carpets fitted, but seems to think we should just suck up the noise. No-one has directly asked who all of these random men are, who seem to be living there, either.

How big is the flat ie how many bedrooms? Could he be sub-letting?

Do you know if the original chap rents the flat or does he own it?

It’s a three bedroom flat and he owns it. He is supposed to ask permission of the management company if he wants to rent out rooms or the flat in its entirety.

First instance, speak to the owner?

Is he vulnerable in any way? Gangs have been known to 'cuckoo' flats and use them as a base for dealing drugs. Having said that its much more likely to be unauthorised sub-letting.

Since you know him and say he's nice chap I would say that step one would be asking who these people are. You don't have a right to snoop so I would ask nicely and try and make it sound casual. If you get nowhere with this then I would go to the owner of the building

The serious reply is you should maybe speak with the landlord / housing association or whoever if you're worried and let them visit and deal with whatever they find.

The non-serious reply is what I had as an immediate mental image when I read your post. The Irish have moved in.

Oh God now I'm really laughing.

Landlord knocks at the door "Hello.. hello anyone at home?"

Instantaneous and eternal line of drummers and dancers spews out to greet him Cannot stop laughing now.

Sorry I'm all done now.

AirB&B?
Craigslist subletting?
Are you sure the original person is even still living there?

Speaking to him directly and explaining they're distributing you might help. And he might tell you why there's more people there. It's not unheard of for people to share rooms to reduce rent in expensive places.

Do you ask them to turn it down at the time? If they don't oblige, then tell him that when he's away, there's a LOT of noise, and ask him o keep his friends in check. If he's not interested in dealing wwith it, then contact the management company. You're entitled to quiet enjoyment of your home and you're not getting it.

Whose dds are there? His?

There's been a big rise in Air BnBs being used as pop-up brothels...

Also you could make a note of the names on mail for the flat and do a Google search to see if you can find out more.

Perhaps he's moved to his girlfriend's and is subletting.

Everyone's upstairs neighbours

They’re my DDs, not his. And while his partner is lovely, he is not - he is very difficult. The people who live underneath him complain all the time - they go and ring the bell at 2.00 am and ask him to turn the music down. They have asked him to do more re soundproofing, like put down carpets (which he is supposed to have under the terms of the lease). It is complicated in that we all own a share of the freehold and are shareholders in the management company - so essentially we run ourselves.

He - and his partner are definitely still living there, but it seems that at least another five people are as well. The dynamics for the whole thing seem odd.

The brothel thing had crossed my mind. And possibly involving illegal immigrants?

Air B&B I'd bet

If it's a three bedroom flat and the rooms are big enough for doubles you could have three couples living there I guess. A brothel seems unlikely if they are registering mail to the address, I'd imagine he is renting out his spare rooms .

Is he a nice chap and friendly or is he difficult? It's hard to be both.

Was thinking the same Sunonthepatio

The difficult man is the original occupant. The friendly nice chap is his partner who moved in two years ago. The rest are randoms.

Thank you for clarifying that, Arpafeelie. I thought I had made myself clear, but obviously not. Owner of flat is difficult. His partner is nice, although currently pissing off the other residents by storing all of his catering equipment under the stairs. This doesn’t worry us though as we never use the cupboard.

Ah yes, reading it back it makes sense now!! In our old flat we had a similar situation however the original tenant was a young girl and it was people taking advantage of her having her own place. It all got pretty messy in the end.

I reckon if he's got 2 spare rooms he just rents them out. (Certainly if they've been there long enough to have post sent to that address).