Apartment Noise Complaint

Noise complaints are fairly common disputes handled by landlords. In my case when I receive a complaint from a tenant about a loud or noisy tenant, I do just what your landlord did and contact the tenant that has supposedly been “noisy” and ask them to be more aware of noise levels. Landlord/ Tenant noise complaints aren’t going to go away anytime… probably ever!
If you are getting complaints for being too noisy, worse case scenario, you could be evicted for violation of house rules specific to the quiet enjoyment of others. So, it should concern you a bit to be more aware of it. However, in my case I wouldn’t evict a tenant for noise complaints unless there was a continual habit of loud parties or something of the sort. If you aren’t doing anything other than walking around– I can’t see that being your fault. Noise ordinances go into effect at 10:30pm in most cities, but can vary per location. If the Cops are called be friendly and cooperative with the officers. Police won’t be able to issue a ticket unless there is a clear violation such as loud party or audible electronic device outside of your unit including, radios, TV’s, Etc.

I almost forgot to provide a suggest on how to protect yourself from complaints about noise violations.
So, how can you protect yourself from over-sensitive neighbors?
1) Be aware of your noise levels, be courteous.
2) Turn down TV’s / Radio’s after 10:30PM
3) Be a good neighbor! This is probably the hardest task, yet the most effective. Now that a complaint has been logged against you, be the bigger person and put your anger aside… instead go introduce yourself to your neighbor, provide a sincere apology and explain that you weren’t aware that your sound level was a problem and explain exactly what you have done to prevent future problems such as taking shoes off to walk around and turning the TV sound down at night. Then, provide your neighbor with your name and contact info and tell her to please call you directly if there are any future noise issues. Thank her for bringing it to your attention and tell her that you are sorry to have caused her any inconvienance and hope to be a good neighbor and that you will do everything in your power to reduce the noise levels.
(This approach is the best protection against noise complaints! It will prevent the landlord from getting involved and should prevent the police from ever being called. You can’t be evicted over something that the landlord is unaware of.)
4) Send a letter to the landlord with a sincere apology and explain that you weren’t aware that your noise levels were anything beyond reasonable. Explain to your landlord that you hope to be a happy long-term tenant and will do everything in your power to reduce noise levels. You can even explain what specific steps were being taken to reduce noise levels from your unit. Ask the landlord if they can provide any advice on how to reduce noise levels further so that you can also incorporate their suggestions. End your letter with a sincere apology and tell management that you appreciate their management policies and that you want nothing more than to be compliant with any request made by them. Don’t forget to provide your email / phone numbers with a simple comment like; please don’t hesitate to contact me with any concerns or questions.
Alright, NG… I assure you if you do this, you will be fine. Yes, this does require you to take it a step further by actually apologizing even if you feel the complaint wasn’t justified. The worst thing you could do would be to ignore it, or get mad about it… neither will address the issue. By actively being aware of your neighbors wishes, she will inturn most likely be much more tolerant to your noise.

I just found this post asking the same or similar question I had. I too have been reported by my neighbor for being too noisy. I deserved it though– I’m a college student and have some loud friends that hang out. The police have been called twice on me and my landlord sent me a notice saying that if a 3rd noise complaint was filed against me that I would be evicted. I guess its a bit of a wake up call, I really can’t afford to move or be evicted.
Time for me to be a bit more respectful or I’ll be out. I don’t know if I can muster up the courage to actually apologize to my neighbor and landlord… but I guess I better! Thanks Richard for the advice, makes sense! Also, thanks NG for posting this question! I’m usually too lazy to post a question and wait for answers, thanks for doing it for me!
Its past midnight now, I guess I better turn off guitar hero and stop jumping around like a rock star!

Just to shadow what Richard was saying.. If a tenant shows me they are trying to cooperate when a complaint is made against them it earns huge brownie points. If I know a tenant is trying to avoid future problems, it makes me more lenient if a future complaint comes in. In fact, it can even make the tenant that is complaining look bad and come off as too sensitive. As a landlord we don’t “Really” know what’s going on all of the time. We can only make judgments off of what we think is going on.
If you’re the one making effort to resolve the problem, it will go a long way in the landlords eye’s. If the lower tenant is being too picky you can always turn it around on them and complaint that they are not allowing you to enjoy your unit due to fear of noise complaint. Although, that should only be a last option after you have tried to work it out fairly with your neighbor, yet she continues to be unreasonable.

My story is about the lady that lives below us she has complained on us because our kids who are 2 and 4 sometimes make a little to much noise ex: like when they fall or jump. The lady below us however instead of coming up here usually bangs on her ceiling which vibrates our whole floor. We asked for a bottom apartment because I knew that my kids could get roudy because my kids have a hard time sitting still and being quiet. It has become so bad that I am afraid to let them even play anymore because we can’t afford to get evicted. It is soo frustrating it makes me sooo nervous. Anyone have any suggestions

FYI to everyone that is renting and dealing with noisy neighbors, the landlord will not evict the offending tenant. My landlord is an attorney and I pleaded with him to do something with the tenant above me but in his words the only resolution is that there is no solution. Your landlord will not go through an eviction process as s/he threatens to do. It is too costly a process and the judges in New York State looks favorable on tenants rights. The most that will happen is the judge will ask the offending tenant if s/he promises to lower their noise level and give them a slap on the wrist but WILL NOT evict the tenant. The judges deem that too severe of a punishment to exercise for noise complaints.
I wanted to share that with all the tenants suffering from inconsiderate neighbors. Again, this is in New York so laws will differ from state to state. I’m sorry to say the only recourse is to move. I’m currently going through this with my neighbor so I speak from first hand experience.  I’m trying to save up so I can get out of this misery.

I agree with Sound Sensitive ~ noise complaints, if not handled right, can lead to ugly consequences.  I’m on the complaining side, and my LL has given ME notice, for no reason.  In a mo-2-mo tenancy this is usually legal, but…because I had to call the police and the tenants and the LL were cited, this is the only reason I am being asked to leave.

So, unfair and unjust…what can I do?  I did a lot of research on Wisconsin Statutes, as well as what is legal and not legal grounds in this situation.  It turns out that a Consumer Protection code (ATCP 134.09) PROHIBITS  the landlord from evicting when a tenant has exercised a PROTECTED action, such as complaining to the proper authorities for legitimate cause, when all othe avenues of solution have failed.

It seems, at first glance, that I am A-OK, now I don’t need to move and I will just go to court once the Notice Terminating Tenancy moves into a proper Eviction should I refuse to move based on this being a Retaliatory action.  WRONG.  Once the Eviction begins, now I have a public court record, regardless if I win and the case is settled in my favor.  Any future landlord will see it as a red flag.  So now what?

I considered staying, as who has endless amounts of cash to move after you just moved?  But, I do see where someone very poor cannot, and in these cases, you must engage your local Legal Aid office and use the Retaliatory Eviction as what is called an “Affirmative Defense” in your “Answer” to the Eviction Notice.  That is what all renter’s should be able to do, without damaging their public record, but it is not the case.

So, to make a long story even longer (I did a lot of research!), I have concluded thus far, that the superior option is to move first and then file an “Affirmative Cause of Action” which is a “Summons & Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief” for the LL’s action which is violative of ATCP 134.09.  Any LL found guilty will have to pay the tenant double damages when violating this particular code, as it violates the tenant’s rights.

I am writing this because it is a legal maze when you must assert your rights as a tenant and you seek to keep your own record unblemished for future rentals, but you have been egregiously wronged.  I hope that people seek the help they need quickly, and please know your state’s Statutes regarding Landlord-Tenant laws, and contact your local Legal Aid office.

I will be moving, and during the process, my attorney will handle the filing of the Summons & Complaint.  If I can help just one person by posting this, it will be worth it.  Good luck to all of us trying to just live in relative peace!

PLEASE HELP,VERY HEAVY NOISE ,DAY AND LATE NIGHT TIME ,THIS KIDS IS OUT CONTROL,VERY HEAVY JUMP EVERY DAY, I LIVE THE FISRT FLOOR AND I HEAR EVRETHING HAPPEN UPSTAIR . I MAKE SEVERAL COMPLAINT TO THE APARTMENT OFFICE BUT NOTHING CHANGE,.

RALEIGH ,NC
RIVER BIRCH APARTMENTS

I have almost the same problem except I live on the third floor and the kids and mother make noises 24hours a day. It sounds like the kids are jumping and slamming cabinets and doors all the time. During the day he kids play on their porch with basketballs and scream the whole time. This is really annoying because it shakes my apartment with every bounce and bump from downstairs. I purposely requested third floor so I wouldn’t have to hear people above me but instead the noise is coming from below. It is horrible since my boyfriend works third shift and needs to sleep during the day. I understand kids will be loud but it’s the mother’s fault for not controlling them better. We have put in several complaints to the office but nothing has changed yet. Unfortunately this apartment place does not allow for leases to be broken so we are suck for almost a year still.

Raleigh, NC – Providence at Brier Creek (nice enough community but paying too much to have to deal with noisy neighbors all the time)

Hello I have a huge problem and I don’t know what to do. Me and my wife live under a very very touchy neighbor. When just watching TV
She will pound on the floor. The other day my father ( whose almost 50) was over visiting and we were playing some country at a respectable
Level and she came out on her balcony and cussed us out. I have lived in apts for the past 9 yrs of my live and have never had a complaint
Until now….. Also I have hearing loss and tinnitus from the time I spent in the army and in Iraq. This makes it hard for me to hear. The only time
She is complaining and jumping on her floor above us is mid day.. I am sure to keep the TV way down at quiet hours even to the point I have a
Hard time hearing it.

What should I do I am trying to be respectful and reasonable but she won’t stop harassing me and complaining. Don’t I have rights to be able?To just sit down and enjoy a football game at a decent level without being harassed?????

Please help this OIF Vet out
101st airborne

Dallas23:

“Playing some country Music at a respectable level?” No such thing!! Okay, so that’s just my opinion. (not a fan of country music) Besides our disagreement on the country music thing, let me just say that you do have rights.

Most noise ordinance laws don’t go into effect until after 10:30 PM and end around 6AM. The noise ordinances deal primarily with running motors, or electrical devices. They were intended to prevent construction workers from being loud during normal sleeping hours. So, how does this apply to your situation? Well, you probably are well within your right. Some neighbors are extremely sensitive to noise, but that doesn’t mean that you are in violation of any law or house rule.

You might actually be the victim of harassment. This of coarse assumes that the noise level is standard and not overly excessive. Apartment complexes are notorious for having thin walls, thus allowing noises to penetrate easier.

So what can you do??

1) If there is any reason left in your neighbor, you can attempt to work out some type of mutual agreement. Approach your neighbor with respect and apologize for the inconvenience you are causing, then politely explain that you are not purposely being loud and you feel that your noise levels are reasonable; but that you are willing to cooperate with making further effort to minimize noise levels as long as it doesn’t impede your personal rights to enjoyment.

