To wish my neighbour would just fuck off?

[DoomCup]

He bought the flat underneath me and moved in around a year ago and it's been an absolute piss take since day dot.

He has a small terrier which yaps and barks incessantly for 20 minutes or so at a time. This is punctuated by him yelling it's name intermittently to shush it, to no avail.

He has the loudest phonecalls for up to an hour at least once every evening - I can hear him word for word.

Most evenings/nights and every weekend since he moved in, he has been doing some sort of noisy DIY. This can be anything from loud power tools which make my floor shake, to hammering and drilling, to the slightly quieter sanding and painting.

Occasionally (maybe once every six weeks or so) he gets absolutely pissed and blasts music in the middle of the night (3am-4am).

I rent and I think my only option is to move. I've been here for years and had several tennants live in that flat before it was sold - guitarists who practiced loudly but at reasonable times, a young couple with a baby who I could often hear crying or them bickering, the last one liked to yell at the tv when there was football on - all of which were a bit annoying but not intrusive or beyond what might be expected when living in a flat.

I doubt the police will be interested and I know that other neighbours have chapped his door and complained face to face but it doesn't seem to have changed things.

I have heard him being aggressive over the phone when drunk so a bit wary of pissing him off as I'm a lone female.

One night I lost it and thumped the floor repeatedly with a broom until he took the hint but I don't think that's a long term solution.

Thicker carpet on your floors, and earplugs!!
Either that or move out……
Is there a landlord you can complain to?

My flat is well carpeted throughout and I use rugs where there is space.

I could complain to my landlord but not sure what he could do since the guy underneath owns his flat - which also means he probably doesn't plan on moving any time soon.

This is why I could never live in a flat — sorry not helpful!

It's possible he doesn't appreciate how much noise travels between the flats so I'd be imitating what he does, preferably when he's asleep. Loud music in the middle of the night? Put your radio on top volume before you go to work for an hour. Jazz Fm is a good choice, I used this successfully with a noisy neighbour. You can download mp3s of dogs barking and create a loop. I'd go with German Shepherd as their bark is very loud.
Hammer a very large nail into the wall and periodically hammer on it for 5 minutes. If none of this works, he's an inconsiderate twat who doesn't care and you'd be better off moving.

Surely you can win the noise games given you're the flat above. Invest in some clogs.

@DoomCup the DIY will eventually stop but the dog yapping and his loud voice booming on the phone won’t, some men’s voices just travel.

If he’s bought the place, he’s staying put for the foreseeable, so you’ll have to move to get some peace.

If you can hear his phone calls word for word then the problem is not with him, it's with the noise insulation in your flat. You need to speak to the LL and if he won't do anything then just move and be thankful you don't have to try and sell the place.

I think now is the time to reignight your childhood ambition and learn tapdancing. What a shame that work pressures mean practicing 5-6am.

Noise cancelling headphones

Sorry OP as I know this is a rubbish situation to be in, but shortly before lockdown I ended up being in a sandwich of noisy neighbours above and below my flat. I put up with it for a long time but ultimately had to move out as it played havoc with my mental wellbeing.

I know moving is a massive hassle and even in a new place there are no guarantees of peace, but maybe start looking to see if there’s anything suitable for you and in your budget that takes your fancy?

I can see why you'd think that but I've lived here nearly ten years and never experienced anything like this when the property was owned by a landlord and had several tenants over that time.

I don't expect silence and whilst the music is probably the most unreasonable, it's the dog barking and late night DIY that I'm struggling with most.

Burn your house down.

Keep a diary of the ddog barking. Report via the local council.. They send a sheet to fill in. Worth persevering with.

Thanks, I will do this.

What can the council actually do though? He owns the place so he can't be turfed out.

Move. Easiest way to get out of the situation. Do you want to spend years of your life getting wound up by your neighbour's anti-social noise? Do you want the hassle of chasing complaints to the council?

You are a tenant so in a position that you can move quite easily.

Noso easy to move out, besides flat of op may be near job and she may hvae spent lots on carpets and landscaping.
No op don't move start making extensive notes of noise, times dates. This is ahealth issue.it is well known now that lack of sleep can lead to I'll health.
You need to get letters from yr doctor and if possible your manager at work. Anything to get tooled up if the noise doesn't die down. The good positive news is that when you broomed him he stopped. I would go round with a treatbfor Fido initially and ask him if there is anything you can do to help him as you realise he's struggling with his bessy mate. You can hear him shouting. Perhaps offer to tell him about clicker training or some local dog trainers.
Don't escalate unless it's not resolved after yr talk or unless he's not on sife after your chat. X If you do this, let us know how you get on x

Sorry about typos crap phone.

Clogs on a pogo stick :-)

It feels really intrusive when it's constant noise, but some people do justvtalk loud and its not just men.
Treat him nightly natters as a fee soap opera OR turn a negative into a positive. When my neighbour would start I thought right, I'm going to use this time to practice my musical instrument/go for a quick brisk walk etc/listen and gen up on classical music (I have huge gaps in my knowledge in that area lol)

Hope these strats help. As for me I get awoken Every morning not to the sound of cockerels but to cats on heat and my neighbour coughing up his morning smokers mucum urgghh!

Why don’t you ask him to listen to the noise from you flat, you make some noise in his and he listens from your flat, so he can appreciate. Or record the noise and play it back for him to see if he could reduce the trigger noise a little… but don’t judge him, he is probably doing what he has always done so he does not understand the harm and probably thinks your being stuffy.

Sorry, but blasting live concert footage at 3am for hours on end, shouting and bawling down the phone at people and doing loud DIY at 11pm is not normal behaviour.

The loud conversations, fair enough but alot of it is deliberately inconsiderate and often because he is pissed so I don't feel safe approaching him about it.

Other neighbours have been to his door about it so he is aware.

I've tried recording the noise but my phone doesn't pick most of it up.

I'm looking at other places to live but it sticks in my throat that I should be the one to leave my lovely flat, where I've been settled for so long because of this eejit.

Ok Then yes it's a council noise issue and doctors notes. Get all your neighbours to do the same . Then anti social behaviour from police. You are a single woman and threatening behaviour is illegal. These drunks and those claiming mental health issues should Not be given carte blanche to ruin lives.

But...as you are Single r woman you could try the softly softly approach I outlined and document that.Do not have men in yr flat or go into his btw.

Let us know how it pans out.

I would move. It sounds really really draining and I know it’s an expensive and drastic thing but I doubt he will change. He clearly hasn’t trained his dog well at all which tells you everything you need to know. I have just moved to a rural location and not having neighbours is absolutely blissful.

Keep a diary of all noise disturbances. Find out who the letting agent is and become a complete pain in the arse to them insofar as weekly emails and calls listing all the disturbances. Contact the local council and make a formal complaint using the above diary as evidence. The complaint process is slow but get it started.