Am I a bad neighbour? :/

[GM99]

I have recently bought a top floor flat in a victorian conversion in London. When I moved in, the previous owners left me a lovely note with really useful information including that the original floorboards were still in tact if I wanted to rip the carpet up. There was carpet in the hallway, on the stairs, on the landing and in the study. The carpet was pretty gross so I made the decision to have the floorboards reclaimed and someone came to rip out the carpets.

In the meantime, I met the neighbours downstairs - a couple in their 30s, no kids, he works from home full time and she works in an office full time. I've only had conversations with him. He's taken a couple of parcels in for me while I have been at work. He came across fairly relaxed and relatively friendly but I noticed he kept asking questions about what I was planning to do with the flat...which I did find a bit annoying because I got the feeling he was only talking to me to see, basically, how annoying a neighbour I was going to be rather than genuinely being friendly. He told me that the previous owners were a couple with a son with learning difficulties and the son used to bang and stamp really loudly on the floor which they found very difficult so they liaised with the neighbours who agreed to get carpet and some kind of soundproofing. I only found this out after getting the carpets ripped out. I asked him if I was noisy and he was like 'oh no no, everything is fine'. I said I didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable and that he should let me know if there were any issues.

Anyway, this morning I got a text message from him and his partner asking me to come round for drinks to discuss the flooring as they said they had noticed that it was much more noisy since I ripped the carpet out. I've agreed to go over but I'm not sure how I feel about the whole situation.

Firstly, I'm single, in my late 30s and live by myself and live a quiet lifestyle. I'm not running around having a rave every night so even though I understand they can probably hear me when I'm walking around, is it unreasonable of them to start interfering in how I decide to go my flat up - ie getting the floorboards reclaimed? What is a reasonable amount of noise for them to deal with? Given the nature of the flats and how they have been built, it's highly doubtful that all noise can be eliminated. I'm concerned they are going to try and persuade me into getting soundproofing which I can't afford. I work from home 2-3 days a week. I can understand it may have been a bit noisy recently as I have just moved in and have been getting people over to provide quotes on flooring, painting and decorating etc.

Any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated :)

I have lived in a a number of new built flats - and they all had wooden floors, and it was generally fine.
i have also lived in a Victorian conversion, and you could hear everything. Even with carpet.

I lived in the converted ballroom apartment (top floor) of a 1830’s Queen Anne and the owner lived in the floor below us.

We had to get quality rugs for high traffic areas and it was never an issue. I also always wore thick wool socks because it was a drafty, cold mansion!

get some good rugs and and wear socks.

enjoy your nice floors!

I've just spent a miserable four days in my mum's flat where the new owners , above, have taken up their carpet.

I could here everything, even which tv channel that they were watching.

Ah OK. So it's just another MN thread where everyone lives in London 😅 I owned a flat that was freehold, but I'm a rare MN northerner (or so it seems)

Agree with others.
Floor boards only in a flat are going to be noisy to those who live below.

Maybe your neighbours could insulate their ceiling. It would stop their heating rising to your flat too. ( heat rises ). Maybe you could suggest that and they would save on their heating bill aswell.

Hi everyone - thank you very much for your thoughts.

To clarify, the flat is leasehold (not freehold) and there isn't anything in the lease about flooring.

I viewed a lot of similar flats in this area before finally getting an offer accepted on this one and they all had wooden flooring so I (perhaps naively?) didn't forsee this being an issue.

I will speak to them tomorrow and we can hopefully come up with a compromise - I don't want them to be unhappy and/or uncomfortable in their own home.

I do wear slippers! And I don't walk around that much so for them to say it is an issue then the sound must really travel!

as a PP has suggested, previous owners bad neighbours in suggesting you remove carpets, knowing it would cause problems - but then again, common sense would dictate that wooden floors when you have someone below you are going to be a nuisance.

It’s not a London thing, it’s generally an England thing. With some exceptions.

I'd like to think I'm fairly quiet! But as others have said - I don't know how badly the sound travels x

I live in a block of flats where there are no carpets in any of them, they are all rented and we aren't allowed to change the floors etc, they are wood. Never been an issue. Never received a complaint from those below and never had ti complain about those above... Yes, sometimes you hear people, but it's not excessive or distracting, it's a non-issue, and I have a child who has lived here since birth.

As long as you are allowed to have the wood flooring, keep it. You are a single person FFS! You can't be making that much noise, they are probably overly sensitive about it and expect to never hear a single thing. I wouldn't meet with them.

Ok. I've bought and sold 6 properties (starting with a flat) and they were all freehold, but all within the same borough. So maybe it's a North/South thing. Or it could just be that my view is skewed.

Thank you. I'm pretty sure I don't make that much noise. I'm a highly anxious person (lol) so am very self aware! I'm also aware of the fact that I live in a built up area so noise is inevitable. I have heard noises from the adjoining flats and it doesn't bother me!

We live in a Victorian house , approx 1860. We had to lift a floor board due to an escapee hamster. There was zero insulation and lots and lots of rubble. We don’t hear talking particularly but if my son drops something….. well its loud.

Were all six flats?

My understanding is that generally purpose built flats will be leasehold, often conversions may have a share of the freehold.

I lived in a flat once whee the upstairs neighbours had wooden flooring and I could hear absolutely everything, even his wee going in the toilet, was gross

No, just the first was a flat. I obviously just got lucky!

I have lived in a Victorian conversion with a single man above and it was hell. You think you aren't making noise but they can hear EVERYTHING including your quiet farts.
The previous owner may have fallen out with them which is why she said to rip up the carpet.

You can buy thick underlay on eBay for cheap and thick carpet

Unless you want serious issues with your neighbours just do it and go round for drinks maybe they will offer to pay for some.

ah right, well it’s generally only flats that are leasehold. That’s what I meant.

Rugs, slippers, don't do anything the noise travels and it's not nice it drives people insane.
My old neighbour caused me serious mental health issues including feeling suicidal because of the noise and he would stamp purposely really nasty man.
Lucky I came into money and brought my house.

Don't do the above to your neighbours I'm sure they are not bad people

You live in a block of flats.
A ‘block’ of flats will have been sound and fire proofed when built.

A Victorian conversion like OPs won’t.

Oops.
that was for the poster in the block of flats
Obviously!

A ‘block’ of flats will have been sound and fire proofed when built.

Hmm maybe block is the wrong word. There are three flats above a shop in London. I'm in the middle.

Im sorry to hear about your experience.

I would have a chat with your local fire brigade about your wooden floors with regards to fire safety regulations.

Treated wood can be more or less flammable depending on what is used.

Yes, they resented the downstairs neighbours talking/complaining to them about their son’s noise, and their encouraging op to rip up carpets was their payback.