2) You can also take a more official approach and file a complaint with the RPA. (Requires $35 filing fee) This will document the problem that your neighbor is harassing you for normal noise levels that is causing you additional burden, stress and impeding your own quiet enjoyment rights. The complaint will be sent to your property manager and will provide you solid protection against bogus eviction or bogus noise complaints from your neighbor. It will also, most likely, get your neighbor to be more reasonable.

The first one to act, will hold the cards. If the problem is as bad as you say it is, I would do option 1 or 2 mentioned above.

Hope that helps… but please, for humanities sake don’t play that darn country music!! lol

My noisy 2nd floor neighbor has a boyfriend that comes in from work around 10 pm and they both stay up at the latest 4:00am walking, dropping things, talking loudly etc. and he isn’t on her lease. Only herself and her son are suppose be leaving there. Oh did I mention they are in there late 40’s early 50’s. At first I thought I was the only one that heard them every day and night but landlord asked other tenants and they have agreed with me. I actually had to knock on her door at 12:45am because of the noise. Her college age son whom was at home for the summer decided he wanted to put a desk together hammering until midnight on hard wood floors. I contacted my landlord and thank the lord yesterday I found out they will be going to court to try to evict her. They have left water on in the kitchen it has messed up my kitchen ceiling. And get this she is suppose to be a school teacher but of course she’s not working right now. She has lied to my landlord about not being at home when her & her boyfriend decide to come in after drinking and running through the house at 4am.

Hi i am very annoyed with the move i recently made into a cottage. I was thinking it would be much better and safe since how i do have two little ones who don’t go to school and I was trying to eliminate my issues in which i am dealing with now but i feel shouldn’t be. I have been getting complaints in a one moth period of noise and banging on the wall which i know is a little over board because my little ones i know do cry and they scream but do not be hitting the walls and especially knocking down pictures of the neighbors wall. I am just tiered of who ever it my be making these complaints and i don’t want to have them on my record because it really not fair its just a family enjoying them selves before going to bed and facing another hard day. So i want to look into options i may have to have this embarrising harassment to stop.

I have 4 more months left in my lease and am being evicted. Number one because i have a dog. Dogs are allowed in our building but a pet deposit is required. When i first moved there was different management and they bypassed the pet deposit for me to fit my budget. I explained this to the current property manager and she stated that i could come up and pay the extra fee to keep the dog and my apartment. The other reason is because she has “heard” i have someone living with me that is not on my lease and selling drugs out of my apartment. This is completely false and when i asked her where she came up with it, she stated “she’s just going on what she was told”. The police came and searched by apartment the other night and came up empty handed, as i knew they would. I know my cooperation with them will get back to her, which may help my case. The police officers told me it would be a civil case, but as i have no money for an attorney i need to know what rights i have and how to exercise them to get this LL off my back. At this point i’ve found somewhere else to live and will still be moving by the deadline she originally gave me. My only concern is her trying to make me pay 2 months worth of rent for breaking the leasing agreement, even though she was the one who evicted me under false pretenses. What can i do? btw i am in the state of north carolina.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.” said the moron. Most who don’t hear their own noise, are possibly “mentally retarded” by legal standards. The IQ under 80, inability to adapt to multiple social situations, and the unwillingness to change. Congrats!

thank you for this advice, it was very helpful, i am going through this mess right now with noise, landford made some dumb suggestion for me to move to another unit in their complex, instead of the offender. i will move when lease is up

Have a problem. Live in middle apartment(2nd floor of three floors). I get noise constantly. Until two weeks ago was mostly from woman below me who will pound on things with a hammer at all times of day and night-complained, she was given written notice to stop three and a half weeks ago but has continued anyway, and now upstairs neighbor who originally seemed responsive to his noise issues is now behaving similarly with him coming home at anywhere from 12-2:30 a.m. and then stomping around and banging on things-if i complain again i’m afraid that management company will try to do something to me. i live in CO, anyone have any advice because it seems if one is being quiet the other is being a jerk, or they both are, i suffer from migraines so it is very important for me to have a quiet environment. Thank you in advance.

Probably way too late to respond…………but……..I have also three children below ages of 6. Live on second floor condo and the lady below us bangs on the ceiling. She does it all the time even when kids are asleep. I was just given eviction papers and I would like to fight it because it is like her word against mine. When I rented the condo I had all my children. I work full time and we are usually only home also to sleep…..but as you said I am fraid to let me kids play.

kelley

We need help. We live in a second floor apt with two kids eight and almost two. The ppl below us complain constantly. My kids can’t play, or even walk around the apt without the ceiling being banged on and the guy below screaming up the hallway. Or the bottom two fighting which they scream and bang things around and we also can hear them walking around at all hours of the night. I feel like were walking on eggshells all the time. The landlord says ohhhh she wants it quiet around eight so that’s what were all supposed to do. Last night my kids were just watching a movie and walking around normally and they r screaming downstairs that its too noisy. We have tried to explain to them we have a young child and u really can’t control his every move or make him walk all over quietly. And also did I mention they lie to the landlord and don’t tell the whole story to what happens around here I pretty much just get from the landlord she’s been here fifteen yrs and what she wants goes. Really but Iam sorry u can’t live by somebody else’s schedule. My god I can’t even come home from work and make something to eat or take a shower without being accused of being loud. We have rights too. And r facing conviction. What can I do to fight this.

i live on the first floor the guy above me comes home anywhere from 10pm to 3am. the noise is unreal. he is always dropping things which sound like bowling bowls. the tv is always loud. he talks so loud we can almost join in his conversation. the neighbor above him has complained to the owner as many times as i have. 6 months later still no results. we have called the police to many times to keep track. they say there is nothing they can do its up to the owner. i get about 3 hours of sleep a night. my blood pressure is up and all i can think about is when is this guy coming home and how much noise he is going to make. we have to wear ear plugs to get any sleep. we dont know what our rights are . any one with any suggestions would be helpful.

I am a second floor renter with a 1 year old. I am also a stay at home mom… not by choice, but because I cannot find work. I am either over qualified or under qualified and its ridiculous. Anyway, our story is long and sordid, but to sum it up, the day we moved in we went to introduced ourselves to our downstairs neighbor, a retired older single woman. We were friendly and smiley and pleasant and it was very very clear to us from that moment on that she wasn’t, at least not to us. Our other neighbors seem to like us just fine so I had no idea what her problem was… until the 7th month we lived here. She had been up to complain once a month for various “noise” reasons, our son “walked all day” or “yelled too much” or “was dragging things across the floor”. It got to the point where I really was starting to dislike this woman, she wasn’t just a bitter mean old lady anymore, she was becoming harassing. I called the office and explained the situation, they said the same thing that I was telling her “he is a 1 year old…” I get that the situation sucks, but I can’t possibly restrict him any more than I already have. He is trapped in 1 room of the house all day (unless its nice and, then we go outside). I try to keep our movements as quiet as I can, but I can’t do anymore. So I asked the office if there were any units we can move into to get away from her, when asked what apartment we were currently in, the office attendant looked us up and sighed, saying “Oh her… she does that to everyone.” Apparently she has lived her for 7 years and tortured every tenant that has ever lived above her. So at least we knew it wasn’t personal… (scoff). It has now gotten to the point where if the baby makes more than a couple thumps in a row (and his bed time is 7:30, so its not like its ever at an inappropriate time) she BLASTS music so loud that my floors pulse with the bass. Yesterday it was 8 hours and 45 minutes of sustained noise. My ears throbbed from the low level sound and my head hurt and I can only imagine what my poor baby felt. She is retaliating against at 1 year old baby that is only just learning how to control himself and its madness. Just madness. I am so stressed all the time, I cry a lot these days. We can’t afford to relocate just yet (not that there are any units in our price range available anyway) but I cant escape this horrible woman… We haven’t filed a formal complaint yet (though she keeps threatening to file one on us…) because I wonder, since the office clearly knows about her and nothing has been done in the last 7 years, why would I have any reason to believe that a complaint filed by us would do anything except incur her wrath and cause more harassment? She is completely unreasonable… again I understand how much this must suck for her, but I am literally doing everything I can already to keep quiet.

“she BLASTS music so loud that my floors pulse with the bass. Yesterday it was 8 hours and 45 minutes of sustained noise.”

Call the police mom… they’ll hear the music and write a warning. Three warnings and they get a mean ticket. The wench below you deserves that and more!

Your use of CAPS hurts my eyes. I’ve made a complaint against you in this forum. You should move back to the third world country you came from… then go die in a fire. Thank you.

I’ve had a similar problem. If they continue to persist, do what I do and offer them some soundproof windows (CitiQuiet is my personal preference, http://www.citiquiet.com if you decide to go this route). That usually satiates them and makes them feel special.

First of all, your use of caps lock is annoying.

Now.. I have a 3 year old, and we live on a second floor. Any time a new tennant moves in below us, we make sure they are aware that we have a young child. Our floor is not very well insulated, and we hear everything from downstairs, and vice versa. Before you judge these people, maybe you should go get to know them and find out what’s actually going on up there. It may just be that the structure of the building makes things sound louder than they are.

After living in the same unit for 13 years, property management allowed a husband/wife and wife’s sister to move into an end unit that backed up to my inside unit. My bedroom windows were a few feet away from their master bedroom deck. Yeah, didn’t take months for them to carry on their late night talking/smoking sessions outside on their deck. It’s fair to say they were equal opportunity offenders as the noise wasn’t restricted to late night weekends. When I first moved into this community, we had to sign a very extensive rules/regulations document. Clearly, current management no longer provides these guidelines to tenants. For many years I enjoyed the designated quiet hours. And I was very tolerant of Friday and Saturday night parties up to midnight. But, if you work a Monday-Friday dayshift, you look forward to your rest and relaxation on the weekends. The property management wants to push the responsibility for policing tenants onto other tenants. I hate to bother the police with noise complaints and even if you did make the 311 call, it was a low priority issue for the police-as it should be. Until the tenants who were being complained against decided to act out by screaming through the walls and escalating the noise levels. They were warned and at one point, came over and apologized, but being younger kids that didn’t last long. I finally asked to be moved to another unit since property management clearly could not control the other tenants. I didn’t get any kind of break on moving units and even increased my monthly rent by moving to the larger end units. I mistakenly thought that if I got into one of those fabulous end units I would enjoy the new layout and hopefully not have to deal with college-age kids who really would be better suited over in ‘University City’ apartments. When I moved March ’10, the neighbor upstairs had been here several years and I never heard a peep out of him. Neighbor below me downstairs, an elderly gentleman who really can’t hear any way haha. I eventually learned to shut out his loud TV volume and fact don’t pay any attention to it. Came home two weeks ago to find moving boxes outside on the breezeway. New neighbors. They managed to wait until their very first weekend to start the music. 130am on a Saturday. The very following day, the music resumed at 130pm and kept on until 530pm. My brother could hear the music over the phone while talking to me, Sent some emails to the property management and didn’t hear anything back. Came home today and guess what? 530pm and the music has already started for the weekend. I sent another email and got a rude reply back from the assistant community manager that she had not addressed the issue because she was on vacation last week and this week. I got the standard, call the police/call the office to make a complaint. I am contacting the office…via email…to make a complaint. I don’t think the ‘this is apartment living-get used to it’ thought process holds water. I no longer go knocking on doors to confront other tenants because you don’t know who is on the other side of the door. Oh wait, I do. People who moved in and thought we’d all enjoy their music level at all days and hours. Not to mention they move in with their out of state tags, but that is a whole other story. Why am I the bad guy here? I keep my TV low and if I can hear your music over my air conditioning, it is too loud. I really don’t want to have to move again.

ok, so i live on the first floor in a 3 level building. i also own drums. it was my understanding that i can be as loud as i want until around 10pm, until i have to turn the noise down. is this true? because everytime i play, my bitchy guardian constantly complains that the neighbors or office “allegedly” complain that my drums are too loud. i am pretty much 99% certain shes lying just because of the fact my drums annoy her, but i wanted to make sure just so i can call her out of her bullshit & play my drums in peace.

