Neighbour being unreasonable??

oceanclub

We moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago. We're on the ground floor with a patio of a 5-story block; two such block faced each other across a lawn with a fountain.

Anyway, my wife was out having dinner on the patio this evening with two friends. Dinner, not a party or anything, with some music on very low. A neighbour two floors up leaned out of their window and asked them to keep quiet as she was trying to sleep.

Now bear in mind:

* It was 10.30pm on a Thursday night
* The person complaining had previously had their window _open_, thus letting in noise
* It was only three people talking - joking yes, but not shouting or anything

I think this is a bit much - what do others think?

Regards,

P.

amacca

if the situation was exactly as you described it then I agree. sounds like there is a jackass with nothing better to do on a thursday night than create hassle for people.

but depends, as long as the music was low, people werent shouting/screaming etc

oceanclub

amacca wrote: »

if the situation was exactly as you described it then I agree. sounds like there is a jackass with nothing better to do on a thursday night than create hassle for people.

but depends, as long as the music was low, people werent shouting/screaming etc

I guess I'm baffled, as, if they're in bed so early, they're doing shift work. In which case, why (a) leave their window, letting in noise and (b) why not wear earplugs or something? It seems unreasonable to me to expect to other people to fit their lives around your schedule.

P

ntlbell

if the music was "low" it wouldn't travel up two floors tbh.

but i think regardless as it was 10.30 the night the neighbour was being unreasonable but i'm not sure what you can do about it?

Seillejet

I'd laugh it off and wouldnt worry about it. She sounds unreasonable and was maybe having a bad night.

athtrasna

What do development rules say? Ours say no noise audible from outside after midnight but I have seen them say 10pm in other developments.

Lafortezza

Even if the music is low, the bass will travel through the building and make it difficult to get to sleep.
But asking to keep quiet at 10.30pm is a bit much, kids are still playing football on the street across from me at that time. If it was pushing 1am on a week night it would be understandable.

gurramok

oceanclub wrote: »

I guess I'm baffled, as, if they're in bed so early, they're doing shift work. In which case, why (a) leave their window, letting in noise and (b) why not wear earplugs or something? It seems unreasonable to me to expect to other people to fit their lives around your schedule.

P

I do that type of shift work at times and i do be in bed at 10pm and up for an early start!

If they had the window opened, it sounds like their room feels stuffy(ventilation issue) hence that acts against trying to go to sleep.

In my case where my bedroom gets stuffy, i do leave the window opened all evening to air it(thinking ahead:)) and close it when sleeping as it also blocks out traffic noise.

Also, it could be a case of bad noise insulation in the block. Maybe i'm blessed that all i can hear noisewise is a flushing toilet and never low level music despite said music being on at 10pm before.

What does it say in your lease about 'music/parties'? Some do say there is a time limit on it.

whizzbang

I've had a neighbour complain about the following:

• Laughing too loud at lunchtime on a Saturday
• Watching golf highlights at 10pm on a Thursday
• playing Acustic Guitar at 6pm on a Monday

Some people are just plain nuts. They think living in an Irish apartment block is like living in a house, that if you can hear anyone else then it is them being too noisy rather than the place being badly sound insulated.

MysticalSoul

In my apartment complex it says 11pm, and the one time, in the three years I had to complain, I left it till after midnight (apartment above me had a party mid week, and all I could here were people dragging chairs constantly) - had been in bed since 10pm, so was pretty annoyed by that stage. It does sound like your neighbour is being unreasonable.

However if the person is doing shift work, maybe she wasn't aware of the time perhaps, if she had been in bed for a while? Just a thought - I used to do shift work, where one day I could be working night, and another I had to be up at dawn, and my body clock used to be all over the place as a result.

AnonoBoy

I'd say it was the conversation more than the music that got to them. They were perhaps being a bit cranky but if all they did was ask them to keep it down politely then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

How did your wife respond? Did she and her friends go indoors or continue outside?

Unless the neighbour was being a real prick about it then I wouldn't see it being too much of a problem.

Jamie-b

Check the house rules, my block has a ban on excessive noise after midnight

athtrasna

That's three people in this thread who've told the OP to check the lease/ rules and he hasn't replied?

mehmeh12

I have neighbors like that..in their adjoining garden at all hours with music on etc...i just make it extremely obvious that i don't like them making noise..if these ppl downstairs of your apartment block are the only ones being loud them just call the council on them..after say 9pm if no one else is being noisy then why should they?

irish_bob

10.30 pm is late in my book , thier are laws in place which dictate that you cannot make excessive noise after 10 at night or before 8 in the morning , im not saying i completley agree with the neighbour in this instance but in my experience , thier is a wide spread lack of consideration in this country for our neighbours when it comes to noise , its quite obnoxious to say the least

irlirishkev

In fairness, anyone who lives or has lived in an apartment block, knows how easily sound travels up and in from outside. It's a bit of give and take really, but I wouldn't start stressing over noise till after midnight. If I had to be in bed at that time, I'd have the earplugs in.

athtrasna

Depends on what the development rules say. If they say midnight, if they say earlier, then regardless of your definition of late/early then you have to abide by what they say. The joys of apartment living!

Victor

The sleeper's request was not unreasonable. As to whether it was reasonable or normal or acceptable is another matter.

uberwolf

athtrasna wrote: »

Depends on what the development rules say. If they say midnight, if they say earlier, then regardless of your definition of late/early then you have to abide by what they say. The joys of apartment living!

well, I don't think we should completely rule out courtesy and consideration. Which is not meant to be a comment on the OP's situ.

athtrasna

True but with people all on different schedules you'd be hard pushed to find a time when you could play music/have parties if you were to take everyone into account. The development rules give a general guideline to a timescale that should benefit the majority of residents.

