Noisy neighbour WWYD

[Newhousecrying]

Noise from our attached neighbours are awful. We can hear their tv and music word for word. I downloaded a decibel meter and it’s reaching 73, averaging 58. This happens almost daily (at least 5x a week) from about 16:00 to 1am. We approached them and they were very defensive and said they’re within their rights and if we didn’t like it we should get a detached house. I understand there would be some noise but surely there’s a limit?!?

DP wants to chat with them again and work out some kind of schedule but from their tone when we spoke to them I’m a bit afraid to speak to them again. The noise is worse in the main bedroom (so the 1am tv is terrible) but I was in the box room at the other side of the house and heard/ felt it (super loud bass) during my work call!

what's the best thing to do here? We want to be good neighbours but They obviously give no sh*ts about us.

You can report it to your local council, however if you decide to move then you will need to declare it.

www.gov.uk/guidance/noise-nuisances-how-councils-deal-with-complaints#noise-at-night-warning-notices

we might end up reporting them. Just not sure what else we can do. I wanted to buy a mega bass speaker and set it to playing a constant low rumble but DP said no

Are they new neighbours? Is the noise a new thing?

We’re the new neighbours. We’ve only moved in two weeks ago so don’t know. The noise occurred while we were renovating too. We were hoping it was just because they knew no one was living next door and taking advantage of it.

How long were you renovating for and within what hours was work taking place? Any chance your renovation noise has pissed them off?

Yes. I think this might be true. We were renovating for quite a few months and we often gave work people the key to get on with it, (naively) assuming they would be considerate contractors. We introduced ourselves beforehand and said there would be work and they said that’s fine. At no point did the neighbours approach us to say the noise was bad (we were here frequently). I don’t really know what to do about it now. We’ve apologised for the renovating noise and know we should have been firmer with the trades but does that mean that they should be able to continue as they are indefinitely?

I think you just got to give it time. If they're doing to get back at you they will run out of steam.

No they can’t continue indefinitely but I think it’s best to keep trying to communicate directly and smooth things over. But you can’t keep apologising forever so if they continue report them.

If you report them and it's logged as a dispute, I think it gets declared if you want to sell in the future just fyi.

58 decibels isn't even a terribly loud noise - isn't it normal conversation level at about 60? Could you not work on the sound proofing or insulation on the adjoining walls? Tbh you've probably not got off on a good foot, renovations, moved in two weeks and asking to set up a "schedule", it sounds really passive aggressive, especially if you've had unsupervised builders round for months.

I think it’s the bass that makes it really bad. But we can hear every word from the tv. We haven’t spoken to them again so no scheduling. And I’m aware we haven’t made the best first impression. We’ve got filled wardrobes on the whole of the shared wall but can still hear it all. Just don’t know what we can do as it’s so regular.

Make a log, including dates and times of the noise and as much detail as possible about any interactions you have had with them.. As hard as this is to do, do not retaliate and keep all communications with the selfish idiots as polite as possible so that when the council contact them they can not use anything against you and your husband......I understand' this can take a tremendous amount of willpower but the evidence you need is your log as well as the data which shows what the noise levels are in decibels. Then the council can use that against them.

Did you and your builders confine the renovations to the daily times allowed by your local authority or did you breach the rules? It sounds like they started off as cooperative, but either you have upset them or they are genuinely laissez faire and expect you to be the same.

I don’t know. I think it might be that they are that way and expect us to be too. We didn’t do any work outside of 11am and 7pm but that won’t be true of the builders. I don’t know what hours they were working.

If you can hear every word if the TV then the party wall is leaking a lot of sound. How old is the house? Have you considered fitting sound insulation across the party wall? If you have a suspended floor or chimney on the party wall they are both notorious for transferring noise.

I think it’s highly unlikely they are doing it in retaliation for the renovations works.
If they own the house and you get them to stop the noise from the tv they’ll probably move on to something else. See if it settles in a few week or If it doesn’t just move if you can as ime staying isn’t worth the hassle.

House is very old. I think we’d have to insulate the floors and ceiling some more maybe. We looked at sound installation across the party wall but we were hoping the full wardrobes would do the trick.

We just bought the house and some of the renovations aren’t finished. We’d make a big loss if we sold now. If it’s unbearable we might be able to put it up for rent but we don’t think we can afford to sell.

I think that you are being a little unreasonable about the day to day living noises that you can hear from your neighbours (ie TV) versus ongoing renovation noise.

Thanks. The renovations have stopped for the time being. we’re just living in the mess. I think there’s day-to- day living noise but it’s so loud. I’ve lived in semi-/ terraced/ flats and it’s never been this bad. Everyone who comes to visit (including the tradespeople) comment on how loud it is.

Last night music went to 1:20. Surely that doesn’t fall under acceptable day to day living

No it doesn't. It sounds like a very difficult situation to be honest.

That is unacceptable in a terraced house. They sound very inconsiderate. If you contact the relevant dept at the council they will probably provide you with a form to document these occasions. They can then use this as evidence for taking further action (hopefully). For the sound insulation look at websites such as soundstop.co.uk for ideas. If you are already renovating you could just add it in. I am looking at the stick on panels for my own party wall. You probably need to go between the joists if you can to block the floor voids. A wardrobe won't do much I'm afraid.

At no point did the neighbours approach us to say the noise was bad (we were here frequently).
Probably because they are normal people who thought 'oh they are doing some renovations. It will be noisy but such is life'.

I'm not surprised they were defensive. They had lived next to a renovation and then two weeks later you are complaining about the noise they are making! Did you tell them that you had measured the sound with a decibel meter? If so they might have been somewhat taken aback.

I don't think it's likely at all that they are now getting revenge on your building by having their TV on loudly. It's more likely that the houses are not well soundproofed.

What age are they op? Do they work? Is it a house share or a family?

I'd start keeping the diary but wait quite a bit longer before reporting anything given the history of your renovations and the fact you've barrelled in to complain about their noise so quickly. Try and make friends!