Noisy neighbours!

[Saffron]

Rianoo Wrote:

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> "It's unreasonable to expect them not to run about

> or cry in their own house!"

>

> No one wrote it wasn't.

>

> If stomping is going on late at night one would

> assume it is the adults. The children are probably

> awoken also which compounds the issue further.

Well, no one wrote that it was adults stomping waking up children either!

[Saffron]

Sue Wrote:

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> Manda Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Sue,

> >

> > I don't think anyone is suggesting that, read

> the

> > posts again.

> >

> > Amanda

>

> Xxx

>

> Sorry if I'm dim but I don't understand, sorry.

>

> The post I'm commenting on is quoted at the start

> of mine.

>

> It's complaining of a family of six 'stomping

> around' late at night despite being asked to be

> quieter. It said this was a similar problem to the

> OP's issues with neighbours having all-night

> parties.

>

> My reference to children was because I assumed a

> family of six included children, which may of

> course be wrong, but I

> stand by my general point.

>

> How have I misunderstood it? If I have, then of

> course I apologise.

Agreed, Sue, that was my interpretation of the post too. Whether it's a family of six or two, stomping around out of hours doesn't seem on par with what the OP was describing. It may be irritating, but it's just part of life in a crowded city. It can be difficult depending on the living arrangements to make this kind of activity quieter. Music, however, can be easily turned down. Lots of sympathy for the OP!

[LadyDeliah]

polla2256 Wrote:

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> Tell them what you think via wifi - change you're

> ssid to something like "My neighbours suck balls"

Genius! lol

[Manda]

What I mean is, you can't make assumptions about what/who is causing the noise... and you aren't living beneath them so can't judge how much it is affecting the original poster.

If we could all live in detached houses then there'd be no issues, but that isn't sustainable, so we do have to consider our neighbours.

This from the Noise Abatement Society:

The law in respect of noise states that no-one may cause a statutory noise nuisance, but there is no set volume, nature of noise, frequency of occurrence or time of day or night which automatically amounts to a statutory nuisance ? it is in the judgement of the Environmental Health Officer at your local authority, who are required to witness the noise to make their decision. They can witness the noise either by visiting your property when the noise is taking place, or by installing noise monitoring equipment to allow you to record the noise so they can make a judgement by listening to the resulting tapes. Different local authorities use different methods. Noise teams can be small, and inundated with complaints, so the first method for them to prioritise their resources is usually by asking for the completion of noise diaries to illustrate the extent to which the noise is affecting your life, with the added benefit that these diaries can show a pattern to the noise, so it can be easier to arrange for the Noise Patrol Officer to visit at a time when the noise is likely to be in evidence.

Generally, the hours of night are given to be 11pm ? 7am, but this does not mean that any noise between these hours is automatically a statutory nuisance or that you can make as much noise as you like up until 11pm ? it is up to the Environmental Health Officer to decide by witnessing it.

The police will not usually become involved in a noise problem, unless some other, criminal, activity is taking place ? it is just not within their remit.

Lastly, in situations where neighbour relations have broken down, mediation can help. Mediation services vary widely amongst local authorities but you may want to consider this option. Community Accord have further information: http://www.communityaccord.com/type-neighbourhood.php and your could also try your local council.

[Rianoo]

@Saffron

If it isn't adults or children then who is it. Ghosts ?

This isn't in repsonse to the OP's original post.

[Sue]

What is the definition of "stomping around", anyway?

"To tread or trample heavily or violently on" came up at the top of a Google.

Especially these days when many people have uncarpeted floors and stairs, it's a bit unreasonable to expect them to tippy toe around their own home :)

They probably hear you making noises as well, youandiaredominoes, they just don't complain about it :)

I'm currently being driven slowly mad (der) by a neighbour's noisy boiler going on and off when I'm trying to sleep. Waiting for it to fire up again is a bit like waiting for the next plane to come over.

I guess people are sensitive to different kinds of noise. But basically if you live in close promixity to other houses, as most people in London do, you just have to accept that you hear noise from the people living there.

As I said previously, that's quite different to the original complaint on this thread about somebody having an all-night party. Unless it's a one-off celebration and they've warned the neighbours in advance, that's just anti-social.

[fernado]

Hire a soundsystem, postition speakers next to party wall, load up the intro to When The Levee Breaks on a continuous loop, depart on two-week holiday

[AbDabs]

Sue Wrote:

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>>

> Especially these days when many people have

> uncarpeted floors and stairs, it's a bit

> unreasonable to expect them to tippy toe around

> their own home :)

>

>

I don't agree with this at all. If you remove the carpet then you should make sure that doing so does not create a noise problem. For that very reason many flat leases require floor coverings to remain in place.