Generally, noise ordinances have separate sets of rules for during the daytime and the nighttime–where I live, from 7 am to 11 pm noises must be kept at a level which cannot be heard at over 100 hundred feet, and then from 11 pm until 7 am (the night time hours) the distance is reduced to 50 feet. So no, you can’t be “as loud as you want” during the day; not to mention, of course, that it’s just rude and inconsiderate.

DO NOT PLAY DRUMS IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING! If you are a musician – you should have a designated practice space. EVERY tenant has the right to complain about noise regardless of the hour if it is disruptive to normal living… a drum-kit most certainly is. I live above a god-awful electric guitar wannabe musician who rehearses the same 16 bars of music while attempting solos to a base track on repeat. There is NOTHING I can do but make complaints, and cops will just ask him to keep it down… when the cops leave, it happens again. SO, if you are a musician, respect the rights of others – who find practical ways to rehearse music without disrupting those in their buildings, and practice in an appropriate practice space. OR use an electric kit and rehearse in headphones. There is NO alternative to this without being completely inconsiderate. For all you know they have a sleeping baby, or a student studying for final exams – be kind!!

So I. Have a neighbor across the way from me who throws parties almost every night from 1am to sometimes 6am. So much yelling and trashing the sharred yard. We have broken beer bottles all over the place. Only one guy lives there but loads of people walk in and out all day and night long doing drug deals. We have ben scared to complain cause they trashed our upstairs neighbor pourch cause her kids had schol the next morning and they wouldn’t stop parting it was 4am.later thy threw glass onto their pourch. I was just yelled at yesterday for supposedly stealing one of the girls cats…she was deffinantly on something. Everyone on hear is saying you can’t get them evicted but they are horrible! What can I do they are mean and violent!

Here is my story. I live on a 3rd floor apartment and I have a 4 week newborn baby who is colicy at the moment. I don’t get much sleep at night. I also have a 2 year old boxer which my apartment allows. Everytime the baby cries, my dog gets up with me. She doesn’t bark; she just gets up and walks with me. I walk around with my baby trying to get her to sleep. Well, my neighbor underneath has complained to the office about the noise caused by my baby crying and my dog and me walking around at night. At first she would come up to my apartment and knock on my door at 2am in which case, she would wake up my daughter whom I just got back to sleep. She said my baby’s crying and my stomping was making her dog sick. I just recieved a formal complaint notice from my landlord. She told me that if she gives me 3 notices, she will have to evict me. I cannot help my baby has colic and cries. I am also not stompping. My dog is walking with me. I could understand if she was barking, but that is not the case. The neighbor also complains when my dog plays with her stuffed doll. I have recently took the doll away and the vet told me to give it back to her because she had become depressed. I don’t know what to do. I don’t play loud music or anything like that. I am worried about being evicted because of the “noise” that is beyond my control.

So love your reply, other renter that does not have kids have no idea, that is not as easy as it seem. Iam going throught the same w/ my apt place. doesnt matter if i accidentally drop something or my kids is playing the renter below will alwasy hear you. I can hear my downstair neighbors, they have no kids; but a dog lol my son is not even that loud but when he run or jump i do tell him to stop. But still and all his a toddler. Now I’m getting complaint, I’m hoping we don’t get kicked out and my lease hurry up and end!

I live in Raleigh NC also, I know Brier Creek area, and that is a pricey area to not be able to have control sound.

All of you who receive a justifiable notice of compliant should realized that your noise causes an unbelievable amount of stress on the lives on those filing the compliant against you. If I can be mindful and considerate of you as a renter, can you not do likewise? If you live in a apartment watch what you do, that’s what I do to be a good neighbor. If you choose to have children living in apartment than have control over your children or move to a house or home where your children could have more freedom. I play piano so I gave up my piano when I moved to this God shakened apartment. I now used a electric piano with headphones. This is what a decent person does while living in apartment. I follow the rules so you can follow the rules as well. I am going through living hell living in my apartment now. My story is like the many horror stories shared on this site. We need stronger laws to protect the apartment dwellers who follow the rules. Mangerment here is a joke, I have complained and documented all my complaints. I moved to another unit in the complex in less than a year they even had the nerve to go up on my rent when it was their failure in mangement to correct the situation. Love the new apartment but the tenants are the same trash they keep renting to. I put up with the daytime noise, a grown women above me running through the apartment all hours of the day and night. Do you have any idea what that sounds like? I get awaken on the hour most of time I can’t get back to sleep. I called the security firm the complex hires and that’s a joke! I need help and it sounds like many of you need the same help as well. I feel like starting a grass root organization to help fight for better laws to protect those of us who follow the rules as apartment renters yet can not get any help to resolve the noise issues from these non-caring landlords. All I want is to be able to sleep at night. I will put up with the noise as I mentioned in the daytime even though it’s rough at times. After 11:00PM we as renters should be allowed to be able to sleep where we pay rent. Lately, I pray each time I lay my head down hoping to sleep through the night. These people above me sound as if they are coming through the floor. I really don’t think any one has to walk that hard especially in the wee hours of morning. All night long this goes on bumps, thumps and really hard heavy walking even a slight run! Then the radio comes on and I can’t get back to sleep this is usually 4:00AM this is not right. I am not doing these things I’m mindful of others. If I can watch my noise level so can anyone else.

Ugh.. I can feel the pain of all of you. We pay rent and expect to have a good nights sleep. I am on the bottom floor of an apartment building. I am really patient when it comes down to noise. However, my upstairs neighbor is really pushing the envelope! She has a long distance boyfriend, who stays days at a time. When he is there they have loud, obnoxious sex at insane hours of the night, example 3am, 4am, 5am on weekdays! I find this highly annoying considering I have to be up early in the morning. The moans do not bother me as much as the head board and bed stand banging violently against the wall and floor.. Talk about annoying at 3 am!! I don’t mind her having sex, I just think it is a bit much being that LOUD at 3 am. It is not like she is a 20 something girl that can’t control herself, it is a middle-aged woman with no respect for others. I have complained to the rental office and they are going to bring up the matter with this triflin’ hooker of a neighbor. I would love to go upstairs and give her a piece of my mind, but husband wants to keep the peace in our complex. My next step is to call the police, but I have heard that the police do not take noise complaints as priority. So everything will be voided.. I am going to make it my mission to think of ways to make this hooker B**** uncomfortable. I know it sounds harsh, but this tramp has stolen many hours of my sleep that I will never get back. She is basically committing adultery, disorderly conduct, vulgar noise, and just being an inconsiderate person. Hoping to get some sleep at 3 am tonight.

i live on a third floor, my son is 10 months old and when he even crawls across the floor my neigbour below me starts banging on his ceiling then comes up and yells at me. all of these incidents have been anywherte between 3 pm and 6 pm. im the one who wents to my property manager and complained. because how is it fair to my son that he’s not aloud to be on the floor? its not like my 10 month old baby understands. my property manager told me that it is my neighbour who is acting unacceptable and she had me fill out a complaint form. if the situation is to occur again then she will be approaching my neighbour. my building is a 3 complaint building and then they look into evicting.

uh hello?! these people who are making noise need to wake up and realize that THEY ARE THE PROBLEM! NOT!!! the complainers. you are living in an apt. building with other people NOT a house. other people live there, you are not the only ones living there. shut up! be as quiet as you can. a second floor apt. is NO place for children. do not move into a second floor apt. insist on a first floor. i have ZERO sympathy for people who make noise then want to not face the consequences. show some respect for other people!

I am of normally super patient and takes a lot to fuel me to show anger, however, recently I’m losing my wits trying to understand what’s going on around my complex. I’m on 2nd floor of a 3 story & have 2 kids and I’m married. The lady above us has 3 rambunctious children and although I complained once bc of the jumping… It was only BC a picture frame fell from my wall. When management called her response was, ‘ I heard her so we were making noise back’. I don’t know what kind of justification that is or why that’s even acceptable. I was home alone & at that time was watching a show quietly on tv. I learned nothing would be done so I just listen to them. Now a week ago I got called on BC the people heard our footsteps past midnight. Last night I get a call again, my famlily was watching a movie with the kids. They had been sick & sleeping their sickness off so I made some rice to go easy on their stomach. Some got spilled and I turned vacuum on for less than a minute to suck it up and BAM he’s at our door again. We were told we can’t vacuum after 10, ( it was 10:20) I can’t use disposal, and if we make any noise we will be fined $500.00, after the 3rd will be evicted. I’m completely at a loss!! Not sure which neighbor, assumed the bottom since it was footsteps the first time?? Just so happens lady above is good friends with lady below?? Coincidence?? I’m at a official loss!!! I feel like we can’t breath without trouble. I can’t not ruin my rental or credit to move and can’t afford the $3,089 to get out of lease agreement. They only offered to move us to another rental, more expensive and we have to pay movers. As if moving was not hard enough the first time!! Guess I’m just voicing my ridiculous situation. I’ve lived in apartments before and never had a single issue. This is just insane… Stuck for 4 months or risk ruining credit.

I live in an apartment on the second floor. I have two small children, 3 and 2. Believe me, I can hear the people in the apartments above me and below me, the only time that I find this an issue is after 10pm which is the only time it should truly matter. During daytime hours, yes we should keep our noise levels at a reasonable level, however, my kids are kids. They are young and its not always easy to control them and only people with children would understand that. These renters who are constantly complaining about kids running or even walking hard are pathetic. If they had kids they would understand, Trust Me! I do agree that a 2nd floor apartment isn’t the best choice for a family with small children, however when you need a place to live you take what’s available to you. Besides I am paying rent as well therefore I shouldn’t have to constantly watch myself and my actions because it bothers you, you and your noise bothers me also but I’m not that sensitive where I am going to constantly make a complaint. And the comments above about just buy a house…. hey morons, if it were that easy don’t you think everyone would be living in a house and not an apartment? DUH think before you speak. I would love to live in a house and not in an apartment. Thank you very much…. I think people just need to get lives and they wouldn’t be so damn bored…. and once again, I’m on both sides of the spectrum, one who should complain about the noise and one who has recieved complaints about the noise!

