Name changed for this one, in case anyone I know is on. But looking for some advice on whether I am being unreasonable, and best way forward.
Background: I live in a purpose built maisonette on the ground floor. I had no noise issues with my previous upstairs neighbours, and not because they were silent. For instance, they used to put music on and have a boogie on a Friday and Saturday night; I never minded – I actually thought it was quite sweet. But there was decent sound insulation across the flat, so it never got annoying.
They sold up, and the new owner did some major renovations to teh upstairs flat. This included putting wooden flooring across the whole flat. The sound transmission is now awful; for instance at night I can hear her and her partner chatting away in their bedroom (noise travels sideways and down to my bedroom). Every single footstep reverberates around the flat, and when the kids are running up and down the hall/on the stairs it’s literally as if they are in my flat, it’s that loud. So it’s not a case of hearing some noise, sometimes – I hear everything, all the time.
The only time I ever get quiet is when they all go out (or first thing before they get up). Otherwise it’s relentless – I might as well be sharing a flat with them. I did speak to my neighbour at one point, as she was doing the kids bedtime in her bedroom, over my living room - cue 2 hours of kids jumping off the bed! And to be fair, she did change the routine but it doesn't help with everything else.
Anyway…I bit my tongue last year because I was thinking of selling, and I still might, but I really want to do something about this. I checked the leases, and there are no covenants about flooring, unfortunately. There are however clauses about being a nuisance, quiet enjoyment, etc. So going to the freeholder might be (the nuclear). option. I am thinking of approaching the neighbor and framing it up around the sound insulation, rather than their behavior. They do have to move about in their own flat I know, so wanted to keep it impersonal.
Am I being unreasonable here? Should I just sell up? If I do approach the neighbor, any thoughts on how to go about it if you were in their shoes? Another thing to put into the mix is that I’ve heard rumours they are thinking of moving on already. Which – yay! But doesn’t solve issues that will probably still continue with new people.
Sorry for the essay and thanks for any advice!