To be so fucking sick of living according to my neighbours routine ?!

[MrsA2015]

End of Terrace Victorian Victorian property converted into two flats, I’m on ground floor. Upstairs has 3 children 1-11 the noise from that is a whole other thread.

What’s really getting to be at the moment is the constant praying/chanting/pastor sessions (online) at 11pm on the dot since Easter Sunday. Frigging sick and tired of listening to it and the 6:45am Sunday wake up and what I’m guessing is pre-church family LOUD prayer session, then 20min of shrieking kids In the shared hall way that’s backed into my bedroom.

It’s constant and relentless, droning monotone voices, deliverance from the depths of hell? They’ll need saving from the depths of my damn shredded nerves before that.

I’m so so tired.

Every Saturday night I’m kept awake by late night cooking and filled with dread as I count down the hours to following morning.

39+4 weeks pregnant and at my wits end.

Yes I’ve spoken to them.
Yes I’ve reported.
Yes I’ve BEGGED for some peace.
No can’t move out.
No have nowhere else to stay.

Yes I’m crying desperately as I’m petrified already of the sleep deprivation to come coupled with knowing I’ve got these inconsiderate arseholes upstairs.

Where do you live? I'm happy to bring the coven over for some very loud occult rituals every Saturday starting at midnight and going on to the early hours. Our current country venue is much too quiet.

Dh already resorts to sleeping in openplan kitchen/living area on the only sofa we have , he can’t afford to lose too much sleep due to nature of his job.

I’d make all the racket I could but it’d be in vain as they literally don’t seem to give a shit.

I’ve actively heard the kids being called to “nap” at 5:00 in the afternoon. Explains why they’re up all bloody night too. Again, another thread for another rant.

Escalate it within the council - given that their letters aren't achieving anything, write to the head of department to ask when they are going to take enforcement action. If necessary use the complaints system and take it to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Burn a pentagram onto the lawn.
Then blame them for upsetting Satan

@ShesMadeATwatOfMePam “Start playing some very loud heavy thrash metal..... fight fire with fire” I like what you did there 😁

Why cant you move OP? I would do anything to move from this.

When I had ex nightmare noisy neighbours from hell I tried all the be nice stuff, in the end I went away for a weekend, pushed my TV against the wall, left it on loud and ‘forgot’ to turn it off as I left the house. 3 nights and 2 days of that worked a treat.

Council response has been horrific. If you know about S.E London staff attitudes that ought to explain it, it falls on deaf ears and I get fobbed off with the “short staff due to covid” or “it’s their agent you need to deal with as it’s private via temporary accommodation”.

The noise logs are a joke, the officers don’t take it seriously and the ombudsman took 6 months to address a single issue.

I think I’ve started to develop some kind of hypersensitivity to noise and pre-anxiety about having anxiety because I know I’ll never experience peace.

Rambling now.

Have run a bath and dumped Epsom salts in to try and “relax”

Can you apply for an exchange or look at buying a Shared Ownership in time?

Sorry if that is no help.

Why can't you move OP?

Ok this is where it is good that you are both council tenants.

1. Write (another) letter/email. Address it to your housing officer. Send a copy to the chief exec of the council. In the letter, use the phrase anti social behaviour a lot. Detail in it all the other times you have contacted the council ab9ut this issue and clarify that nothing has changed. Say in the letter that if they fail to act on what is clearly a breach of tenancy on the neighbours part you will escalate the complaint to the local MP and then the Housing Ombudsmen.

1. Download the Noise App. It's linked to local councils and housing associations. Use it to record every single noise disturbance between 9pm and 9am.

1. Contact environmental health and report your neighbours for disturbance at 11pm. I've known people in the past get sent proper equipment to record noise.

1. Keep on at the council. In two weeks time, call and ask on the status of your complaint. If in 4 weeks you've not heard anything, write to the MP. Then the Ombudsman after that.

Has it got worse since Lockdown? As I see in your post that it started at Easter which was of course when all hell broke loose and places of worship were closed.

