My boyfriend and I live underneath a family of four with two boys, ages 7-9. Due to the construction of the split level flat, it is noisy whenever they are in but sometimes the noise reaches unbearable levels and communication has broken down between myself and the mother. I wanted some advice from parents to understand where I stand on this issue.
The problems start in the weekday mornings when the boys wake up at 7am and play loudly (banging, running, shouting) until they run down the stairs for school at 8am. They return at around 3.30pm and recently they have been coming home alone and play very loudly into the evening. The weekends are the same, sometimes with extra children. I work late nights as a waitress so if I get to bed at 3am and am woken up at 7am, the following day is ruined for me by tiredness.
To clarify, my definition of loud noise is the kind that shakes the walls and picture frames and can be felt physically when, for example, I am sitting reading.
I used to text the mother to let her know when it was getting too much and she used to apologise and I would hear her telling them to be quiet. Recently, however, she has turned defensive and refuses to consider our polite requests and asks me to stop 'harassing' her. I feel as though my boyfriend and I are too forgiving and should not allow her children to rule our lives.
Could someone offer some advice on this? The next step for me would be to pursue it with her lettings agent (they are tenants). I have lived underneath different people for the last 5 years and never once had issues as bad as this and my friends are shocked at the noise when they visit.