I am in a similar situation. Our downstairs neighbor, who is not working (he is on disability), and he complains constantly that my children run heavily around. I have a two year old and an eight year old, and we try to go to the park regularly but the weather does not always permit, and I am homeschooling my eight year old which means we need to be home for part of the day. I tell my toddler to walk like a mouse, but she is a kid and she forgets. I understand that people are disturbed by loud noises, but when someone has chosen to stay home all day, they can’t always expect their neighbors to be gone all the time (which is apparently what he expects).
Can we be evicted for this?

This is a fine example; another part of the collapse of our society. Actually, apartment living is NOT intended for Families, and more directly, children. While images of 20th century NYC kids on doorsteps of Brownstones may conjure fuel for an argument
against, America’s rental properties are not up to the job. Those brownstones were built by your grandfathers, they stand today, and remain mostly hospitable. Now, lets talk about any one of a million identical rental spaces in America. It is undeniable that the slide of the middle class has cast it shadow on the very issue at hand. Think about it, even todays Five-Plex has inadequate buffer between lots, much less neighbors. Now, Octomom moves into your 1060’s bachelor/spinster complex.

Wow, the buildings were intended for singles, the retired and the distant aunt. When you are walking over kids, you are living with this issue. Once, children were considered somewhat of a luxury, as was the dog, and the wife…all of which
came after “the king buys his castle”. These noises are trapping of a lifestyle that requires a HOME, not an apartment.
Most people who own boats, also have garages, most attached to the home itself. Sadly, folks are making homes out of apartments–that may be charming in Brooklyn, but in Compton, I think not. (In Compton, of course, the constant sound of the Police helicopters are actually meant to be calming.) Today, apartment life suffers from the ills of society, something it used to be a refuge against, it now swims in. If you live in an Apartment, you cannot afford to complain. Its part of the “you get what you pay for” system. Many of the behaviors that are rampant in these posts are those of the “diluted”, living beyond there means in a lifestyle they can’t hope to maintain. They don’t know what “maintain” means. I suspect much of the pounding can be traced to a Xbox or Wii system in your child’s room…in your 2 bedroom apartment, with your boyfriend
playing after they are off to bed…til someone complains…”What noise?” Have you ever heard a video game played 13 hours consecutively at sports-level volume? In an apartment? Lets ALL Class-Action SONY & EASports, and MSeXbox.
They now have RUN and THROW activity abilities, thanks for nothing Microsoft.

I am a tenant who by all accounts is very respectful of her neighbors. I keep the place clean and quiet and help out with trash on trash day.

I recently hosted a celebration for New Years Eve. It was the only time I’ve had more than 2 or 3 guests at my place at one time.

My landlord showed up shortly after midnight to demand that my guests leave immediately. I turned the music off and ensured him that guests would be on their way out. That apparently wasn’t immediate enough because he proceeded to call me ten times, bang on the door, and eventually let himself in through the back door.

I feel bad for my neighbors. I feel angry at my landlord. I feel embarrassed that my guests were witness to all of this. My landlord has since yelled at me and states that I should have told him I was having a gathering. Am I responsible for telling my landlord something like that? This is literally the only party I have ever host and that I ever intended to host.

I felt that I was treated like a college student. I’m a working professional (educator) in my late twenties.

Am I wrong for feeling both guilty and annoyed?

We live on the second floor with children because we have experienced our upstairs neighbors having parties and making lots of noise all night long — which does not work for anyone. Also, where we live it’s not exactly safe on the first floor — there have been a lot of break-ins here.
To those whose landlords are harassing them: you have rights. Most states don’t allowed unannounced visits by the landlord. Call the police!

I have owned an 8 unit building in the L.A. area of MarVista for the past 10 years. I can’t stress enough about NOT renting to young community college students! Venice Beach provides a lot of medical marijuana clinics that issue legal marajuana “Med Cards” to students and others that will group up in your building and smoke dope day and night 24/7 ! This is happening all over the Los Angeles area! Santa Monica has MAJOR problems, Culver City, MarVista, Venice, MDR, Hollywood, West L.A. etc.

The local police are no help! Other tenants complain but nothing can be done except a petition for eviction for a major nuisance!

Renting to young “out of state” students is also a major risk! Beware of the partying East Coasters !
Don’t be sorry…be smart!

My story is a little different … Lol its my landlord who is playing the loud music late nite, or should i say wee hours in the am. Can i stop him from playing the music when its his own house ? I live in a duplex. What should i do? I have 2 weeks left on my lease.

Hi I moved in to apartment on the 2nd floor. I have a tenant that seems to get annoyed at anything like. I wake up at am to get my son ready for middle school he is disable . He gets up take a shower gets dressed eat breakfast and take his meds and go sit and watch TV whiles the bus comes to pick him up and here comes the neighbor down stairs banging on the ceiling with the a object after a few weeks I decide to see what is the problem. She said we are savages making too much noise early the morning I apologize but I have kids that have to go to school earlier morning I thought that you as a parent would understand because you have 4 kids so conversation was left at that until it started again because I drop a plate or my nephew drop his sippy cup so I notified that landlord on what going on and it stop for a month the banging. Until last night my husband and I was home alone because the kids were gone on a sleepover and my mom decided to stop by after church at 9:12 on a Saturday to drop off some coats for the kids and have a conversation. At 10:30 p.m. the cops are called because of too much noise by neighbor down stairs, mind you i have no kids home , no radio or TV on and cops was shock because they are expecting a party or loud music but there was not none and just people have a conversation so they left on their merry way. I was shock because I never had cops called on me especially on noise so what can I do about this tenant? Mind you she does work or do anything with her life than yell at her kids. As for my self i go to school and my 3 kids and my husband works, so we are barely home and when we are we are starting to feel we have to walk on egg shells now.I’m loosing my patient. PLEASE HELP

My family and I have moved into a bottom floor apartment 2 months ago and have since complained to our landlord 4-5 times about our single mother and 2 teenage boys neighboors upstairs. During the day it is pretty quiet/reasonable, but come 11 pm, all hell breaks loose up there. The mom brings boyfriendS home, kids bring friends and they stay up late, stompping around like elephants, laughing/talking and yelling at their dog to “be quiet”…..which barks at odd times of night for long periods of time….they also do laundry at 3 am…..moving things around, dopping things….. is awful!
Our landlord suggested we call the police next, but to be honest, I am a bit worried about getting my “not-so-nice” neighboors mad at me, i dont want to get shot…there are some crazy people out there these days, they’re definetly one of them.
Sometimes I wonder if any other neighboors have complained or are too afraid to do so..?
Any tips, info fom anyone out there??? I want to break my lease and move, but dont want to pay the fee for breaking the lease all because some idiots upstairs that deserve to be evicted.

Hello,

My boyfriend and I just moved to this place, and we live on the second floor (there are 3 floors). The neighbors upstairs are really annoying. They play loud music like everyday! Several times, they played it with really high bass, and the neighbor living below us knocked at our door asking us if we were the ones. We complained to the land lady and she said that she heard complaints from other tenants too, and will be giving them a notice. However, the noise is still there. They play music late night like starting 11pm (our lease clearly says no noise after 9pm), and they laugh, shout and scream really bad. We have been startled several times by their sudden loud stomping and other activities. One time, they were banging so loud (it seemed like two guys were wrestling), and our ceiling light was literally shaking, and it is not a chandelier. One time I woke up from my sleep at 4am in the morning because they were talking so loud. Another time, I could not fall asleep, and was just staring at the ceiling. I read some of the comments above about reporting to police, but we are kinda hesitant to do so because we just moved here and we do not know many people yet.

My girlfriend and I have been renting our lower apartment for sometime now. It’s a small apartment with only one bedroom. Within that time frame there have been three separate families living in the apartment above us with children under the age of 4. Right now there is the younger couple with a 3 year old and new born twins. Since the day they moved in it has been nothing but running, jumping, screaming, galloping, and crawling from this 3 year old. We have grown so sick and tired of the bull. We dealt with it for awhile before we said something and finally we did. Three months later if has only gotten worse. They know he is loud but they don’t care. They have NO respect for us that have to live downstairs. We called the cops once and had the landlord come over numerous times to talk to them. There was even a arrest made and the noise STILL hasn’t stopped. The boyfriend works over night and the girlfriend stays home with the kids. So they are up all night pounding and sleeping till 3pm then pounding till they pass out at about 6am. It drives us crazy we shouldn’t have to deal with this we were in this apartment WAY before they moved in. I just went up there now to say something and she said to me “i know that running, but I feel bad for his cause he needs to play” REALLY! How about I feel bad for yous who live downstairs and have to deal with stuff falling off your walls! I’m sick of it! People have absolutely no respect for other people. My mom would beat me if I ran in the house. Not only is it ignorant but its dangerous! Please if you have kids and you live in upper apartments take your kids OUTSIDE to run, jump, scream, and gallop. The house is not a playground. Have some respect…. Seriously

Count yourselves lucky if you are just renting a unit. At least you haven’t gone through the incredible expense of buying a unit to discover that the noise from your neighbours is unbearable to live with. It is not just a case of waiting a year for your lease to end but rather a case of selling your unit and paying agents comission not to mention the government taxes involved in the purchase. Wow, I wish I was just paying for a removalist.
What I don’t get is why people think it is ok to have wooden floors in anything but a a ground floor apartment. Got to have wooden floors regardless of the hell you put others around you through and then when you have wooden floors can fork out a couple of hundred dollars for rugs. I was just wondering are all these complaints coming from apartments with wooden floors.
I have a child too but I would never have had him in a unit with wooden floors when he was little. We did live in a unit but we had carpet and the floors were concrete. I wish I still lived there – happily renting. Now I own my apartment and it’s a living hell with the clip clop of shoes, the dragging of chairs across woodedn floors and the dropping of god knows what on the floors. The running of toddlers (with shoes on) at 5 am – I wake up in the morning ready for it to start. Nervous break down here I come.
I have thought of renting my unit out but feel guilty putting anyone else through this.

