Some advice please about dealing with noisy neighbours.?

Question

My neighbours upstairs have bare hardwood floors and thin rugs covering floorboards. This means I get loads of noise, which wakes me in the middle of the night and is quite disturbing and intrusive in the evenings and weekends too.

The lease specifies carpets with underlays must be fitted, and though I have written to the freeholders about this they have done nothing to force them to comply. The occupants are denying they're doing anything wrong, however went quiet when I showed them the lease.

Can I take action against the freeholders because of their negligence, or is it just a case of chasing them up until they do something ?

I would be very grateful if somebody else who has had this problem could give me some advice, as this is really starting to have a bad affect on me.

I'm a leaseholder not a tenant. Moving would involve sale of flat. Wonder if I could sue the freeholders for breach of lease ?

Am I entitled to withhold ground rent, management fee and other sundries from the freeholders if they do nothing about this ?

lol, thanks heath and keira, and everyone for your help. I will open all fronts and let you know.

Answer 1

Best bet is to speak to citizens advice and environmental health, as there is a time limit when you can be disruptive to others. (Something like be quiet between 11pm and 7am and they can enforce it). Alternatively, speak to your local council, some get involved even if the properties aren't rented or from the council.

In the meantime, maybe your neighbours would temporarily move out if a stink bomb was shoved through the letterbox?!!! I'm only joking, though i did consider it myself when i was in a similar situation!!

Good luck!

Answer 2

I've had this problem before. If you are not the landlord yourself, then you need to complain to the apt. complex manager, and I would communicate this in writing as well as verbally.

Usually, the manager will have a talk with the offenders, and if this doesn't work, he or she should evict them, usually after two or three complaints.

If the lease specifies a certain type of flooring and they are not complying, then they are in violation of the lease and your manager shouldn't have a difficult time enforcing the noise if it is excessive.

A certain amount of noise is permissible or expected, however in a complex with overhead apartments.

Your other choice would be to move to an overhead apartment yourself. But you have to remedy the situation first with the manager and prove that he took no action before you take them to court.

Then, would that really be worth it? I don't think so.

Answer 3

Yes you can. By use of the term "freeholder" it appears you are not in the US. Rules may differ in the UK or elsewhere. In the US, where going to court is cheap and a national avocation, people can bring suit against the owner and tenant to enjoin or abate a nuisance that affects one's right to "quiet enjoyment" of one's property. Excessive noise resulting from some violation of law or the building's rules can constitute such a nuisance. Prove in such cases is difficult: requiring recordings and time & datelogs & probably independent witnesses to corroborate the noise. My guess is the law is the same where you live. It is difficult, but the answer to your question is that it can be done.

Answer 4

I don't have any experience with a situation like yours, but I have had experience where I was not being provided what my lease specified I would recieve. I quite simply told them if you aren't going to provide everything the lease says you would (in your case, some peace and quite from floor carpeting) then you will not recieve all of your money when time comes to pay rent, and by all means take me to court. You breached the contract, you'll lose, and I will countersue.

Answer 5

AFAIK You cannot withhold ground rent. However, you can call in your local anti-social task force. They are part of your local authority and have the ability to take legal action against repeated noise nuisances. They will need to come to your home and check noise levels outside of the allowed hours (7am to 10pm i think.)

They have the power to impose fines and jail terms. However, i would advise checking with your local CAB over legal aid and the possibility of mediation. It would be best to get the council to sort this out, but civil action remains a possibility. The drawback of the first is that it can take a few months to compile enough evidence. The drawback of the second is the expense.

Answer 6

The legal way is clearly the best but in my experience not the fastest or easiest. You need to fix a large set of speakers to your ceiling (mount an MDF board to your ceiling using large wood screws screwed in the ceiling joists - screw the speakers into this). You need to then play thrash metal/punk etc at full volume starting at 1.30 am. Do this once then the following day tell them that it will continue until they comply with their lease terms and stick to your guns. I had a guy living underneath me in Brighton who used to play Monty Pythons "always look on the bright side of life" & "gordon is a moron" at full volume at all hours so loud that my wife and baby couldnt sleep, I tried all the right ways until on night I bashed his front door, he opened it and I ran him into his flat holding his throat growling at him (to the amazement of his party guests) i told him that I was going to smash all of his teeth out if he didnt stop & that even when I got arrested his teeth would still be out - it worked! I also told him that playing music wasnt the problem, it was the volume and the time. I know that had I not taken action it would simply have carried on.
Do not give in to these people!

Answer 7

At the very least it is a violation of the lease and therefore gives you the option of terminating your lease early, if you so wish.
Ultimately enforcement may require court action if you want to pursue it.
Sometimes, in situations like this, a firmly written letter from a solicitor spelling thisng out can do the trick. It shows them that you are serious.
I used this tact once when an insurance company refused to pay part of my claim.
After one letter they paid in full.

Answer 8

in case you reside in an house complicated you could desire to talk to the owner or the chief of the development. you're taking your court docket situations to them in a expert way. tell the owner that the tenants in ( notwithstanding house #) are being very loud contained in the late hours of the night or contained in the very early mornings. My brother is a supervisor of an house complicated and could no longer tolerate any noses after 10 pm to be considerate to all the different tenats. If this rule is violated better than two times.. then he kicks them out. whilst the tenant first arrives, he has them comply with specific regulations of the development community. in case you get no consequences out of your landlord or manger of the development.. then you definately can pass to the police and report a criticism.

Answer 9

Hi , I believe about 3 years ago I had same problem i reported to CAB and they put me in touch with a lawyer and i reported to environment health and the gave them warning and notice to stop and after 3 months he was still making noise and ...so the environment health people got a court letter and the removed him from that house?maybe if you report it to them you get some action?
good luck

Answer 10

I have the same problem (in rented for another 2 weeks until exchange contracts).. Been here for 2 years. next door has laminated stairs and they run up and down the stairs swearing at 1am.. drive me and my girl nuts.. I put Arctic Monkey on my PC (Top microsoft sound system) and crank it up.. if they ever complain i will go for them..