Dandelion6

Personally I think 10.30pm on a weeknight is a bit late. I wouldn't telephone someone then or knock on their door (except in emergency) so I would also try to show courtesy to my neighbours at that time by not making noise that they could hear.

oceanclub

OK, I checked the apartment noticeboard (quite well hidden), and it mentions 11pm as the noise shutoff point. That's fair enough.

As I mentioned, it was 3 people having dinner - not a party with music. I've lived in apartments a long time now and always felt it was a matter of give and take, personally; I've given neighbours the benefit of the doubt with the occasional bit of noise, only complaining when - with the case of one set of neightbours below - they were having parties with music on a midweek into the wee hours.

Ironically, I think it's the same person who's been discarding cigarette butts onto our patio all this while too, hmm...

Thanks for your feedback,

P.

PullOutMethod

Your neighbours request was reasonable.
She was within her rights to phone the guards BTW between 10PM and 8AM.
Instead she decided to be reasonable and ask you politely.

Only this Friday gone I asked my neighbour to turn down his stereo at 10:10 PM
As a young reasonable bloke why did I do that ?
When you have 2 kids in the house who cannot sleep because of a stereo what would you do ?

oceanclub

PullOutMethod wrote: »

Your neighbours request was reasonable.
She was within her rights to phone the guards BTW between 10PM and 8AM.
Instead she decided to be reasonable and ask you politely.

Only this Friday gone I asked my neighbour to turn down his stereo at 10:10 PM

I keep repeating myself - there was no music.

As for the bit about the guards, that's a bit of hyperbole. I should know, as my last apartment was directly above a shop (on the 1st floor, shop was on the ground floor) which started doing renovations at 1am every morning. I rang the guards, and was told to contact the Dublin Corporation Noise Pollution department instead. From them, I received a nice little form on which I was told to track said noise. Not much point since the renovations "only" lasted 4 days. I imagine that any night in Dublin, there's probably 100 house parties going onto in the night with banging choons; I doubt the guards are going to turn up to tell 3 women they should stop talking over dinner, any more than they're going to tell someone they can't blaspheme....

Oh.

P.

BC

oceanclub wrote: »

I keep repeating myself - there was no music.

You said in your first post that there was music which is why people are referring to it.

The gardai won't do anything as it is a local government issue.

I agree there has to be a bit of give and take in apartments, however I would consider 10.30 on a weeknight to be late. Also as someone who hasn't slept for 3 nights in a row because of noise issues my tolerence level isn't what it usually is! You may just have caught her on a bad night or equally it could be that she genuinely couldn't sleep with the noise you were making in which case she has every right to ask you to keep it down.

bugler

Talking volumes can vary pretty dramatically. I know I've heard very loud people from outside or through walls and they probably didn't consider themselves to be shouting.

Noise from gardens/outside is going to be louder than the same activity indoors. I'd move it inside after 10 pm personally. Is there really any need to be outside at that time? That said, your neighbour should probably have closed the window as a first step in closing out the sound. She may be a light sleeper, or maybe she's a crank, but generally people don't want to get wound up or upset or complain, so I'd take it on good faith that it was causing her a genuine annoyance.

One interesting thing to note seems to be the perception of 10.30 pm as being particularly early, or that it's the bedtime of a shift worker. My girlfriend and I are often in bed at 10.30 or thereabouts, and we both work a 9-5.

THJ

Just because your neighbour might be in a minority in that she is sensitive to noise, does not mean that she does not matter.

mehmeh12

Hym sorry to go a bit off topic here but there is a pub across the road where i live that regularly has loud parties on the weekend. Last Saturday for example i was kept awake to 3.30 am. Am i within my rights to have to place close? I live in a predominantly residential area...this place is the only noise at night..no one else is really awake at these times.

techdiver

I'm sick of these annoying moaners. If you don't want to hear other humans, don't live in an apartment!!! Move to the country and live as a recluse. Too many people think that they are the only ones who hear noise and make none themselves.

donojono

Dont worry about it! Do what you want. OP, really I would have a party any time even past the rule times which is 11 pm. What I would do instead though is tell the neighbours I am having it and they are welcome to come-(or if its private that It will be on through the night so if they are on shift work they can either get ear plugs, sleep extra before- stay in a friends or put up with the noise. Ofcourse I had a simliar experience like the OP before and my solution was the following. Revenge! Next time she has a party keep knocking on her door and pissing her off.

If people stick to the stupid apartment rules then no one can ever have a party again. 5 people living in a block should be able to sort out it that they can all have parties late at anytime of the year. No one is effected if prior warning is given for a big one! and even an invite. Who knows it might be back to like when i was growing up. Neighbours actually knew each others names.

whizzbang

techdiver wrote: »

I'm sick of these annoying moaners. If you don't want to hear other humans, don't live in an apartment!!! Move to the country and live as a recluse. Too many people think that they are the only ones who hear noise and make none themselves.

Its amazing how people seem to think they have bought a quiet house in the country when in fact they have bought an apartment in a high density development! That goes for both noise makers and complainers!

You have to adapt and be reasonable to your surroundings. Expecting 100% quiet when you are living in an apartment block is unreasonable when it has the Irish build quality. Similarly, rocking out until 4am is also unreasonable.