Hey guys and gals, I am totally fed up with my landlord. Heres the deal. I’ve been renting this nice apartment in Long Island for 2 yrs now while I go to college. The first year I lived with a good friend of mine and we both thought it was rather strange my landlord would start working with power tools at 8 am. Jon, my friend, eventually stopped going to school and left the appt. early, I think because of the noise probably. The landlord was installing new heating in the ceiling of the basement. Now it is my second yr here and the hammering, drilling and sawing still goes on 6 days out of the week. FML!!! I pay 1100 a month not including utilities. Is this legal, can it be? I seriously maybe starting to go crazy and if this is legal it totally shouldn’t be. I think this is a renters nightmare and if you havn’t experienced waking up, showering, cooking and eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner to, and doing HW to, and having sex to, the sound of power tools and hammering/cutting sheet metal on a daily basis, then you do not know what being sonically assaulted is like.

I live in a town house and recieved a 7 day notice. I have lived in my home for 7 months an recieved a notice that I violated my rental agreement. Stating that I play loud music at 5am in the morning. He (the landlord) states right to termination of my lease. I work crazy hours due to the fact the company I work for runs 24 hours. I am one to admit if I do somthing wrong I do apologize; furthermore, I have not complained about the other tenant’s. I mind my own business reguradless of what they do even if it bothers me. I live in the state of FL and would like to know is there any thing that I can do to fight against that notice or what I may be able to do in the near future.

i live next to my landlord and above an older couple that has lived here for 15 years. Both the neighbor and landlord are complaining of loud noises such as stomping, slamming doors and shaking walls. I have a 1 year old son and work all day until 6 or seven at night. I put him to bed around 8:30 and usually turn in myself afterwards. Im not doing what they claim i am. my lease ends in April so im thinking maybe it could be racial. Maybe they just want me out. What can i do. Any suggestions?

I don’t know the legalities involved, but it might be possible to find a public interest attorney who would be willing to advise you pro bono. There are often tenants’ rights groups in larger cities, but smaller ones sometimes have individuals who want to work on behalf of tenants. It’s often the case that landlords want quiet tenants, but also they want ones who will pay the rent on time every month. I sure hope you can get some help.

My family and I (Boyfriend, daughter 5, son 2) moved into a really nice apartment complex this past Jan. Everything has been fine so far except for our neighbor downstairs (forgot to mention we are on the 2nd floor) has 2 dogs that bark and yap every time a person, squirrel go by or the slightest bit of noise happens. We have not said anything to the landlord about this because we figured dogs bark (common sense right?) but we find out today we have a noise complaint from the family below us. Yes out kids play and walk around but we do pay to live here too. I do not feel that we should have to tip toe around and play the quiet game. I was reading a post to go downstairs and introduce ourselves however, i do not think that would work. The father stays home 24/7 and screams at the dogs. He never goes out. I am a stay at home mom and most of the time we are at home. When anyone does leave the house doors are slammed and the damn dogs bark and bark and bark. If my boyfriend and I get a night out we are told by our sitter the kids are woken up by the dogs barking when anything goes by. We really like this apartment and do not plan to move I just want to know if we should file a complaint against their dog or if that would just add fuel to the fire. Thanks!

Hi Mr./ Ms. S
WHat about the case when you rent the first floor, because you have a 3 year old kid, and somebody lives in the basement illegally? What are we suppose to do if this person works at night and we should be quiet even during the middle of the day, so he can sleep until whenever? several times he banged on my door complaining about the noise we make and in all those cases the time was between 10:00 am and 10:00 pm. I have recorded every “incident” we had. I also have let the landlord know about all of this. Latley I told him that I would call the police or whoever is responsible to help us. And he answered – Please don’t do so, I will fix this. He is afraid of paying the $10,000.00 fine for renting his basement.
So what should I do? My kid is in daycare most of day until 5:00-5:30 pm.

My story is different. I’m a mother of 2 beautiful daughters. A 4month old and a 4yr old with special needs! She’s non verbal and doesnt comprehend things. Even though she’s 4, her mental capacity is of a 18month old. She’s very hyperactive and doesn’t sit still. She’s very clumsy and bumps into things, drops her toys and rarely walks around. More or less she trots around the apartment. Changing her diaper is even difficult. It’s a fight every time. My neighbors below have complained about we making noise. She’s not a bad child at all. I’ve even had to strap her in her high chair for an hour because I’m afraid that she’ll make too much noise. I do the best that I can, truly. But I can’t make my child understand that she needs to ” walk lightly” or don’t dop her toys. The tenants below me I’ve spoken to myself. I was very apologetic and informed them that she is a special needs child and I do the best that I can to try and prevent noise. But again changing her diaper or clothes is a challenge. She screams and kicks. We’ve been working with her therapist everyday to try and help calm her down. But the instant complaints from our neighbor is really making me upset. I feel awful at the same time. I don’t complain about their marijuana smoking and how it seeps through the vents when I turn on the heat or ac! Does my apartment complex have the right to evict me because of all the complaints from my neighbor downstairs?

Hi all, just soliciting for some advice. I have lived in an apartment for well over a year, close to a year in a half. I’m currently a music major at SDSU, and as such, need to frequently practice my music for class. I am a guitarist/keyboardist, so i have the luxury of having volume knobs I can control and turn down. I have always been a respectful neighbor in terms of noise. I always set my amplifier as low as it possibly can go, to the point that the tv is louder than the music I am playing. I only play in between the hours of 7am and 7pm. In the year and a half i have lived here, I have never had a single complaint, visit from the landlord, or visit from the police the entire duration of my rent. That is, until this past week. A tenant that moved in below me called the police, and i was cited for disturbing the peace, and was told next time they come, i will receive a ticket. Now, I’m reasonable beyond my short years, and had this guy been a man and either came and told himself he was having an issue, or talked to the landlord, i would gladly try and rectify the situation. His claim is that he works overnight and has to sleep during the day, and my playing is keeping him up. Surely i have rights as well? I need to be able to practice, and I have done so at reasonable hours. But because this guy sleeps during the day, I can’t play during the allowed hours? Any ideas of how i can protect myself?

My problem lives above me in my apt building. She is the WORST neighbor i have ever had! I swear this woman never sleeps, she is always drunk or on drugs or something (noted from the 2 conversations i had with her when she spoke to me in complete gibberish). She vaccuums at 3 or 4am, moves furniture around regularly in the wee hours, has loud friends over who party all night with her…louf TV, music etc. Worst is when her friends finally leave, they come down the outside stairs and stand outside my bedroom window and talk loudly and laugh for 20 minutes! She has repeatedly and regularly overflowed her toilet, her kitchen sink and the bathtub….flooding the corresponding rooms in my apt below. The most horrible thing about her is her most annoying voice…worst i have ever heard….no lie she sounds like Bozo the clown. I have complained to the landlord to no end, and when i reported the flodding of my bathroom, she came down and banged on my door at 11:30pm when i was asleep and started in on me for calling the landlord about it. I slammed the door in her face and since then she has become even more of a nightmare, scribbling F***ing Bitch in the frost on my car windows and dropping disgusting crap over the railing in front of her apt onto my car, such as sticky stuff that is a pain to get off. I don’t know what else to do….i do know her name is Cathy…that’s about it. Do i call the cops next time? I’m afraid things will get even worse and the landlord will do nothing about it.

The people who make noise are at fault. Families should not be living on the second floor. I am dealing with the same thing, of course, and the people above me told me to “go **** my mother”…ya. I’ll be moving soon.

JUST A THOUGHT: Those of you who are noise sensitive, maybe, just MAYBE, you should up your anty, and not chose to live in a tiny apartment where you share thin walls with other human beings!! Humans that are living beings, make noises you freaks! Other than the few frat boys, party animals, or those in a band – why are you blaming your neighbors, when you should be blaming yourselves for choosing that sort of living environment!

I have neighbors on the second floor that moved in 2 years ago, the landlord signed the lease for husband and wife and 2 kids, mind you there are 8 people living up stairs so you can imagine the noise level. When I brought it to the landlords attention his response was “they are visiting” WHATEVER!!! I have called the cops on them several times for noise. parties till 4 a.m. kids running around screaming.. that didn’t stop them.. even the cop was amazed the kids were still up.. the young boy climbs out the window of his room, when unsupervised, the little girl screaming constantly cause she left with so many different people who are doing god knows what to the her.. I think my next step should be dyfs and maybe call the town for people illegally residing in a capacity for 4 people.. super annoyed.. never had problems before living here 7 years.. what good is a landlord when all he waits for is the rent..

Hey Lauren! Whazzup! Woke up in the wrong side of the bed? No need to be angry! Or maybe your neighbors are too noisy too? Boooyah!

We live in a second floor and i always make sure my tree year old is quiet by keeping him buzzy with learning activities while inside and explaining to him the importance of respect for others,, our neighborns above of us are a nightmare with young faces, stomping all the time day and night i am sick and tired of complaining and dont get any answer ,, it clearly gets worse each day i give them the documented letter, is not loud in off to call the police. But is loud in off to ruin our days and nights, and i do not wanna go in the game of retaliation noise,, as much i like i know i would be loosing too,, i dont know to much about the regulation noise on Manatee county , i dont want to appear like inflexible or touchy,, but is really affecting our sleep and functioning daily life ,, and i dont know how to prove it. Any advice will be appreciated

It’s too bad that some people are offended by art as being noise. Art being music. I don’t care where it’s being played. I like it loud, way loud! I play classical guitar (amplified), bass guitar and the Hammond organ with Leslie tone cabinets. Music isn’t music unless you can feel the rupturing vibrations from the thunderous bass. I live in a rented, 75 years old, 1032 square foot ranch house. Yeah, I get complaints all the time from surrounding neighbors all the time and had the police harass me. I’ve gotten slapped with noise violations (fined as much as $1,000) that I attempted to protest in court and lost. But I’m a musician and that’s my life. I like my petite home. It’s cheap to rent and the accoustic are pretty darn good in the living room. I was trying to be as cordial as possible with my neighbors explaing to them about my music and live band practice five days a week. My neighbors went on and on how I was disrupting and degrading a once queit and serene neighborhood and my “noise” won’t be tollerated anymore. Ok, well, now you’ve got a lively musician and his bandmates to provide the block with some great sounding rock and blues. Not noise. Music! People are just so intollerant lately. WTF???? You know, your windows are going to rattle for a few hours- deal with it! I’m usually a pretty laid back kind of guy, but if push comes to shove then shoving I will do. My music is A number 1 in my life. Nothing else matters but my music and my band buddies. PS keep the hope alive with your vote this November. Obama 2012!

My fiance and I just moved into a new apartment with a 12 month lease last Tuesday. We are on the second floor out of three. We had a friend over and was playing on the Xbox Kinect, with Kinect Sports being played. At 6pm, a woman came up and asked if we wouldn’t mind being quieter because she was working. My fiance told her most politely, that we would and we weren’t meaning to disturb her. We turned the game off and started watching a movie, with little volume to make sure we didn’t disturb her.

At 9:15 – 9:30 I went to the computer to work on my classwork while my fiance and her friend finished their show. I checked on them at 9:45, 10, 10:30, and 11pm in which they were asleep when I checked at 10 and later. I went to bed about 1am. While I was working, I did not have any music on, and was wearing headphones. We never heard from the woman again.