[Sue]

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Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> >>

> > Especially these days when many people have

> > uncarpeted floors and stairs, it's a bit

> > unreasonable to expect them to tippy toe around

> > their own home :)

AbDabs Wrote:

> I don't agree with this at all. If you remove the

> carpet then you should make sure that doing so

> does not create a noise problem. For that very

> reason many flat leases require floor coverings to

> remain in place.

xxxxxxx

So if, as I do, you live in a terraced house where noise travels between the walls on both sides, you should not remove any carpet in case your neighbours hear you walking about or running upstairs?

That's absurd in the extreme.

The situation where you live in a flat and have a separate upstairs flat above you with people walking about on an uncarpeted or unsoundproofed floor is completely different.

Edited to make it clearer who said what.

[The Minkey]

The house next door with which I share the party wall has some sort of faux-stone floor tiling throughout. It is so noise-conductive, I can hear coins dropping. I've worn earplugs every night since my current neighbours moved in a few years ago, being a very 'lively' family who keep odd hours, have a shouty parenting style, and occasionally stab each other up.

[Sue]

Blimey, Minkey, that sounds (no pun intended) terrible.

[AbDabs]

Sue Wrote:

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> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> Sue Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> > >>

> > > Especially these days when many people have

> > > uncarpeted floors and stairs, it's a bit

> > > unreasonable to expect them to tippy toe

> around

> > > their own home :)

>

> AbDabs Wrote:

>

> > I don't agree with this at all. If you remove

> the

> > carpet then you should make sure that doing so

> > does not create a noise problem. For that very

> > reason many flat leases require floor coverings

> to

> > remain in place.

>

> xxxxxxx

>

> So if, as I do, you live in a terraced house where

> noise travels between the walls on both sides, you

> should not remove any carpet in case your

> neighbours hear you walking about or running

> upstairs?

>

> That's absurd in the extreme.

>

> The situation where you live in a flat and have a

> separate upstairs flat above you with people

> walking about on an uncarpeted or unsoundproofed

> floor is completely different.

>

> Edited to make it clearer who said what.

Why is it absurd? Wooden floors may be fashionable but without modern standards of sound attenuation the transfer of sound can be intolerable.

[unklereemus]

Well, another night disturbed by the vindictive neighbours last night.

I managed to get their attention from their open window (they had the window wide open and were screaming and shouting, perhaps that's fun in their world), and asked them to simply close the window, not actually stop their gathering, but all I got was a tirade of abuse about 'not respecting them' somehow and then I got told to f*** off.

So I decided to call Southwark Council Anti-Social Behaviour hit squad, and what a load of good that was.

They said that although the noise coming from next was 'unbearable' but because it wasn't music being unbearably loud, they couldn't do anything!! Is this right?

It seems bizarre that a recording of people shouting and screaming could be deemed anti-social but actual screaming and shouting is beyond their jurisdiction.

And now, I'm at a loss at what to do. Can the council really do nothing? Can I get in touch with their landlord to make a complaint?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Sue]

Some years back my neighbours and I had a situation where another neighbour was shouting and swearing at the top of his voice in his flat at all times of the day and night and had his window wide open in all weathers.

One set of neighbours were particularly concerned because of their young children constantly hearing the f and c words at a time when they were just learning to talk. Funny if it's not your kids ,maybe.

Long story short, and it took a great deal of persistence, we got his Housing Association to deal with it. Nobody at the Housing Association wanted to take responsibility to do it, it was passed from pillar to post there, and eventually we had to write to the CEO.

However, it was eventually sorted.

If you can find out who the landlord is, it would be worth asking whether these people are breaking the terms of their lease.

I agree it is a nonsense that the council won't deal with noise other than music.

[Chillaxed]

unklereemus, where are you on Lacon? I find it a very quiet street on the whole so I assume you're at the other end (I'm at the Crawthew Grove end).

Good luck with resolving your issue.

[Tommy1000]

unklereemus,

I should try and notify the landlord of the problem, if you've exhausted all possible routes with the neighbours themselves. Do you know the landlord's identity, or at least which letting agency was used to let the property?

When you refer to the council, are you talking about the Southwark Noise and Nuisance team? I'm not sure that's right that just because it's not music it's not under their remit...

Once you've exhausted all the other options you could consider suing them in the magistrates court:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2009/05/19/how_do_you_deal_with_noisy_nei_1.html