WorkingForTheMan Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 This probably belongs in the rental thread, but no-one will see it there so... I have noisy neighbours its driving me insane I was kept awake until 330am this morning (I went to bed at 10 because I was tired - now i'm even tireder today ) I live in a small block of converted flats. I live in the top (penthouse!) flat, so have 2 neighbours below me. One is fine..he makes the occasional noise and plays music, but its always at reasonable times and at a bearable level The others...are a couple in thier 40's...appear to be party animals..they drink, at all hours, and when they do, the music comes on. Its not just 'a bit loud', its properly blasting out, shaking my floor/walls etc. I even invested in some ear plugs but they don't do anywhere near enough to block out the sound. Not only do they blast out the music, but they have friends round, sing karaoke, shout, scream, argue at all hours. Sometimes its 5 or 6 in the morning until they shut up, meaning i've had little, if any sleep (up at 630 for work) I've tried going round to complain, but they choose to ignore me. They don't even answer the door. They know I'm knocking because they turn the music down, then as soon as I stop knocking it goes back up. Last night I even heard them say 'f*** it, don't answer, he can't do anything about it' I'm a very patient, reasonable guy. I don't even mind if they blast out music or argue...so long as its not in the early hours So what to do? They clearly don't want to compromise..they obviously have no respect for thier neighbours (not answering the door and last nights overheard comment kinda proves that). I mentioned it to the landlord a few weeks ago, and he said he would mention it to them. Obviously its had no effect What I don't want is a war. I'm half tempted to get my MASSIVE speakers on and show them what loud music really is, but I need to live, and sleep there. I have to hold down a reasonably responsible job and I just can't do it effectively without sleep. The last thing I want is this happening every single night (its 2 or 3 times a week at the mo) Do I go back to the landlord? Do i persist in trying to speak to them? Do I speak to the police? Do I speak to the environmental health? It seems whatever I do I'm screwed, mainly because they JUST DON'T CARE, and my only (real) option is to move out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 1. Do they rent? If so find their landlord and make his life hell. 2. Local councils have a noise team usually (probably useless). 3. Police (once again probably useless). 4. Move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossybabe Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 1. Do they rent? If so find their landlord and make his life hell. 2. Local councils have a noise team usually (probably useless). 3. Police (once again probably useless). 4. Move. Get a heavy to go round and chuck their stereo equipment out the window. Seriously, some council Environmental Health Departments will monitor the noise levels and deal with noise nuisance. That'd be my first step. Before you go, log times and dates to give them something to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorkingForTheMan Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 1. Do they rent? If so find their landlord and make his life hell. 2. Local councils have a noise team usually (probably useless). 3. Police (once again probably useless). 4. Move. We have the same landlord. Do you reckon he is my best bet rather than confronting them? If they were reasonable people I wouldn't object to speaking to them about it..but they clearly aren't. The thing is I don't want war..if I 'grass on them' to the landlord, the chances are they will think 'f*** it', and blast it out every night..which would be hell.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Do you rent? If so then give notice and move. If you own then you have no choice but to do it via environmental whatsit at the council. It means keeping a diary and writing in it EVERY time they disturb you. It'll make your life a misery and interupt your sleep more but by logging every bit of noise you'll get it sorted quicker. The police don't deal with noise but if there is activity they might be interested in ie: drugs/violence etc then it's worth ringing them. A friend has noisy neighbours - woman beats up the bloke very noisily when she's drunk. The police come out and remove him for his own safety but the idiot keeps going back. He did start something with the council but the paperwork was too much effort and it's more fun ringing the police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalancedBear Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Realistically, the best thing you can do is move. A landlord cannot do much more than you, just as a mortgage lender is not able to do much about home owners partying. Legally tenants have the right to enjoy the property as their own home, so they can only be reprimanded by the council or police, but it almost never works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 We have the same landlord. Do you reckon he is my best bet rather than confronting them? If they were reasonable people I wouldn't object to speaking to them about it..but they clearly aren't. The thing is I don't want war..if I 'grass on them' to the landlord, the chances are they will think 'f*** it', and blast it out every night..which would be hell.. Certainly! As your noisy neighbours are most certainly in breach of their contract, not to be a nuisance to everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Remember that this is the UK where you're expected to put up and shut up or go if other people are being a nuisance. Make life miserable for others though and you can just carry on doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorkingForTheMan Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Remember that this is the UK where you're expected to put up and shut up or go if other people are being a nuisance. Make life miserable for others though and you can just carry on doing it. Yes, this is what p155es me off the most. I was looking on the net (at 2am) about what I could do, and it appears nothing! The police won't come out because its a civil thing (unless someone is in danger or a crime is being committed), the environmental health require weeks/months of logs and recordings etc before they will take any action.. What I really wanted at 2am this morning is for someone 'official' to come out and have a word with them, (and let me go to sleep) but no, thats asking too much isn't it? They can just do exactly as they please and s0d everyone else :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 If you share landlord then speak to him. Say unless it is sorted by the end of the month then you will be giving notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abidova Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 as Suggested above I think Landlord is your best bet as he is the one who stands to lose out financially. Maybe try writing to him stating that if the situation doesn't improve in X amount of time you will be taking steps to having your neighbours evicted as well as giving notice yourself, the thought of losing 2 tenants might be enough to focus his mind Alternatively (or also) you could get a solicitior to write a strongly worded letter outlining your issue and what you will do if things don't improve. There might not be a very strong legal basis for a letter at this stage (although your quiet enjoyment is certainly being comprimised) but it could get them to start taking the matter more seriously Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Went through years of this - made me ill - tried all the usual such as police, council, landlord, being nice to them, etc. Only one solution - move. Once you make the decision to move life will become easier. If you try to fight it you will lose and just become ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Went through years of this - made me ill - tried all the usual such as police, council, landlord, being nice to them, etc. Only one solution - move. Once you make the decision to move life will become easier. If you try to fight it you will lose and just become ill. I'm sure you're right but it makes me sick that you're the one who has to go through all the hassle of moving whilst the selfish ****s just carry on doing whatever they want without giving a crap about anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Went through years of this - made me ill - tried all the usual such as police, council, landlord, being nice to them, etc. Only one solution - move. Once you make the decision to move life will become easier. If you try to fight it you will lose and just become ill. We don't know if the OP is in a fixed term tenancy (ie six months) or periodic. But this is the problem with apartment living in the UK. It doesn't work due to all sorts of "me" selfishness. Had a nice balcony apartment in London that was ruined with "yeh I'm in London" being shouted onto a mobile phone from a balcony at 3am in the morning. Parties, amateur DJ's, and BBQ's (FFS). The list is endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The best response to this is to move. There is no real alternative as it will take a while to shift your neighbours and, in the interim, they'll make your life hell. Once an inconsiderate a***hole, always an inconsiderate a***hole. I went and confronted one of my previous neighbours about his music (well, I'm not sure if it was music. All you could hear/feel was the bass). He seemed apologetic but it didn't change his attitude. There were a couple of times that, for his sake, it was probably better that he didn't open the door. We went through a phase where he either wouldn;t answer his door or couldn't hear me banging on it (I'm sure the other flats could hear it). I then resorted to using the intercom because I might have been a friend visiting and once he's acknowledged your presence, he had to do something about it (unless he was a complete a***hole. Eventually my wife and I moved out (although he'd gone by that point). Having said all that, the grass isn't necessarily that much greener now (I would have thought your being in a penthouse would have shielded you from most of it). I wish I could have rented in a time before the invention of the hi-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Perhaps you need a couple of new flatmates, Miss Cerwin and Mr Vega: To be serious, you've little option but to leave unless your landlord also happens to own the one your neighbours are in. There's no harm in approaching the council/police, but the process may drag out longer than you can live with it for. Although if your neighbours don't answer the door and it's the cops who are knocking, maybe that would elicit a speedier response.