We get a call from the leasing office the following morning that there was written complaint about us making a ton of noise up to 10:40pm in which we were making the walls shake. The leasing agent tells us that she has been at the residence for many years and has never ever complained. She tells us (while this is not in the lease agreement) there is a three strike rule. You get a verbal warning, then three strikes, and you are out of the complex, evicted. She gave us a verbal warning after we explained that we quieted down when she asked and she said the woman confirmed that we quieted down.

I do not want to have to tip toe during the daytime (I understand after 10 is a common courtesy time until usually 7am. I feel as I am being punished for hearsay in which I am being discriminated because I am a new resident. The woman did not have a third party as witness or even contact local police about the issue.

Does the leasing office have the authority to evict us based on hearsay with a “three strike rule?”
We live in Morrisville, Wake County, NC 27560, Near Raleigh, NC.
Thanks!

Yeah! You should play 24/7 with sound levels of at least 110dB! Do anything you want! The world revolves around you!

I am in a similar situation, where the neighbors above me are obnoxious and inconsiderate of others. I lived in this same apartment once before, six years before moving back to the area. During that residency, two different sets of neighbors lived in the apartment above me and I didn’t have continuous noise problems from those people. However, the tenants who live there now walk with a very heavy step and have even had screaming matches twice (at 2:00am and 3:00am respectively). I have complained to the land lady numerous times, but she said her hands are tied and that she is between a rock and a hard place. I don’t know why, but the next time the people upstairs are arguing so loudly in the middle of the night that I can hear them over my white noise machine, I’m calling the police. Let’s see how the land lady reacts to that! Anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks.

NOW, TO THE PERSON WHO MADE A COMPLAINT AGAINST TANIA AND SAID THAT THE USE OF CAPS HURTS YOUR EYES, YOU ARE GUILTY OF FAR MORE EGREGIOUS OFFENCES. YOU ARE IGNORANT AND PREJUDICED. WHILE I AGREE THAT TANIA’S NATIVE LANGUAGE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ENGLISH, YOU ASSUME THAT SHE IS FROM A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SHE IS OR NOT, IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT THE TELL HER TO GO BACK TO HER COUNTRY AND IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TELL HER TO DIE IN A FIRE. THAT IS A HATE CRIME AND I HOPE THAT SOMEDAY YOU PAY FOR STUPIDITY. YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND LEARN SOME MANNERS AND COMMON COURTESY.

Musicians have a right to practice their instruments in their apartments. The same rules apply as far as noise is concerned. It is in violation of your right to enjoy your property for your landlord to forbid you to play your drums. Visit http://www.tenant.net/Rights/Noise/noise2.html for more information.

This is absurd. No, you cannot play at your top volume at any time before 10pm. HOWEVER, it is absolutely unreasonable to ask a musician to rent an entirely separate practice space, in essence almost or in some cases more than doubling your cost of living. In the case of electrified instruments, headphones are a reasonable solution to noise problems. They do not effect the playing of the instrument in a meaningful way. Acoustic instruments are an entirely different story. You cannot effectively play an acoustic instrument the same way if you are attempting to soften the sound. There are mutes for some instruments (drums included) that dampen the sound, and are certainly a reasonable solution. There are several court cases in history that favor the musician in disputes such as these AS LONG AS THE MUSICIAN HAS BEEN REASONABLE AND FLEXIBLE AND EXPRESSED INTEREST IN FINDING A COMPROMISE.

Not to mention these neighbors are getting concerts for free!

Wow! You actually saw them doing drug deals? Seems like you’d call the police. So, it’s only the noise part that bothers you?

You are also not the only one living there.
Federal and state fair housing laws expressly require apartment dwellers to put up with normal, reasonable noise from children in an apartment. This would clearly include noise made by children or as a result of the children while living in an apartment, provided that their conduct isn’t overtly unreasonable (e.g. jumping off their beds at 1 a.m., or playing the stereo on high late at night) .
The manager cannot evict on the basis of children making normal noises while inside an apartment, such as crying, laughing, giggling, or rolling on the floor. To do so is illegal. The law does NOT make another tenant’s desire for peace and quiet paramount to a children’s right to play and live in their apartment. To the contrary, the law expressly states that a desire for peace and quiet is NOT grounds for making rules against children. Children make noise. That’s part of being a kid. The law requires landlords and tenants to put up with such noises.
Regarding your statement that a second floor apartment is no place for children – Landlords do not have the right to steer or restrict families with children to specific locations within an apartment community. It is illegal, just as telling a potential tenant that they can’t live on the second floor because they are African American.
When you reside in an apartment you should expect a certain amount of noise. If you don’t like apartment noise perhaps you should purchase a home of your own.
The law requires tenants and landlords to tolerate a certain amount of noise from children, as long as they are not being destructive to the property.

Do you really think that there are enough ground floor apartments to accommodate the number of families who reside in apartments? A Landlord can no more restrict a family with children to live on the first floor than they can tell an African American family they are restricted to living only in a certain area of an apartment community. Check the Federal and State Fair Housing Laws and you will learn that families with children are a protected class (Familial Status). These laws were put in place to protect ‘families’ from people like you.
People with no tolerance for families with children should not be living in a multi-family community.
Buy a house – in the country…

If your neighbors are complaining about you and have no reason to do so unless they are angry with you about something else, then I can guarantee you that YOU ARE MAKING TOO MUCH NOISE! I live with noisy neighbors and have complained but only after I couldn’t take the noise anymore. So if they are complaining about you that means you have been noisy and on their nerves for awhile before they said anything to you much less took the time to report you to the leasing company. Please, if you respect others, please take the complaints as true and BE QUIET! It is the only right thing to do!

If your neighbors are complaining about you making noise and they are not angry with you about something else then I can guarantee you that YOU ARE MAKING TOO MUCH NOISE! I live with noisy neighbors and have complained to them and about them to management but only after not being able to take it anymore. If your neighbors are taking the time to report you then trust me IT IS YOU! So if you are a respectful person as I’m guessing you are then be aware and KEEP QUIET!

Exactly! Selfish people always think that it’s others being too intolerant!

I just move into apartment friday four days ago. yesterday Monday morning on my way out I find a noise complaint in my door. Yes I had a few ppl over to help me move and I did have music going. For music I only have a sound bar which is not blasting out a very loud noise but gets the job done and it was not Turned up all the way just to have some moving music. By 930/ 10pm the music was off and a movie was on… By that time I also made sure all door and window where close… But however, I thought I was trying to be careful of how loud we where being… Sn I move like the all the time never bn a problem… But I can respect if I was still to loud… Now that I had to talk to the office about and found out if they hear me at anytime of the day or night they and complain…. Not to sound like I can’t do no wrong. I take full responsible for Friday… But what made me mad I also find out sat I was gone after breakfast of just watching TV… Y come back to get dress on sat night gone by 930 that there was another complaint on sat and I was n’t ever home or the little bite of time I was home and was not loud… Now with four day in, if I get another complaint im evicted…. I also believe im may be have a
problem with this office the day before I move in they tried to change the cost of my move in and I also signed paper of the move in cost a week prior and the manger told me to pay it or go somewhere else and I would lost the money I already put down… And I had to call the corp management company for them to make good on the price I signed for.

Need advise!! I moved in 2 months ago, and I’m on the highest floor so I figured I wouldn’t have any problems with a noise but I was wrong!
The girl next door is constantly bothering me – if she doesn’t have her friends/boyfriend over talking and laughing, then she’s talking on the phone and is being pretty loud. And I mean it – I can literally hear every word she’s saying. And its going till late at night, 11- 12pm.
What should I do, complaint to the rental office? Do I have a rights to do that?

Exactly, NORMAL REASONABLE noise… that’s not always the case. Screaming and yelling for hours on end because parents are idiots and do not discipline and are irresponsible and inconsiderate of others is what people are talking about. Not reasonable noise. Also, telling someone to get a house is totally demeaning, not all people can afford that. Get over yourself, you’re not perfect. Try thinking about others needs and issues without having to make it seem like every noise is appropriate just because it’s a child. It’s not, go away now.

I have lived in my apartment for over a year and live on the second floor. A new tenant moved in below me a few months ago. The new tenant had knocked on my door and asked me to keep the noise down several times. I am only sitting in my living room watching television at a resonable level. However I apologized and just went to bed. The new tenant has now put in a complaint to my landlord who in turn called me and told me that I have to turn my television off by 10:30pm. I am very upset about this as I like to watch a few 10:00pm show followed by the 11:00 new before I go to bed and my landlord is asking me to change my entire routine without just reason. However, the first night I turned off my televesion and layed in bed with a book. All I could hear is the televisions from the 2 apartments below me including the tenant that complained. Does my landlord have the right to tell me that I have to turn my television off by 10:30? especially, while others have their on?

I live on the first floor in an apartment bldg., the apartment above me has carpet glued directly to the wood subfloor with no cushion, no soundproofing, so I hear EVERY step they make. isn’t there an ethical rule or law that landlords are suppose to follow for soundproofing second floor apartments in Wisconsin?

I live in an eight family apartment complex right next door to a bachelor. I have two kids which I know at times get pretty rowdy. But nothing compared to the noise of his video games! I mean sometimes from 5pm-3am! So loud you can feel the vibrations on the connecting wall where, unfortunately, my couch sits up against! Its unbelievable! I just contacted my landlord about it. I’m just so fed up. It’s a Sunday at 6pm and me and my kids are trying to watch a movie but we can’t hear anything without blasting the TV to 50, sometimes even max volume and still you can hear the “explosions” followed by pictures rattling! Can I call the cops on this kid!? He lives there alone and is probably a year or two younger then me, but apparently lacking respect for others! I’m sick of it!
Milwaukee, WI

I also live on the 1st floor in Las Vegas, NV and have been at my apartment complex for almost 3 years. I have had several tenants above me, but the ones that live up there now are the worst ones. There are 3 people up there, including a 2 YR old baby who is constantly running around loudly in circles, jumping off the couch, throwing things on the floor like a loud thump that scares the heck out of me. The parents are just as bad as the kid. The father comes home for 4 days (he works out of town for the rest of the time) So when he is here, he stomps around, throws down large containers on the floor. The mother is just as bad and walks hard around. They use to play the TV loud, but I solved that problem quickly. I turned up my volume, so that they get a taste of their own medicine. So I wish people who live on the 2nd floor are so quick to just us people on the 1st floor. Let them switch places and experience what we hear below them, then they wouldn’t be so quick to be snippy. I wish when I moved in that I would of moved on the 2nd floor. If I did, I know that I would be respectful to the people below me, because I would know what it is like. I have already complained to management, they have already spoke to them a few times, they always make some excuses, the upstairs is NOT A PLAYGROUND!! ITS NOT FRICKEN FAIR. ALSO, WHEN U MOVE IN YOU SIGN A LEASE THAT STATES QUIET HOURS ARE FROM 9 PM TO 9 AM, THEY ALREADY BROKEN THIS RULE ALMOST EVERYNIGHT, I’M TIRED OF NOT GETTING MY SLEEP THAT I NEED FOR MY JOB.. I TRIED EARPLUGS, IPOD, SLEEPINGPILLS, ETC… THIS IS BU…. SH… no respect from upstairs people…. I should get a tape recorder and record all the noises and let them hear it. being downstairs sucks… 2nd floor people need to experience what we go threw. then u will understand

How many noise complaints can i file before i can start thinking about terminating my lease

I wish I was a renter. I *own* a ground floor apartment with upstairs neighbors so loud they shake my walls. I tried to speak to them about it and they said they wouldn’t change anything – I should move out. I spoke to property management and the HOA and they aren’t willing to help. Spoke to my realtor and she says the noise is so bad it will significantly decrease my property value. So now if I manage to sell my house I won’t have any money to buy a new place.

