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IMO carpeting in itself does not work very well in reducing footstep noise. People will tend to go barefoot in their apartments if there is carpeting. It makes sense. It can get dirty fast if you wear shoes inside.
As we know, barefoot walking makes noise because the heel bone hits the floor. That's where the annoying "thud, thud, thud" sound comes from.
The best solution is to wear slippers or flip-flops. The soles will dampen the force of the foot hitting the floor, thus reducing the noise level. It won't totally eliminate the footstep noise, especially for those heavy walkers, but it will help quite a bit.
You might also consider getting a white noise machine, which costs about 40 dollars. The brand I bought was called LectroFan. Also earplugs at night. At one point, I had 2 white noise machines going full blast while wearing earplugs in order to sleep.
This is already what I'm doing. I've tried all manner of isolation from my end, the situation is severe. No amount of isolation will help with the low frequency thuds coming from upstairs. Moving out isn't an option, I have no income and this is the only place I've ever lived in all my life(31 years). The landlord wants me out, and/or does not care. Someone above mentioned that because they put carpetting in, it means they tried to please me. Heh, no, that's the law. He did everything which the law states and nothing more. He wants me out so he can rake in thousands after renovating my place when I'm gone, but I have no way of proving that.
There's a way to handle this, but it basically means going to war with your LL. And since he already wants you out, the war could be pretty bloody.
How to do it:
First carefully and completely document everything, the noise, your complaints to the LL about the noise. Make sure when push comes to shove, you can prove everything about the situation. Get a sound meter, video it when the noise is happening. Send complaints by mail, return receipt requested. Log dates and times of everything.
Second: Have a lawyer draft a letter to the LL stating that if the noise situation isn't corrected, you'll start withholding rent until it is. Just having a lawyer write a letter isn't that expensive, and it has two hugely beneficial aspects over just writing it yourself. It's shows that your serious enough about this to spend a little money on it. It also shows that you have a lawyer, and any shenanigans the LL might try to pull will be reviewed and responded to by someone who knows the law and how to use it. The latter is very important because most tenants who go to house court don't have lawyer, and therefore get outmuscled by the landlords lawyers. Quite specifically, the letter should say that the noise violates the quiet enjoyment clause of the standard rent stabilized lease, and therefor, by allowing it, the LL is in violation of the lease.
Third, once this letter goes out, and if the noise continues, start withholding some portion of the rent. Keep this money handy because at some point you might have to release the withheld rent to the LL as part of an agreement.
Here's where it get's dicey. The landlord may try to evict you. He'll file for an eviction, and you'll have to go to housing court, preferably with your lawyer, to fight it. But, generally, the judges in housing court are fairly tenant friendly. If you show all your documentation about the noise, how you repeatedly complained to the LL about the noise, and that nothing was done, the judge may dismiss the eviction, and let you keep the money. He may also allow you to keep withholding rent as long a the condition persists. The worst thing that is likely to happen is that the judge will make you pay back the withheld rent (that you kept handy) and makes you continue paying the full rent. The court almost always allows a tenant to cure a situation before going forward with an eviction.
This is a high risk tactic, but it's the only real way to put pressure on the LL to put pressure on the other tenant to cure the situation. Keep in mind, based on the way you describe your situation with the LL, that the tenant may have been put in there specifically to be annoying to try and drive you out.
There is one negative that can't be avoided with this tactic. If you go to housing court for any reason, that fact gets logged in the public court records. There are companies that collect these records, and sell a searchable database of them that the LLs use to screen tenants. If you ever move, and look for another apartment, chances are that LL will see the case coming out of this situation. A lot of LL will not rent to tenants who have any housing court history, no matter what the reason or disposition of the case.
How did the OP miss this post? Smh
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
You might also consider getting a white noise machine, which costs about 40 dollars. The brand I bought was called LectroFan. Also earplugs at night. At one point, I had 2 white noise machines going full blast while wearing earplugs in order to sleep.
