Frustrated with Constant Noise from Upstairs Neighbors

[GoodniteSleep]

Hi everyone,

I'm really frustrated and at my wits' end with the noise coming from my upstairs neighbors. The disturbance started at 7 PM and it's now 1:53 AM, and I'm still being kept awake by their loud music and conversations.

I went upstairs and asked them to lower the volume at 00:00, but they responded by saying that the law allows them to play music at a certain volume. While I understand that there are legal limits to noise levels, their noise has repeatedly woken me up and is disrupting my sleep and peace of mind.

I feel helpless and unsure of what to do next. Has anyone else experienced something similar? How did you handle it? Any advice or support would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and for any suggestions you might have.

Is it a one off? If so, I'd let it go and wouldn't have said anything. It's the weekend and maybe it's a one off party? From your post it sounds like a first time thing.

Read your lease (theirs will be identical). There is usually a covenant not to play music or create noise at unsocial hours. Also a separate covenant not to cause nuisance or annoyance. Whilst they may not be breaking any law, they are most likely breaching the terms of their lease. I would complain to your freehold landlord and request that they enforce the covenants. Perhaps a written notice of breach and request for compliance will do the trick? A freehold landlord can ultimately threaten forfeiture of the lease for failure to comply with leasehold covenants.

Nope. They always make noise until late night like 00:00

We had neighbours like this. We were advised to report them to the council's Environmental Health noise department. We couldn't get anywhere with getting Environmental Health to actually enforce anything, they'd agree there was a problem, then they would go around and speak to the neighbours and nothing would change. Eventually we moved out. I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

In addition to what PP have said, keep a log of the disturbances (times, dates, recordings of noise) for when you're ready to take next steps.

And you renting or owner, is there a management company or residents association and a lease.

If they think they are keeping within nousd levels I'd buy a decibel counter

If you own the place and plan to stay where you are for the long term, maybe it’s worth considering some acoustic insulation or sound absorption panels.
It will be easier to control that rather than stress out about their behaviour as if they were reasonable, it would change in the first conversation.