Noise complaints are just one of the many complaints when living in an apartment. A lot of physical and mental stress can be the outcome if these intolerable noises cannot be dealt with. Noises such as pounding of hammers, running in ungodly hours, yelling and a lot more are just some of the intolerable noises that can happen when living in an environment like an apartment. You always have the option to talk your concerns to your landlord and report the neighbor/s that are the ones who causes the noise. If the problems aren’t still fixed then you have the best option to file a complaint to your neighbor c/o of your landlord and hopefully you will regain your peace at home. RPA has this section wherein you can file for a complaint and have your issues discussed and fixed.

Ok here is my situation. I’m a 20 year old living on my own, I work from 8 til 5 every day except the weekends, and when I come home I cant even really live in my apartment. I live right above a 48 year old lady who thinks that I can’t walk on my floors, or even come downstairs to get my mail. I always take my shoes off because its uncomfortable wearing them on carpet, I listen to my music on my iPod with the earbuds plugged in, and I don’t turn my TV up high enough for anyone to even hear it past my doorway. I am a curvier gal, and between our floors after 2-3″ thick of solid wood that makes up my floor there is 6 inches of empty space until her ceiling begins which is another 2 inches. She can obviously here me walking, there is nothing to do about that, but can she complain about me getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or come home from a friends house on the weekend?

What if your landlord lives above you and they are actively trying to make you move by bouncing on the floors on purpose all the time.. today i was working – at my dining room table and the landlord starting jumping up and down so loud above my head I actually had to stop my phone call and ask them to call back because it sounded like construction. They do this often bouncing all over the house at all hours to make sure they are bothering us

i have problems with my landlord over a year know because my 2 little children are making to much noise and i’ve controlled them with patients but she expects to not hear noise and yesterday was the first time she called the police to give a complaint and i would like to know my rites, this situation got’s me stressed cuz every time they make a little bit of noise she grabs her broom and starts hitting the sealing by the way in 2 weeks i’m moving out…

my sister lives in an upstairs apartment with her husband and two boys 18 months and 3 yrs old. the two women downstairs are elder one is 86 and the other i’m not sure but is in her retired yrs. the younger woman of the 2 has complained about my boys after a wk of moving in she has told my 3 yr old he shouldnt be playing on the deck and he should be more quiet. she has told my sister that they should move into another apt and doesnt understand why management put them over top of them. then complained to office that the boys throw things off of balcony and the worst which is a lie that the 3 yr old urinated off the balcony. # 1 he doesnt even get undressed in front of anyone 2nd he wont even goto the bathroom at school. well you know what happened a letter stating if another complaint is made shes getting an eviction letter next. so they see one another and my sister will say hi no hello back so now my sister doesnt say hi shes always worried if the boys make noise. tonite my sister her husband and 2 boys are walking in the apt they are home for 10 maybe 15 mins. and they hear pounding at the door her husband goes to answer asking first who is it and the woman is screaming he opens the door thinking something bad is happening but the lady was screaming at the top of her lungs at him what is wrong with your kids dont you know how to discipline those boys im gonna call the cops its 9:00 at night my mother is trying to sleep and your boys are walking around up there when they should be in bed.

We have a pair of long term tenants who over the past five years have begun to harass the tenants who live above them for “walking too much”. To date there have been three different sets of tenants who have experienced constant harassment for simply walking around their apartment. We have even offered the downstairs tenants three different upstairs units all of which have been totally renovated. They do not want to pay more rent even though we have offered discounted rents. The last tenant had his tire slashed the morning after the downstairs tenant threatened to “make his life miserable”. Of course no one witnesses the tire slashing, so nothing was done. Now the upstairs apartment is available for rent again. What can we, landlord and resident manager do to prevent a new tenant from going through hell?

How do drug dealers even GET rental apartments to begin with? Most management companies I have come across want proof of income (like a job or even disability payments) and proof that it’s a percentage of the amount of the rent. What do drug dealers enter on their applications for that? Pharmaceutical entrepreneur? Self-employed? I’m being serious….anyone know?

Me and my roommate in who live in Florida are being asked to leave within 7 days due to two noise complaints. We don’t know what to do, either move out or go to court, but since Florida is a landlord friendly state we’re not sure if we should. I was away for both noise complaints but my roommate was at the apt. Long story short, first complaint stated we had loud music playing over a weekend in June (both Sat & Sun). Yes, we agree Sun there was loud music, but no one was in our apt on that Saturday, my roommate said she was there to shower and left for a different town and slept in that town at a friend’s house. The last complaint says on back to back Sundays there were “loud voices”, “loud music” and “boisterous activity on the patio”. The first Sunday my roommate says she was in bed before 10pm because she had to get up early for work in the morning so that accusation is false and the next Sunday she had got back from vacation at around 10-10:30pm and had a cigarette on our patio with a friend in the complex. We don’t know what to do, move out or go to court. The leasing office will not give us any of the times that these complaints say we were being loud, so we have no way to defend ourselves. There were no police reports filed, they only have the word of the person(s) who complained and the leasing office says they have a note from whoever complained. It also seems unfair because my neighbors are extremely loud, I mean I can hear their screaming fights word for word and doors slamming and the other noisy apartments we never complained about because it’s impossible to distinguish which apt the noise is coming from. Any advice would be great, esp. someone who is familiar with Florida tenantt laws.

you mean to say its ok for the contractors to work at that late 2 or 3am and I am paying that much money to stay there for the noise there other suites vacant I asked the GM to move us there he said no doesn’t landlord surppose to send a notice to all thetenants before starting the construction

yes I said that but u guys said its ok for them to make noise and I am not talking about the tenants making noise talking about landlords contractors

Subwoofers are a major bane of of modern apartment life. Low frequency bass should be accounted for in all noise laws. Shady people will claim their music wasn’t “loud” (in terms of mids and highs) but the bass goes right through walls and simulates someone pounding their fists on your walls for hours. Such direct infusion of low frequency thumping wouldn’t be tolerated for even a minute. Why are subwoofers even legal in apartments or condos?

For Jillian: My theory on drug dealers getting apts is that some landlords overlook their legal obligations for the sake of filling vacancies. The criminals know this and flock to such places. Or they piggyback on someone else’s lease (illegal subletting). Plus, seemingly upstanding citizens can have a sleazy side that doesn’t show on their record (yet).

Hello. I have a problem. Any advice. I stay in a family home. Lower half with my wife and kids. Our neighbors are way to loud. Their kids constantly bang and jump on the floors. So much that are pictures fall off the wall. Crazy right. They blast their music and tv at all types of time threw the day. We can hear their whole conversation because they scream and argue constantly sometimes. We even hear them make death threats at their kids. The banging on the floor never goes away. Their kids are jumping up and down constantly. Then we can hear them beat there kids pretty bad that the kids hit the floor pretty bad. Their Father is out of hand type of guy. The stuff you hear him say to a child is really out of hand. I have made a complaint to the Landlord. She says she has called them. But I guess she cant get threw. They dont call her back or text. But it does state in our lease that whole quietness enjoyment of our home thing. I do have proof of the noise. Video recorded. Have been for about three months. I am honestly at the point of ready to go. I am to tired and so are of our kids. The get to hear words that they dont need to know about at their age and are scared because how loud they are and what they are screaming at their kids. Our kids dont sleep much because they are that loud. Any advice?

I would just like to say to all of the people who have smaller children and live on the second floor or higher of a multi-unit building who have gotten complaints for their children’s noise, MOVE TO A MAIN FLOOR RENTAL! There is a reason why you are all getting complaints. You’re children are too damn loud! I live below a woman with a 3 year old and all I hear 24/7 when the kid is home is constant running and jumping and banging. I would take loud, blaring music any day over what I have to put up with! I also find it unbelievable that this child is up until 10:00 pm, sometime even later. I have no problem with the regular noise of walking, or even occasional running and dropping things, but when it goes on for hours on end, disrupting my sleep and everyday enjoyment of my apartment, I feel like I’m going to snap! So do everyone a favor, and don’t live on an upper level with children!

I read a comment on here to do everyone a favor and live on the 1st floor if you have kids…you’re not always given the option to do so…how about if you know you don’t want to deal with apartment living noise you don’t move into apartments…!!! For those who are having issues with their downstairs neighbor banging on the ceiling this is considered harassment and you should file a complaint with the police. I’m unfortunately in the same situation, I have 2 young toddlers and I’m constantly getting complained on…I finally filed harassment against my neighbor.

I am dealing with almost the same situation myself. My fiance and I moved into this new apartment back in June this year hoping to enjoy our new home in a safe, peaceful, friendly neighborhood. However, there is this one foreign neighbor downstairs who comes home from work late night at 3:00 am who makes loud noises till 7:00 am. He’s a late night taxi driver. He’s been living there for 3 years.

We have politely asked him to keep it down three times, but he still did not. When that didn’t work, we had no other option but to call what was supposed to be a 24 hour security who wasn’t available at that time so we were transferred to the metro police and we have called the metro police about the noise twice. According to the police, both times, they were up watching soccer at around 4:00 am. I understand that he’s using his time of enjoyment in his own home and that he has the right to do so but is it a justification for him to conduct in a manner where he’s extremely loud in the middle of the night via talking loud, watching TV loudly, listen to music loudly, and conducting his time at home so loudly during the hours of the wee night almost every night when most people are wanting and in need of sleep? When he got the violation notice from the landlord, he countered complained and claimed that we were making noise at 5:00 am in the morning stomping on a treadmill and we don’t even have a treadmill. If he heard footsteps upstairs it is because we are up now because he woke us up and we couldn’t get back to sleep since 2:00 am so we’re now walking around the house and trying to figure out what to do.

