AIBU to post a note through neighbours door?

[sleeeeeeepy]

We have recently got some new next door neighbours who are a group of uni students. They seem nice enough in passing but we haven’t had much chance to properly speak to them.

Since they moved in 3 nights ago, they have been incredibly noisy in the middle of the night. As in, shouting outside in the garden, banging on the internal walls etc. Last night at 4am one of them did a blood curdling scream!

It’s partially an issue as its terraced houses, so it’s hard to know where a noise is coming from sometimes. Every night it’s woken me up I’ve panicked there’s someone in my house and had to get up to check to realise it’s coming from them!

It’s also just (obviously) very annoying!! We both work full time and I leave for work at 8am, so being disturbed sleeping has a massive impact on my day. I’m a bad sleeper at the best of times and really struggle to get back to sleep after being woken.

I’d like to stress this isn’t normal terraced houses neighbourly noise, it’s very very loud boys messing about and being very disturbing! We’ve had students next door before and not been disturbed like this.

I want to put a note through the door on the basis that they may not realise they’re disturbing us and therefore can’t try and be quieter. DH thinks that will aggregate them and be passive aggressive and that they’ll calm down after freshers.

I don’t mind if they’re noisy occasionally (on a weekend!) as obviously everyone is, but I really can’t cope with another night of no sleep like this.

AIBU to post a note through the door?

My idea was to say along the lines of:

Hi,

Sorry to be awkward but for the last few nights we’ve been woken up by you in the early hours of the morning. We both have to leave for work quite early so it’s really hard to lose out on sleep!

Is there any chance you would be able to try and keep it down overnight during the week? Totally understand you want to have people round but it’s very noisey when you’re all shouting inside as we don’t have the thickest walls!

Thanks,
Neighbours

I agree
go and introduce yourselves and weigh up the situation and have a chat to them.

They’re probably just blowing off steam because it’s freshers week, and will calm down when lectures start. Try to see them at the weekend and have a reasonable chat. Don’t do it by note, it will come across as passive aggressive. If you speak to them you’ll be able to gauge whether they are reasonable people or not, and then you’ll have a better idea how to deal with them going forward.

why would you not go straight to the landlord?

I would speak to the letting agency first. In will be better coming from them.

I knew someone who lived next door to students who would go round with a cake when they moved in to welcome them and they found this forged a good relationship so they could say more easily if the students were noisy. I think I would try to speak with them myself first rather than writing a letter. Good luck. It's hard having noisy neighbours

Notes are never good imo. Imagine it’s a normal neighbour, you wouldn’t send a note would you. Also as pp said it’ll be on the fridge door and will cause huge amusement.

Maybe give it a week and if it continues you’ll need to go knocking again. Probably best to go when they’re not drunk. I feel for you. I’d be finding out who the landlord is for potential future issues.

Knock the door. Tell them it’s unacceptable.

This ^

Go on around and talk to them.
Try them at various times if needed.

Do not do the note.

If you must do one @Cornucopia55s is good.

I think your note is totally fine. You always catch more flies with honey than vinegar (ie being nice rather than being shirty). I would write a note like this! Fingers crossed for you.

The note may or may not be too nice, depending on the kids. I’m pretty sure my son and his mates would feel badly about having disturbed the neighbours and would make an effort to be much quieter.

Don’t do a note, one of them may just bin and say nothing to the others and carry on or do the student thing of not opening the post/leaving it in a heap.
Meanwhile you’re seething as nothing changes.
keep trying to speak to them, if you can’t, call the managing agent

Go and talk to them will have far better and more impact.
Just say you are calling to say that not everyone around them are students and people have children, and go to work. You cannot sleep. And need to. And can they keep the noise down please ?

I don’t know if they have moved into a non student area. They might be better suited to being closer to all their friends if they want to be like that. But if they live amongst the rest of the world they need to know they do. So tell them !

Thing is if you knock on, speaking to one of them wouldn't neccessarily mean the whole lot of them would be made aware so I think it's pointless. Same with a letter, it would either be binned accidently, binned before others would see or some of them might think it's a confidential letter for one of the others and not read it!

I would go to the agent (probably student agent), either google the University agents and ring or pop to the university and ask where the office is.

They may not be aware of how much you can hear, and if they're anything like my daughter and her house mates they will change.

What do you think the Uni are going to do. Its got nothing to do with them.

Most of the time the houses are run by University agents like my daughter's.

I don’t really understand why any normal people would behave like that. I think that you are too nice too.

I think I would go for one polite chat, but be clear in your expectations (as close to silent as possible after 10PM week nights, or similar). After that, I agree with others, formal complaint to uni and landlord.

And, if things are really bad, get evidence. Record what you can and keep notes of date and time.

There are private landlords who let to students too.

It's a private rental - nothing to do with the uni.
And a uni town/city will have hundreds of agency providing student lets.

I still think speaking directly to them is the best starting point. I know my two would have been mortified if a neighbour had had to come round because they were being too noisy.

Most students aren't bad kids, they just don't think about others. A friendly chat should sort things out.

I live in a terraced street where there are several student houses. In my experience, it is best to go straight in with a firm and direct approach. You don’t need to be aggressive, but they need to know it is unacceptable.
If they are waking you up at 4.00 am, take your husband and bang on their door in your dressing gowns. Can you team up with neighbours on the other side? A road whatsapp group can be helpful in these situations, as if they are in their garden the noise will be travelling the length of the street and the one you back on to!
Many universities can now be contacted directly about this sort of issue, and can apply internal sanctions, so can be worth mentioning this. It’s miserable, so I really feel for you…Good luck

Sorry but you can't demand that people are silent at 10pm at night. This has zero to do with the uni. They aren't going to discipline students for being noisy in a shared house

‘Just say you are calling to say that not everyone around them are students and people have children, and go to work. You cannot sleep. And need to. And can they keep the noise down please ?’

Students are meant to work too! Maybe it is the week before lectures start and it will quieten down next week, hopefully.

But loads of students will have 9AM lectures and some (like medics) will have to get up a lot earlier for placements etc.

There is no reason for students to make noise super late.

Halls, yes.

Most random houses scattered around university towns are private rentals, just like any other rented property. Letting agencies may specialise in student properties, but they are nothing to do with the unis.

I would go with a friendly approach in the first instance - at that age they can just be thoughtless. If they've grown up in detached houses they may just never have realised that they need to consider the neighbours. It's much better to be on friendly terms if you can.

If it continues, then of course you move towards contacting the letting agent.

I did similar, finally filming them. Sent to landlord and university. The noise continued.........