Noisy (?) neighbour

[FTVS]

Our upstairs neighbour is not particularly noisy however the sound proofing between our flats is so poor that we can hear his conversations. He also has wooden flooring (which he is allowed under the lease). As such, any npise he does make, music TV etc is very intrusive. Our downstairs neighbours have asked us to take up thw floorboards and sound proof - we have agreed on the basis they contribute something toawrds it. Upstairs however will not have it.
It seems the council are unable to help as the problem is due to bad insulation rather than excessive noise. Where does that leave me?

[sft42]

Very much up S.H.I.T. creek without a paddle i am afraid.....your only recourse would have been to call in your enviormental health officers from the local council who would have then measured the noise coming for above you but if as you say the noise isn't excessive then i really don't see what they can do in the way of forcing the person to take remedial action....as for yourself could you not perhaps invite the neighbour into your house to let him hear how bad it is while assuring him your not apportioning blame you only want to show him how bad it is.....other than this....MOVE

[FTVS]

Am b*ggered - if I moved would have to disclose to new buyer... Guess I will simply have to keep complaining and make a pest if myself - this is how downstairs have got me to agree!

[andy hughes]

Try to avoid the 'pestering' approach - it worked with you becuse you are obviously a reasonable person who can see life from someone else's perspective - your neighbour may not be so accomodating! What you don't want is a war of attrition, especially as your neighbour can obviously upset you far more than you can upset him. I would be inclined to try and make an ally of him - approach the subject from the non-accusatory point-of-view, and see if you can win him round - patient persistence may provide a better result than all-out annoyance! Good luck.

[Moog]

Check your lease, chances are there will be a clause which states that the occupants are not allowed to make any noise audible outside of the flat between certain hours, e.g. 11pm and 6am. If that is the case then you can use a combination of this and your environmental health department to persuade the occupant above to insulate

[Miss Zippy]

Was your flat built or converted since 1992? If so, might be worth looking into whether the soundproofing complies with Part E of the Building Regulations 1992 which says that "floors and walls between domestic buildings should have a certain resistance to the passage of sound" (new, stricter regulations are coming into force in July 2003, but this doesn't of course help you). I don't know what the cost is of insulating your floor, but you might think it worth getting the advice of a surveyor/architect type person to see if your soundproofing is adequate (probably cost around �100 or so). You might then have a claim against whoever built or converted the flats. In the meantime, don't go ahead with insulating your floors until you've looked into it further. It's a bit of a long-shot, but have a look at your buildings insurance policy and see if you could claim under that (e.g building defect).

[Miss Zippy]

P.S. forgot to say, if this is a common problem experienced by all your neighbours, have you spoken to your management company about it? If all your neighbours agree, you might be able to negotiate an arrangement where all flats are soundproofed and the costs shared. Your management company may be holding 'surplus' money from your service charges etc to be able to contribute.

[paulz]

FTVS - Just a thought, you could [as you can't persuade upstairs to help out - I'd give up on that front before it develops into a war & he's noisier than ever] Try insulating your ceiling. OK it wont be quite as effective, but It will help. I used to have painfully noisy neighbours. No matter what room I slept in their children would use the adjoining room as a playroom. Unfortunately all four kids were clinically deaf, which meant they had to shout at each other - as did their parents to them. I sound-proofed every wall - you lose about 3-4", with rockwall and a double layer of plaster board. Two weeks later the council re-homed them! Being a shift worker it was worth every penny for peace and tranquility - not to mention a good days sleep!! Hang on in there - or get some earplugs

[treaclefight]

you wont have a claim against the builders of the property, you cant claim for defective property as it is pure ecomonic loss as opposed to physical damage. litigation rather expensive at the best of times. you could make a note of the subject of his conversations, point out that its a matter of his privacy rather than yours, but if he is really uncooperative your going to have to foot the bill for having insulation put in your ceiling, good luck, keep us posted