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorkingForTheMan Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 We don't know if the OP is in a fixed term tenancy (ie six months) or periodic. But this is the problem with apartment living in the UK. It doesn't work due to all sorts of "me" selfishness. Thankfully my 6 months is up..it was bliss when I moved in as the flat below was empty.. But yeah, I've always avoided flats before, but this was out of necessity at the time (mainly because it was cheap). I suppose I will have to pay the extra and rent a house, at least you have a few feet of wall between you with a house. The more I think about this the more its p155ing me off. I've just got settled in this place, bought furniture that fits in/goes with the house, and now it looks like I have to go through all the hassle of getting my deposit back, finding somewhere else suitable, arranging to move all my stuff, moving all my stuff, settling into a new house, buying new furniture, etc, etc, just because of some anti-social lack of respect a55hole neighbours and in the end it all boils down to... not so many years a go, a single person with a job at my level would be able to afford a nice semi in a nice quiet location (which is all I've ever wanted) but no, I'm stuck with renting cheap flats with scumbags as neighbours GRRRRRRrrrrrrrr :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I've been in the same situation a couple of times, and it's a real sh!t sandwich. Moving out seems to be the least-worst option IMO. Noisy people won't change IME, and the landlord won't do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Get a heavy to go round and chuck their stereo equipment out the window. Seriously, some council Environmental Health Departments will monitor the noise levels and deal with noise nuisance. That'd be my first step. Before you go, log times and dates to give them something to start with. The legislation covering noise nuisance is the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sections 79 & 80. It is not an automatic offence to cause a noise nuisance. It only becomes an offence once a person responsible breaches the terms of a noise abatement notice served under section 80. The definition of a statutory nuisance is noise (cumulatively / or as a one off event) that seriously interferes with someone elses use and enjoyment of their property. The almost universal process within the confines of the LAW for EH departments is; When a complaint is made, situation is discussed with complainant and a letter is usually sent to alledged perpetrator outlining the position of the law. The complainant is asked to keep a log if the noise problem continues. The idea is that most cases are resolved by the letter. If the problem persists then the Council should attempt to gather evidence via monitoring with specilaist recording equipment and making response visits. If sufficient evidence is available a noise abatement notice can be served. If this is breached (and needs sufficient witness testimony) then the Council may prosecute. Problems; Most EH departments cut to the bone (to ensure sufficient funding for Diversity Departments) Out of hours services non existent due to cut backs Monitoring equipment often faulty / uncalibrated due to cut backs Professional EH staff being replaced with non trained staff so have no confidence or credibility to take court cases Council legal departments overstretched and reluctant to prosecute cases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieboy Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Add my vote to the Move Out camp. Been there too: no other option unless the LL decides her prefers you over them and kicks them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Ive been in this place before it not nice to move is the easiest and some times safest option. you might think the coucil tax that you pay covers the cost of fixing problems like this but once you've wasted time and sleepless nights phoning police ,council etc you'll wonder why you even pay it. come to think of it how does council tax benefit us ordinary folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Add my vote to the Move Out camp. Been there too: no other option unless the LL decides her prefers you over them and kicks them out. Having worked for 3 years in EH noise / Pollution team (1990's) I would tend to agree with you - the law is too complex and the resources too thin to adequately deal with noisy neighbours. The last house I purchased was detached ( a bit further out of town) and primarily driven by the desire to not be attached to another property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Ive been in this place before it not nice to move is the easiest and some times safest option. you might think the coucil tax that you pay covers the cost of fixing problems like this but once you've wasted time and sleepless nights phoning police ,council etc you'll wonder why you even pay it. come to think of it how does council tax benefit us ordinary folk The Police have no powers to deal with noise eminating from inside a domestic dwelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The Police have no powers to deal with noise eminating from inside a domestic dwelling. but usually the first port o call at 3 a.m. once the victim has given up trying to sleep knowing he or she has got to go to work in three hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 but usually the first port o call at 3 a.m. once the victim has given up trying to sleep knowing he or she has got to go to work in three hours. I appreciate that. I was just pointing out they are powerless to act although some more sympathetic coppers might knock on the neighbours door and ask them to turn it down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.