Neighbours - help!

[workoholic]

My neighbours are slowly driving me insane - I live in a end-terraced house but my neighbours are the 3rd people to have lived there since I have (we are both mortgaged). The first included a family of 4 with a dog, the second were a couple. Now the most recent couple (18 months now) are a couple with a dog.

I am trying not to become the annoying neighbour but it's crazy how much I can hear them compared to previous occupants. I never used to hear previous residents EVER, even the family of 4. These new people:

• Have a dog which they leave at home barking ALL DAY - I work from home minimum 3 days a week, and they leave it at home often Saturday and Sunday's too so I listen to it barking through the walls. Both me and my neighbour on their other side have said stuff to them about it, they say sorry but then keep doing it. They often leave it barking until 1am in the morning etc as they go out to socialise for hours on end.
• Every time they walk up the stairs its like herds of elephants are about to cave into my living room.
• Every time they walk upstairs i can hear each step they take
• They put a new ikea wardrobe system in, and every time they open or close a drawer i can hear the wheels turning, and they slam every door continiously
• They do home decor until about 1am most nights, but they don't start until around 10pm! This involves, drilling and hammering and it feels like kicking against my bedroom wall. Honestly the house isn't in bad nick (unless now their stomping is breaking everything) i can't work out what they are doing.
• Apparently doors don't have handles and my whole house shakes every time they close the front door or back door. Their rendering on their house has got really bad since they moved in and i'm convinced it's due to all the vibration. I've even started getting cracks on my living room ceiling which has their stairs behind it.

Considering the dog situation i am just not sure what to do anymore, but it's making me unhappy in my own home. In the summer every weekend they throw BBQ parties but it's when I try to clear my washing usually (due to the weather often) and the smoke blows over, so i am always having to be alert of if they are setting up for another party. I feel so tired.

I have a drive way but they are my direct neighbours so can basically block me in if they don't park in their allocated spaces, they have purchased a van since moving in... they enjoy blocking me in I think. One of the houses near us is rented and they don't have any cars so I said to them can they use the space while we can get away with it, but they just spread themselves out. They now use it like a car park - when they have guests round they just block everywhere.

I am not sure if i am just moaning or if they are just inconsiderate of everyone and don't seem to care about literally anyone else. It's annoying because their other neighbour finds it annoying but says she doesn't want to get involved, so i am kind of waiting for her to crack.

Any ideas? I don't want to move because you can get issues anywhere and It's the right size house and location, and quite frankly i shouldn't have to, but it blows my mind how 2 people can be so loud. I feel like i am always on the edge of my seat. It genuinely feels like they have brick shoes on, as the sounds aren't normal.

I really have no suggestions but I completely sympathise. I have 3 dogs barking through the wall all day long and until late at night because they're left alone. It drives me insane. The neighbours downstairs slams their front and back doors and my whole house shakes. They are always doing work later on too. Their house is mortgaged so can't do anything about it. The dog owner is renting and I complained about that to our HA but nothing was done. It's so frustrating and makes is miserable. We've been dealing with this for 6 years but can't afford to move. I really do feel your pain.

I think you have entirely reasonable reasons to be pissed off. My neighbours on the other hand have issues with me putting up pictures / curtains in the day and asked me not to do any work until after 12 pm as the wife works night. I don’t give a fuck! I was putting the pictures up at 11.15 and the curtains at 1pm still complained. It’s escalated significantly that police have become involved due to their behaviour when I knocked on after they decided to bang on my wall and screech shut up! They even complained about the volume of my fucking TV. I hate them!!

I feel for you! I get it if people are completely unaware but we have both told them about their dog, parking and BBQs etc at some point, but they just continue to not consider those around them - they are attached to people both sides and it blows my mind. They should have the common sense to realise if I can hear a small dog through the wall I can hear hammering and drilling against my bedroom wall too.

When i spoke to them about their dog they come into m house and heard the dog barking and were like "omg im so embarrassed it's so loud" but then continue to do it.......... i suggested getting a dog cam/alexa etc so they can "drop in" etc. They got a dog-sitter for a little while then stopped.

They just went out and my whole house shook, I am at the back of the house... I don't get how they are so loud, it feels like they've got progressively louder. I am really hoping they move out before they have kids as their kids would probably inherit their brick feet.

I understand they have DIY they want to do to make the house their own so I try not to get annoyed during the council suggested DIY hours, but any noises outside of that really winds me up! lol

I feel for you, 6 years is a long time 😥

Oh wow, that's crazy - only thing I can suggest is try to hear it from their perspective by saying "show me then" and have someone play the TV / walk like normal, so you can hear what they hear. I really want to test with my neighbours how they are walking up their stairs because if it was normal I don't know I think maybe I would say "they can't help it" more mentally lol.

I understand that everyone has a right to live in their home and get DIY etc done so need to be reasonable - e.g. but my dad does stuff for me he comes during the day which I think is more normal.

I think some things wind me up more because it's building up mentally in my head if I am honest and it's something ELSE to wind me up etc.

I agree it's amazing how loud some people are. My last house was a terraced cottage and I used to wake up when my neighbour got out of bed as her floorboards were so loud and creaky. She was a small person but the house used to bang and shake when she walked up her stairs which were adjacent to my living room. I don't have any advice really but I totally get how annoying and upsetting it can be.

