Neighbour’s tv pushing me over the edge

[Jocelin]

To be fair the TV is just the icing on the cake. I live in terraced housing and my next door neighbours are a bloody nightmare. Just imagine parties until all hours most weekends during the spring/summer where they end up getting drunk and either screaming, shouting smashing the house up, full on fighting, dog thrown outside to bark all day, appears unable to talk only shout to/at one another, feral teenage son who bounces his football off our fence, a few times it’s even hit my car, shouting, swearing, slamming doors etc.

Since moving here I’ve ended up on medication for anxiety as I cannot relax in my own home and it puts me on edge but the one and only saving grace I had was that I never could here my neighbours tv so on the nights when they were quiet I could at least watch my own tv in peace, well that has all changed. My husband walked to the shop a few weeks back and noticed the neighbours were fixing their tv to their chimney breast. He didn’t think anything of it and neither did I until later that evening when they had it on full blast and it’s been this way every day since. Full disclosure due to a condition I have my hearing is super sensitive but I have lived in other houses and had plenty of neighbours yet I’ve never had any issues with noise. The tv is that loud that the sound somehow manages to come through to our house which is odd as even though we are in terraced housing our living rooms aren’t adjoined as we have an entry between us to get down to our gardens. It’s that loud that I can distinguish between which programmes they watch and most of the time even with my tv I can make out word for word what people are saying. Unfortunately moving isn’t an option and my neighbours are or decent people so speaking to them isn’t an option. I spoke to them once about their 19 year oLd son as he was urinating in the entry which is pure disgusting. I was basically told to jog on.

Well of course you aren’t being unreasonable if the situation is how you’re describing it. But if you won’t confront them and you won’t move, you’re pretty much out of options apart from buying some noise cancelling headphones. You could try reporting them to the council but if you own the house and want to move you’ll need to declare that, it’s a long process and will likely get even worse once they’re spoken to. Why is moving not an option?

I think you would be wise to at least consider moving.even if it costs more ,your mh is suffering here.if you contact someone re the noise it may work or only stop it for a while

Moving isn’t an option as we are in a housing association house and can’t afford to go back into private rented since the prices have shot up in our area. I’m gutted really as we waited a long time to get a house and we were so positive about moving. We have spent a lot of money, well it is a lot to us, doing up the house and making it a lovely space for the dc and it has turned out to be a nightmare living here. The rest of the neighbours in our little street are lovely thankfully so no issues there.

We honestly can or afford to move. Both me and my dh work but changing jobs for more money to enable us to afford to move isn’t as easy as it sounds. We spent years private renting paying a lot of money but we could afford it then. Now a days though since the cost of living crisis it isn’t adorable as the price of rents have more than doubled where we live.

If they are also HA tenants can you not contact the HA and complain.
Or put in for a transfer?

Do the people next door own the house ? Do you have an option to complain to the landlord ? You can report noise to the council, and illegal behaviour to the police . What do the other neighbours say? Would they support you in a complaint.

You are being really passive, start taking some action.

Are they HA tenants too? If so, it might be worth having a chat with your housing officer, and your NDNs may well have caused noise nuisance previously. They might ask them to move their tv back to where it was before.

If that doesn't work, you could consider fitting acoustic insulation boards to the wall on that side, although they're about 1" thick and you'd have to refit the skirting board.

I would definitely mention the son pissing in shared spaces to the HA, that's just gross.

I'm also wondering if the previous tenants moved because of the neighbours. They sound vile.

They are HA tenants to. I know I can complain and have downloaded the noise app but I honestly can’t see it doing any good. I expect the HA to say it’s just general noise and part and parcel of living in terraced housing. Although I’ve lived in two other terraced houses over the years and never really heard a peep from my neighbours .

I agree I’ve been rather passive. I’m the type of person who doesn’t cope well with confrontation more so since my anxiety has gotten bad. But like I said I spoke to them about their son urinating in the entry and they did not care one bit so I can’t see how speaking to them about the volume of their tv will make one bit of difference.’in fact they’re the type of people who I’d you did speak to them about it tuned then turn it up even louder out of spite.

What about their neighbour on the other side. Could you get them involved about the noise issue? If you can hear the TV across the entry they will probably be able to hear it clearly in the adjoining room. Plus of course all the other antisocial activities.
Don't go straight in with a request for their help in complaining. Just drop mentions of the family into each conversation first to get a measure of their level of annoyance( or not ) and take it from there.

Contact the HA and explain the problem, tell them you will be keeping a noise and anti social behaviour diary. Write down dates, times, how long, what happened and its affect on you. Every time they are a bother to you. Keep it for about a month, photocopy it if its handwritten (so you've got a copy in case the HA "lose it") or do it online (as thats presumably a thing nowadays). Submit it to the HA.

Keep doing the behaviour diary and submit again if necessary. If still no joy contact your local Councillor or MP. x

They are HA tenants to. I know I can complain and have downloaded the noise app but I honestly can’t see it doing any good.

How would you know unless you've tried? You should be fighting tooth and nail to provide a peaceful living environment for your kids. Your neighbour's behaviour isn't reasonable on any level, and you must stand up for yourself.

Honestly, you take being passive to an unbelievable level. Your husband just goes along with doing nothing?

Zombie thread...

We are having the same situation but we own the house and making a complaint will go on our file if we decide to move in the future.