Apartment sound proofing: noisy downstairs neighbors??

[Thecutest]

Have the same problem. It's nice to hear people on the top floor complaining about lower level idiots. People on the ground floor swear they are silent and not at all problematic. But no! You guys can be just as noisy as the top floor. My downstairs neighbor is a noisy psycho who apparently believes that there are certain days of the week where her noise will be less offensive to me which is why she refuses to cease and desist without constant reminders that it's loud. Either that, or she's just doing it to be rude.

Either way, if your landlord refuses to sound proof your neighbor's place or do anything about it, do what I've done. Document everything. Record noise and call the cops. Hope the neighbor is crazy enough to retaliate because you can document that too and make an even stronger case for yourself. Next, file a small claims case against the landlord or mgmt company. Subpoenae the noisy neighbor, landlord, even responding cop (get their business card when they arrive to the scene answering your noise complaint.). Small claims court clerk can walk you through the subpoenae process at city hall. then, see if you can get someone from HUD or city hall who specializes in code violations to speak as an expert in your case. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. It'll cost a couple hundred bucks or less!

Sue that bat-sh*t ******* into next week. You'll either win money, get them evicted, or show the landlord and the city that your bldg has a huge code violation where noise is concerned, I.e. The quiet enjoyment clause in most leases.
The latter is something that will have to be fixed, resulting in your unit and theirs getting soundproofed.

[Charles22]

I wonder if they're on here complaining about the noise from upstairs?

[personone]

I just moved from a luxury high-rise to an older building. The building is really nice and renovated. Great neighborhood. However, as expected, because the building is older it doesn't have the insulation between floors. I can hear my neighbors upstairs (one level above) every time they walk or have the TV on. They haven't been a problem except for once per month. I volunteer early Saturday mornings one time per month, and every Friday night before I volunteer, it sounds like they're playing video games. I can hear the base from the TV, and even with earplugs it doesn't help. They play it for hours and I'm not able to get a good night's sleep.

I feel bad complaining since I really only notice it once per month, but this is the third time it's happened. Going to notify the leasing office first and then talk to them if it happens again. The apartment and price are too nice to let the inconvenience effect it.

[maureylevy]

I'm going through a similar situation for the last 3 years. It started when a Bangladesh family of three moved into the one bedroom apartment below me. The girl was 4 at the time and is now 7. She looks like one of these Ethiopian starvation children you see on the infomercials at 4am. She makes noise like a herd of elephants. I noticed it right away. She scampers across the floor, and because the building is old you can hear it crystal clear. Then she does swan dives off the furniture and onto the floor. How she does't break every bone in her body is beyond me. It shakes the entire building. Remember that scene in Jurassic Park where the water shakes. That's been my daily experience for the last 3 years. She climbs on their kitchen table and jumps off, the couch the bed. She sleeps on a floor mattress.

The old owners were slumlords. They gave me some sob story about the economy being bad, and they had no choice other than to rent to people cramming as many as possible into a one bedroom apartment. And there's laws that you can't discriminate against people's living situation when it comes to the rental or housing market. It has to be like 9 people crammed into a one bedroom in order for it to be illegal. As long as they're on the lease they can live there. It sounded like a circus every night. Even right now as I'm typing my floor is shaking. Anyway it's easy to say "just move" but if you can;t like me here's what I did to kind of help. I went to my local carpet dealer and bought a remnant carpet piece for $80 and put it in the living room where 75% of the noise and floor shaking come from. It did nothing. It did muffle their voices slightly, but my floor shakes the same as before. The difference is there, but it's not really noticeable. I started to bang on the floor with my foot, but that did nothing they banged on the ceiling. So I banged on the floor with a hammer and they flipped out. They banged on my door and said it broken English "What's your problem?" and I told them they have to quiet down. The kid just does not stop running around. They said they would try. It got worse. The landlord told me to call the cops. So I did 40 times over the course of 60 days. I have called the cops 3 times in my life before this, and let me tell you I hated it.