I was on a spa day when he rung the bell complaining of the tv. Btw it was on volume 10 and it was tv for dogs which is just a loop of dogs living their best lives and calm classical music in the background. If anything should have put his wife to sleep!!

my friend went round to turn the TV down, she said she expected to hear it blaring from outside the house but said it wasn’t loud at all. I already knew this.

he tried telling me my dogs are barking all day every day soon back tracked when I told him I have a camera, I watch them. No they do not so feel free to report that because I have evidence to prove it’s a malicious lie.

as for the stairs as a kid my mum would shout “pick your feet up” as an adult I don’t make noise on the stairs. My ex used to sound like a heard of elephants using the stairs and I’d shout “pick your feet up” he did! It’s not bloody hard to show consideration!

yea I am considerate and do keep the DIY to weekend day times because I work full time. After he complained about noise at the weekend, I did put a wardrobe up with my friend in the week 7-9 ( she also works full time so had to come after work) still complained.

I said to them I hear your kids, but it’s life. You don’t like me making reasonable noise at the weekend, you don’t like me making reasonable noise in the week in the day and now you have an issue in the evenings too so when am I supposed to do anything?!

honestly their impossible and I fucking hate them. I was in an abusive relationship when I moved in a year ago and I know we were loud. When he left I knocked on and briefly explained the situation and apologised for all and any noise. They confirmed they heard us and were worried about me. Now I’m a lone single female I honestly truly believe they are starting to try and intimidate me. They picked the wrong woman to fuck with!!

Contact the council about the ddog. You will be doing it a favour. It must be miserable and distressed.. Do they poop scoop? Environmental health if the garden is manky...
Keep a record of DIY times. There are regulations regarding times /days etc it is legal. I know of a couple who had to rehome a yappy ddog after many complaints... Yanbu to push the council to do something...

I think you need to make a complaint to your council regarding the noise, it sounds like it is a nuisance legally (ie excesssice and going on too late). They will contact the neighbours and seek a resolution for you.

Oh wow, that's crazy of them, and sorry you've had issues with your ex but I am glad you are out of that relationship now :).

Is your TV against their wall or something like that maybe?

It genuinely blows my mind how loud they are compared to previous residents.

I am waiting for my neighbour on their other side to crack as it would be easier if we can both complain otherwise I just look like a psycho woman.

Basically originally they said they didn't realise until we told them. However they've kept doing it anyway...

It's their first house and by the sounds of it two dogs got split up and now it's sad on it's own. Whenever people come to mine they hear it barking and like wow how annoying is that?!

I read somewhere if you raise to the council it comes up if there is a property search done so worried to do this as it goes on both your files as a neighbour dispute? I don't know how true that is?

No! Under the front room window 😂😂

Contact the rspca about the dog they are not looking after it. In respect of noise if you have made reasonable requests that have been ignored blast very loud music very early in the mornings (presumably they sleep in a bit if they are night owls). They will get fed up of it and get the message soon enough.

So when they are loud i have been putting music on very loud across my house with the hopes they hear it - then i go in the shower etc so i haven't got to listen to it haha. The goal is for them to mention it to me so i can say i am only doing it to stay sane as they are driving me crazy but don't seem to care.
It's awkward because our front doors are next to eachother and i don't even like going to my car or putting my bins out anymore, i feel so uncomfortable.

Oh dear, are your windows directly next to eachother? It sounds like they should try and get some soft furnishings their side. I got new carpet and the sound has calmed down abit from next door lol. I think i am hitting my "i need to live in a detached house" era but trying to delay it as long as possible haha.

If your TV is loud enough to be heard in someone else's house, surely the answer is to turn the volume down.

Volume 10 on my TV is very low - it's out of 100 on my TV so it sounds very low.

I wonder if because they used to hear sounds it's opened up the sensitivities to your house, i.e. they notice it more now.

I feel sorry for your neighbours dog. It must be really stressed with all their carry on and then hearing your loud music blasting through the walls in retaliation. I totally get why you’re doing it though and would be tempted to do the same. Please report your concerns about the dog to rspca.

What just like my dogs barking all day yet I have a camera to say otherwise 😂😂 it’s not loud, it’s not disturbing them. They’re just wankers. 10 is NOT loud at all. The washing machine is louder

I don't do the music if it's just the dog barking as they aren't home so makes no impact - apparently the dog is deaf anyway so it can't hear it lol.

I feel your pain, we're mid terrace and mortgaged in between 2 council neighbours. Once side are great and we get on really well, yes we hear them as they have 2 kids and a big dog but we're comfortable enough to say if they're extra loud and vice versa. The other side moved in a year ago and are bloody ignorant! They still haven't put carpet on the stairs so we hear them every time they stomp up and down! They smoke weed in the garden (not so much in the winter) and have 2 dogs that I've never seen being walked. Oh and a baby that cries all the time!

I feel for you :( I get people need to live their lives but the ignorance blows my mind!

@workoholic I think the trick is to play the music when they are trying to sleep to cause maximum impact. It’s less likely to bother them when they are being noisy. Good luck it’s a rotten situation to be in.