I wonder if it could possibly be a temporary thing whilst churches/Mosques etc are closed or perhaps they are shielding/vulnerable and not able to get out to worship.

The only other thing I could think of is do you know where they worship?

Might it be worth having a quiet word with their religious elders explaining the impact it is having on you and ask if they can intercede on your behalf.

Worth a try a this point surely?

Are they overcrowded? Contact the council again.
I agree with Bernadette.

ShesMadeATwatOfMePam “Start playing some very loud heavy thrash metal..... fight fire with fire” I like what you did there 😁

Seems to be a good song to start with

You wrote that you have started to 'develop some kind of hypersensitivity to noise and pre-anxiety about having anxiety.' Both these observations show that your thoughts about the situation are causing mental stress. You can't change the noise (for now) but you can work on how you internally manage your thoughts about the noise/situation.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/hyperacusis/

I guess there's two options. Start keeping notes, times and dates and also record the noise on your phone then contact the Council

Failing that, go and buy Prodigy, Greatest Hits. Firestarter and Smack My Bitch Up will certainly get you noticed

We rented on the top floor of a Victorian terrace for a good 18 mths. Neighbour below was tone death, not sure why she used a phone. Whoever she was talking to could have heard her from miles away

Sounds like they are running a place of worship in a private residence. This would be in violation of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855. Report them to the Council.

Op, great advice here but you MUST get A letter from your doctor about the stress the disturbance is causing you.
I had to get one with evil selfish unregistered hmo and evil ll next door.
Having a docs letter, easy to get, worked wonders with the council.

I also got my mp involved..

However, I also couldn't resist the loud music back op. Sometimes people need to know what it's like.. Disturb them...

If you are both council tenants then I think contacting them is the first port of call. This has to be in breach of their tenancy agreement.

Can’t move for various reason, also why the hell shout I uproot my life because of them! Another thing that seems so unfair, believe me I’ve thought of it plenty of times.

They’re not overcrowded just bloody inconsiderate, they have 3 bedrooms and a full sized living room but clearly all congregate and have the inability to tell their kids to play in their rooms for a fraction of a second before the arse end of dawn.

I really wouldn’t know which church/parish/community hall to contact as there’s one almost at the end of each road where we are.

During the heatwave the mum did say she was praying for me as I looked like I was struggling and I couldn’t even bring myself to say “please DONT pray”.

We’re not on hostile or “bad terms” as such more of a they’re oblivious and seemingly unaffected by any action I’ve taken.

Go to see a solicitor. Get them to write a very strongly worded letter threatening nuisance against the tenants. Also they can copy this to the council reminding them of their legal obligations to you (statutory nuisance) and put them on notice that you consider this a breach of the lease and would be within your rights to terminate (i.e. move out). This type of noise is in no way normal and may well constitute a Statutory nuisance under the environmental protection act 1990 which is illegal. In fact your best option might be to get out of the lease on this basis.

I feel your pain. I experience this daily but with Arabic music. Plus back doors slamming constantly and screeching on mobile in garden so loud the next street can hear lol Put some music on loud and go for a walk. The council won't help they arnt interested. Buy some earplugs also to help drown out some of the noise. Scooter is good music to play loud!!

Could you try a different technique?

Are they Christians? Speak to them once again but this time drop in that you can see from their behaviour christians are all talk and don’t seem to practice what they preach, add that it’s not the religion for you based on that. Lay it on as thick as you like “I considered getting involved in a church but your behaviour has shown me it’s not for me”

If they’re not Christians find out if their religion encourages converting people too and use it against them still.

Social services? Kids shouldn’t be up at 11.

I’ve had years of drs letters, letters to MP/ombudsman. Therapy sessions, anything to do with contacting council. Bar shelling out for a solicitor to do something (don’t know what but DH has been looking into things”. I’ve emailed and sent letters to all ports of call suggested already.

My ceiling looks like a dart board for all the jabbing with an umbrella I’ve been doing , so now I’ll be confined to bed with a newborn looking at a horrible ceiling too. least of my worries eh