But the cops showed up every time, and told them to keep it down, but couldn't do anything because they couldn't hear the noise from the street. They told me after the 40th time that myself and my landlord could be charged with harassment by police if I keep calling. So finally I talked with them, and they said it would quiet down. It lasted 3 months before the kid was nose diving off furniture and literally climbing the walls. The new owners want them gone because our building is infested with cockroaches because of their un sanitary living conditions, and people hoarding throughout my building. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep an audio recording of the noise, with video if possible to show your landlord what it's like to live there. Also don't complain if you don't pay your rent on time, or turn it in last minute. I pay 10 days in advance every month, so if they say are you paid up, you can respond "yes, for this month and the next one". Chances are the animals that live below you don't pay on time. People who act like scum, normally act like that in every aspect of their lives. Who do you think the landlord would rather have living there? People who pay early, keep a clean apartment, and are quiet, or animals who cram people into small spaces, live in filth, and pay late or last minute. You leave and they'll end up only renting to scum like that, because n normal sane person would move into a sh*t show. If they leave, they can screen out the filth and charge more for rent to attack a better quality tenant.

When I say scum and animals I'm not being prejudice, or racists. Trash is trash.. White trash is the worst and it goes down from there. Immigrants like my downstairs neighbors can't help it because where they're from this is normal. But it does't make it right. They live here no, and they should behave according to American customs. So it's going to take a lot of work, but i assure you they will leave and I will have quiet. It takes years, but little by little build your case, and stay the course. It will pay off.

[personone]

Originally Posted by personone

I just moved from a luxury high-rise to an older building. The building is really nice and renovated. Great neighborhood. However, as expected, because the building is older it doesn't have the insulation between floors. I can hear my neighbors upstairs (one level above) every time they walk or have the TV on. They haven't been a problem except for once per month. I volunteer early Saturday mornings one time per month, and every Friday night before I volunteer, it sounds like they're playing video games. I can hear the base from the TV, and even with earplugs it doesn't help. They play it for hours and I'm not able to get a good night's sleep.

I feel bad complaining since I really only notice it once per month, but this is the third time it's happened. Going to notify the leasing office first and then talk to them if it happens again. The apartment and price are too nice to let the inconvenience effect it.

To follow up: I just sent a short email to the property management describing the problem. I also let them know that the noise wasn't frequent but I documented when it happened. It is stated in the lease that after 10pm, no loud noise/ music is permitted. Anyway, after sending that email, haven't heard the noise since. If you have good management, talking to them should be the first step to addresses the noise.

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by goroman

As far as I know it is landlord's responsibility to resolve noise issue and provide quiet enjoyment.

The term "quiet enjoyment" doesn't refer specifically to noise. It can include anything that unreasonably interferes with your use of the apartment.

As far as noise goes, "normal" apartment noise is reasonable, and thus does not infringe your legal right to "quiet enjoyment," irrespective of how subjectively annoying it might be to you.

For instance, loud music, TV, parties, dogs barking after 10 p.m. would infringe your quiet enjoyment. Dogs barking incessantly during the day might also infringe your rights.

Normal conversations, doors closing, people walking about, and normal music during the day, likely would not be a legal issue.

Landlords are not required to rebuild ceilings or floors to prevent "normal" daily noises from seeping through. The building is what it is, and other tenants have the right to go about their daily lives, so long as the noise they create is not unreasonable.

Many legal issues turn on whether an activity is reasonable.

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by QuietPls

Other than ordering a hit (kidding!), what can I do?!

You can call the police with a noise complaint. Sometimes they'll come over and talk to the guy. Seeing a badge and uniform scares some people into behaving, especially if they don't want police attention.

Some people might hire an actor or friend to dress up as a cop and give the guy a warning. Of course, impersonating a cop is is illegal, so I'm not recommending this.

And there's always the risk that the neighbor, rather than get scared, would hate you for calling a cop and want to retaliate.

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by Thecutest

show the landlord and the city that your bldg has a huge code violation where noise is concerned, I.e. The quiet enjoyment clause in most leases.
The latter is something that will have to be fixed, resulting in your unit and theirs getting soundproofed.

Ah, no.

There is no "huge code violation" just because a building is noisy. And code violations have nothing to do a lease's promise of quiet enjoyment.

Building codes are one thing. Leases are something else entirely.

A "code violation" means the building was not built to code. Building codes normally only deal with safety issues, not noise issues. So a noisy building does not indicate a code violation, much less a "huge" code violation.

And a lease's promise of quiet enjoyment does not mean no noise. It means no unreasonable noise. (See my detailed answer above.)

[Rambo2018]

White noise