The only bad thing about ear plugs is you may not alarm in the morning when it's time to get up for work. Thar's why I only wear them when I know I am off the next day.
Below is the best advice however with one provision. Before going through housing court, try a call to 311 and Dept of Housing and Preservation. Request an inspection. Here's the catch, they cannot say when they will exactly come but you can give them your availability and phone number. Unfortunately housing inspectors are spread quite thin but you can try a few times. When I got the housing inspector to come in I showed him the wall they failed to plaster and paint properly after doing the very basic fix to a ceiling leak, showed the crappy falling apart refrigerator I wanted replaced, and the windows that needed repair. The landlord I have is run of a mill but does seem to try to get things done - just without spending no more than the minimal as I live in a rent-stabilized apt. HOWEVER< as he had several complaints attached to his property and did not want to be put on the "bad landlord list" with pictures of properties with many violations on the NYC Public Defender's site, he complied and I had a wall replastered and painted, a new refrigerator and windows that open and close properly.
You can start to do what was recommended in the prior poster's suggestion - a sound meter ot something to document the loud sound.
If this all seems too much and you want to move, then share your budget and areas you want ot live in another post and maybe you can get good advice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BBMW
There's a way to handle this, but it basically means going to war with your LL. And since he already wants you out, the war could be pretty bloody.
How to do it:
First carefully and completely document everything, the noise, your complaints to the LL about the noise. Make sure when push comes to shove, you can prove everything about the situation. Get a sound meter, video it when the noise is happening. Send complaints by mail, return receipt requested. Log dates and times of everything.
Second: Have a lawyer draft a letter to the LL stating that if the noise situation isn't corrected, you'll start withholding rent until it is. Just having a lawyer write a letter isn't that expensive, and it has two hugely beneficial aspects over just writing it yourself. It's shows that your serious enough about this to spend a little money on it. It also shows that you have a lawyer, and any shenanigans the LL might try to pull will be reviewed and responded to by someone who knows the law and how to use it. The latter is very important because most tenants who go to house court don't have lawyer, and therefore get outmuscled by the landlords lawyers. Quite specifically, the letter should say that the noise violates the quiet enjoyment clause of the standard rent stabilized lease, and therefor, by allowing it, the LL is in violation of the lease.
Third, once this letter goes out, and if the noise continues, start withholding some portion of the rent. Keep this money handy because at some point you might have to release the withheld rent to the LL as part of an agreement.
Here's where it get's dicey. The landlord may try to evict you. He'll file for an eviction, and you'll have to go to housing court, preferably with your lawyer, to fight it. But, generally, the judges in housing court are fairly tenant friendly. If you show all your documentation about the noise, how you repeatedly complained to the LL about the noise, and that nothing was done, the judge may dismiss the eviction, and let you keep the money. He may also allow you to keep withholding rent as long a the condition persists. The worst thing that is likely to happen is that the judge will make you pay back the withheld rent (that you kept handy) and makes you continue paying the full rent. The court almost always allows a tenant to cure a situation before going forward with an eviction.
This is a high risk tactic, but it's the only real way to put pressure on the LL to put pressure on the other tenant to cure the situation. Keep in mind, based on the way you describe your situation with the LL, that the tenant may have been put in there specifically to be annoying to try and drive you out.
There is one negative that can't be avoided with this tactic. If you go to housing court for any reason, that fact gets logged in the public court records. There are companies that collect these records, and sell a searchable database of them that the LLs use to screen tenants. If you ever move, and look for another apartment, chances are that LL will see the case coming out of this situation. A lot of LL will not rent to tenants who have any housing court history, no matter what the reason or disposition of the case.
^
AFAIK noise from another tenant is not an HPD/building cpde issue. Even if it is, the OR would need to get an inspector there when the noise is happening, which would be a neat trick.
The problem here is that it's a three way problem. The key party, the LL, has an incentive not to be helpful.
I used to live in NYC, and I remember those days living in an apartment......do what I did...move out of NYC....problem solved
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This is the best advice with one provision