When we made a formal written letter complaint to the landlord, they spoke to us and said that the steps we took were wrong based on the fact that we were not suppose to verbally confront them and ask them to keep it down because us confronting them and calling the police caused him to feel scared and he feels threatened, etc. Just based on how the landlords were now making it with the counter complaint with that guy, we feel the landlord favors him mainly because he’s this old guy, he has no record of complaints or violations against him since he’s been living there for 3 years, and that he comes home late at night so there will be noise but they fail to understand how high the noise level was and that there are 3 people in his apartment causing a ruckus and the landlords are saying that they and the police can do nothing about it when they in fact can if they wanted to by telling them to pipe down a bit. It just seems like to the landlords, we’re these young couples who are sound sensitive complaining about their middle eastern loud senior tenant and that it’s in their culture to be loud so suddenly we get slammed with a noise violation and the landlords are playing in his favor now telling us to move out because their senior tenant won’t move out or do anything about the noise. Is it even legal for a landlord to favor the needs of another tenant over another tenant? The noise curfew according to the renter’s agreement is between 10:00 pm to 6:00 am and the tenants downstairs have not taken any measures to minimize the noise level whether it’s just enjoying the home, having a party, etc. It’s just not fair that there is favoritism and false accusation going on here. Now we’re being accused of harassment, threats, etc. for confronting them and calling the police because we felt we had no other choice because the landlords did not assist properly in the matter fairly. The landlords are even telling us that we were not suppose to confront them at all.

The landlords are even against the fact that we took steps into our own hands because even though we feel that the landlords have failed to assist the situation the first time and the fact that when he received his noise violation notice from us, he countered complain against us for making the same noise he makes because we wake up due to his noise and we feel he over-exaggerated his claim and falsely accuse of waking up at 5:00 am stomping on a treadmill! Who wakes up at 5:00 am to go on a treadmill? We work a 9:00 am to 5:00 pm schedule and sleep from 9:00 pm till 6:00 pm on weekdays. On weekends, we’re mostly doing chores or out of town. We are not noisy neighbors and we are very considerate of other tenants around us. We have never received any violations, evictions, or complaints on our records either. We’ve done everything to convey to him politely that we don’t care what he’s doing but just to keep the noise level down a notch. The noise is so loud that we can hear him upstairs as if he’s right next to us in the next room. Also, he leaves his balcony door open and literally going outside having loud conversations in the middle of the night with his buddies. There was a time when my fiance heard them arguing and a fight stirring up and we got concerned.

What I don’t understand is the tenant downstairs making false accusations that we’re being noisy when he was the noisy neighbor downstairs since we moved in interrupting our night sleep and that he’s using our going downstairs and politely telling him to “please keep it down” against us claiming that we’re now harassing him and using our calls to the police as threats against him. What I don’t understand is what did we do wrong here? Are we wrong for filing a complaint against a neighbor who doesn’t take any measures to minimize the noise level when he comes home downstairs? He invites other people to his house and it’s like a soccer frenzy almost every night. I am sure if my fiance and I are up that late at night, we would be talking softly, minimize volumes on TV, radio, doors slamming, and walk lightly on the floors upstairs our apartment. And we have done that! I just feel the tables turning on us because the landlords favoritism and justification for them to be as is plainly is just unfair!

And the landlord is saying that it was wrong for us to take advice from family and friends on how to deal with it ourselves because the landlords have failed to and they are taking their senior tenant side anyway. We live in Las Vegas and there are crazy people here so the law for noise violations is stated in NRS 118A. Sec.310 that protects tenants rights to enjoy the peace of their home. However, I feel that if my fiance and I get evicted for fairly complaining and being retaliated by the tenant downstairs for fairly filing a complaint is completely unfair. Who would we have to contact to build a case if we get evicted for unfairness on the fact that the landlord favors a senior tenant and allows them to make a ruckus because he comes home at 3:00 am and his record is clean since living there for 3 years?

Sorry, correction: Just to be clear, we don’t have the right to send violation notes or letters to other tenants. I meant to say that the tenants downstairs from us received their noise violation from the landlords, not from us.

“The landlords are even against the fact that we took steps into our own hands because even though we feel that the landlords have failed to assist the situation the first time and the fact that when he received his noise violation notice from them, he countered complain against us for making the same noise he makes because we wake up due to his noise and we feel he over-exaggerated his claim and falsely accuse of waking up at 5:00 am stomping on a treadmill! Who wakes up at 5:00 am to go on a treadmill?”

I would seek out a landlord tenant attorney. I just don’t see how they can get away with evicting you.

Thank you Jessica for your feedback.

We are actually seeking one right now just in case, if they do slap an eviction notice on us but I learned it normally takes up to three violation notices for that to happen. So far, we only have one but still we think it not fair we’re being counter accused of plainly trying to live and sleep in the middle of the night while they are having a little party after work watching soccer and conversing, etc. and using a 3 year relationship with the landlords in their favor.

Our family and friends don’t agree with how the tables turn against us like that and there are laws out there that protects tenants rights even though the landlords make it seem like there is no possible way for us to handle it yet they tell us we’re suppose to report to them, we do, but nothing gets done fairly. It’s just words against words. I am sure that the landlords are telling us this because they for one, are really not going to evict us because they know we’ll slap a law suit against them and that one lousy tenant, and two, their only solution after mediating today (in which the other tenant refuses to attend because he’s claiming harassment and threat against us) is for us to either one, relocate to another unit or two, move out their apartment complex altogether due to it being a schedule conflict otherwise if things keep up and we continue to a.k.a harass their senior tenants with complaints then we’ll surely get evicted but their senior tenant is in safe hands in favor to the landlords history or relationship to them.

It seems that they are not willing to slap a fair warning to their senior tenant because they favor him that even though we all understand that the noise can not be controlled with all tenants, it is still unfair to turn favors over another tenant and allow the senior disruptive tenant to continue to make all the loud noise he wishes in the middle of the night. This guy is from a middle eastern background and I understand that it is in their behavior to speak in a booming voice but my father is also from a culture who speaks just as loud and the only difference there is that my father is considerate of other people’s time at night to sleep. I feel just because it is in someone’s culture to stay up late and be loud shouldn’t excuse them to continue doing it. This is America and not the Middle East or where ever they are from. My parents are from a foreign country too with a loud culture but they have more common courtesy and common sense to at least let’s say – if a neighbor knocks and ask them to keep it down, they will, and for sure my parents would not continue to conduct the same activity and cause ruckus night after night.

They were lucky that their previous tenants before us have worked the same shift they work but we work different shifts and yes, we are sleeping, and yes, they are loud. So it’s all new to this guy and to the landlord that a new tenant – as a matter of fact just any tenant at all – has finally stepped up to complain about his booming voice and activities late at night. I am sure the neighbors right next door to us have many complaints with the man downstairs that goes unreported. We’ve seen our next door latin neighbor have a one-on-one verbal confrontation with him downstairs but we don’t want to get anyone else involved.

The problem is, this guy will not admit that he was very loud. His rebuttal is that he comes home at 3:00 am and he is up so there will be noise but he’s making it seem like we’re complaining about him living. Oh yeah, he’s living alright but it’s also very LOUD! Anyone who works day shift upstairs in that unit will have to deal with his LOUD late night lifestyle. So I wouldn’t be surprised if another new tenant moved in and decide to make complaints and have confrontations with him either.

To be honest, after this experience, I prefer to become a home/property owner and not have to deal with this type of nonsense and sleep in the haven of my own home.

Does anyone know any possible resources to look for a tenant attorney in the Las Vegas area? Or can I file a complaint with the RPA on this website?

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments.

Let me clarify some things for people:

If you live in a an apartment and have children and receive a noise complaint you are most likely the problem (just the way it is most of the time) An apartment is not a playground. People do not pay rent to listen to children bouncing off the walls/running back and forth etc. It is your responsibility to take your children to a park or other areas away from people who pay rent/mortgages (not every1 thinks your children are cute and adorable) If you live in a building that is poorly constructed it isn’t every1 elses responsibility to tolerate a barrage of noise. It is your responsibility to adapt to the building. If you conduct your activities at a normal hour/decibel level (most of the time) you won’t have any issues. Sure there are some unreasonable people out there unfortunately, yet the majority of the time , it won’t be an issue. Besides that, most apartment buildings require that you have carpeting installed (not area rugs) in 80% of the place, what is referred to as “the living area” which consists of bedrooms and the living room. If you do not adhere to this and have a noise complaint against you, once again you are the problem. The majority of this is common sense. Use your brain, have basic manners and most likely none of this should ever affect you

I have the neighbor from hell. She is a total psychopath. I live in an English basement in a house. For 4.5 years, my landlords (a married couple) lived above me; for at least a year, their nephew plus his dog also lived there. Sometimes their noise bothered me, but it was never enough to complain because it was usually fleeting and obviously unintentional.

About a year ago, they had to move to another state and a new tenant moved in. She moved in right after a snow storm, and because I was working did not meet her immediately. I had to shovel and salt the entire walkway of the house (front and back, quite large). It took 2 entire days. The last day I was outside trying to unfreeze my car door, and I kinda kicked the lock to knock the ice loose. I walked inside to take a break, and I hear her big mouth talking trash about me. I hadn’t even met her! I didn’t say anything to the jerk, and even shoveled her car out of the snow because she was pregnant. Yeah, I’m a nice person.

Constant problems began the day she moved in. The lease requires 80% carpeting, and a year later she still does not have it. I’ve asked her many, many, many times to keep rugs down. She bought a few, but admitted she takes them up. After 7 months of her stomping around without rugs and constantly slamming things on the floor, I complained to the landlords. She lied to them saying I had never confronted her about the noise issue, and even tried to tell me that. I showed her text messages from every single prior month asking her to actually obey the lease.

After I got my LLs involved, she began beating on the floors and hammering objects on the floors. She started stomping around in high heels (and she’s fat). Every single morning she throws a very heavy, loud object on the living room floor. It literally shakes the cabinets and walls. She has caused structural damage to the house from doing this; I have pieces of ceiling in a plastic bag. I measured the sound to be 79 db in my apt. Outrageous!

She incessantly beats loud objects on the floor and slams the floor at all hours of the day and night. She usually screams out a battle cry before starting to bang on the floors. Seriously. She sounds like a mentally challenged baboon. Lately, I’ve been yelling at her from my apt to stop. After a year of her insanity, I am fed up! I even flat out told her I know its on purpose, and she didn’t say anything. Because its true. Admission by omission.

About a week ago at after 2:00 am I heard her say to a guest (over my TV), “I should drop this. Its like really loud.” And within 30 seconds, a horrible crashing noise that sounded like an earthquake. This is a 40 year old with a baby. She NEVER leaves the house. I’ve had to find other accommodations on many occasions. I’ve called the cops on her, and they do nothing. They aren’t even aware of the city ordinances. Idiots. And my landlords do nothing. They have stopped returning my messages, and last month I got a notice to vacate. They claim they are going to use the apt for themselves (which is totally legal), but I am certain its retaliation for complaining. I am going to file complaints with the city and a lawsuit. This is ridiculous!

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