What should I do, is it a cultural thing?

Question

I live in a maisonette on my own with my yr old baby and have a Czech family with two 10-ish yr olds living upstairs. They are really noisy, banging and crashing and play their music loud. All my friends who have been over say it's so noisy, I asked them nicely to keep it down one night when my baby was trying to sleep and their kids where screaming and jumping around over her room and the guy got annoyed at me. I feel bad to complain as they have kids but today was the last straw, my bro is staying & went for a nap today but couldn't sleep from te music and screaming so slept on the sofa, then my daughter had her nap and the music was still loud so I asked nicely if they could turn it down a bit, the woman said it was the afternoon, she could understand if it was night but its not and no she won't turn it down. They have banged on the floor when my daughter cried in the night so I moved her room, I am so annoyed with this inconsideration, what should I do, is it a cultural thing?

It's kind of hard as I feel quite vunerable living here alone with a baby and I dont want any problems with them

Answer 1

Let the police know what is going on, then either ask them to intervene or with their preknowledge, speak with the neighbors yourself, once again. If daytime the police may not do anything anyway.
I had someone block my drive, a hell of a party across the road, same night I was having one. After talking with police, I ventured over, telling my mate that I hadn't had an ar*se kicking in a long time. Turned out they were very nice and the vehicle was moved almost instantly.
Good luck
--That Cheeky Lad
P.S. No insult ment to immigrants, but they may have come from a country with different rules and social expectations.

Answer 2

Your neighbors' behaviour is totally unacceptable, inconsiderate, and just plain rude.

Forgive me, I do not know if a maisonette is rented or owned. If you rent the maisonette and you have a landlord I would talk to him. A landlord has a responsibility to keep peace and order for all tenants.

If you own the maisonette I would definitely call the police. Your neighbors are in the wrong, and you should not have to be subjected to their uncivilized mannerisms. For goodness sake, you have a baby. These people are behaving terribly toward you.

Also consider the long term implications. How long do you want to have to deal with this? Unfortunately, if they are so resistant to your reasonable requests a visit from the police may only quiet them temporarily. You may want to think about moving. I know it would be inconvenient, but it may bring you and your child the most peace in the end.

Best wishes to you.

Answer 3

No, it's not a cultural thing. It's a jerk thing. They're being jerks. Talk to your landlord and/or call the police. If they harass you, press charges. You have as much right there as they do (possibly more, depending on size of the apartment, most apartments limit how many people can live in one). If their music is so loud you cannot put your baby to nap, it's too loud. They can be requested by the landlord to keep it down, and they can be requested by the police to keep it down. There are laws, regardless of the time of day, about public nuisance.

Answer 4

No, I don't think it is a cultural thing- I think it is an annoying, rude thing. If you have tried nicely several times to ask them to pplease keep it down, I think you have every right to call the police and file a noise disturbance complaint. The Czech family will probably shut up if a cop comes to their door and asks them to keep it down. however, they will obviously know it was you who called the cops, so be prepared for a bunch of pissy neighbors, but it may be worth it so you and your baby can have some peace and quiet.

Answer 5

They are being jerks. It's never OK, whether it is night or day, to be so noisy you are disrupting another person. Call the police or your landlord-you have already done enough on your own to try to remedy the situation.
Try not to feel vulnerable-you shouldn't feel as though you are being held prisoner in your own home. If they have threatened you, talk to the police about that too.

Answer 6

How inconsiderate can you be. Neighbours should have consideration for each other. I would phone the police and ask them for advice. I have to add i am glad i am not in your position, people doing that drives me mad. I would probably spend the night banging a broom against the ceiling . Good luck to you, can you perhaps move to a better place??

Answer 7

Call the police next time they play the music really loud, most areas have laws against noise pollution, and if it really is loud enough to be a disturbance, they can get a ticket, be fined, etc.

Answer 8

Culture is never a valid reason for being pests and causing upset to others.

Since they aren't about to change and if you're concerned about your safety should you create a huge fuss, then you might want to consider moving. I don't advocate giving in to obnoxious bullies (which is what they are), but as I said, if you don't feel safe by pushing the matter, then leaving is your best bet.

Answer 9

No its a disrespectful neighbour thing! Ask one of the adults into your house so they can hear for themselves how loud their kids are being. It shouldn't be a hard thing to keep the noise level down. If you still don't have any joy with them, call the Environmental Health Office and ask them to deal with it, which they will.

Answer 10

It's nothing to do with culture, they're just rubbish - that can come from anywhere.