Excessive Noise from Apartment Next Door - Help

noisehelp

First off apologies for a thread on this topic. I know there are a few in this section and I have searched and read through some. There seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion, though, rather than hard fact also couple with the notion of 'play them at their own game' ideas which I have no interest in.

I'll try and make my point as succinctly as I can.

Myself and my girlfriend own the apartment that we live in. We live on the top floor with two other apartments. One of which, the adjacent, has become a serious problem in the last 2 months with noise. It is owned (to the best of my knowledge) by the man (late 20s early 30s if that makes a difference) who lives there. He used to share with his girlfriend but she left him and he now shares with another man of a similar age. From what I can tell they are friends rather than strangers.

We have been living here for about two and a half years (the neighbour was already here when we moved in) and had very few issues with noise up until recently. I know the issues with apartments not being built properly etc.. as far as noise insulation goes and more of the issues we have had before were bareable. You'd hear the occasional late night party going on from somewhere the odd time but it wasn't excessive (maybe you'd hear something once every 3 months) and all quite tolerable.

The issue is now at a ridiculous level. I am typing this at 6:20 am. Next door came crashing through the door at about 3 am with what I'd estimate to be a dozen people in tow. The incessant dance music started then at volume level 101 along with loud talking/screaming and shouting. It persisted until 6am when they decided to change the music to some guitar ballad and all sing at the top of their lungs for 15 minutes before going back to dance music.

This has gone on the last 4 consecutive weekends as well as 3 Wednesday night/Thursday mornings and is causing me major grief as I work for myself and work some weekend mornings. Point in case I've to be up for work at 7:45am this morning and have only slept around 2-3 hours tonight.

I know the standard procedure is to contact the neighbour in case they don't realise they are being noisy. Believe me there is no way in the world he doesn't realise he is being noisy, unsociable and unreasonable. He is also a very rude and aggressive man. I asked around about him after we moved in and it transpires he's a well known local scumbag with plenty of scumbag mates. Therefore I haven't and won't be popping in to knock on his door in the middle of the night/morning to ask him to stop either. I don't fancy getting my head caved in to add to the problem.

If anyone is wondering why I haven't acted before now it's that I was hoping it would desist. I hoped (stupidly) that he was just having a couple of blowouts after his GF left him and that we'd return to 'normality' soon enough. It now looks like with no GF living with him he's just going to go nuts every weekend.

I am going to contact the management company representative, whose personal mobile number I have, tomorrow. However before I do I would like to be armed with some facts about what power they have so I can, if needs be, try and steer them (if reluctant to act) towards some course of action.

Have the management company any power to act towards an owner (as opposed to a renter)? I know that taking a case like this to court involves some monitoring equipment being installed to measure noise levels and register them at certain hours, can I compel the management company to do this rather than having to go solo on it? Does anyone have any other FACTS about cases such as this.

By cases such as this I mean dealing with an excessively noisy apartment owner. This isn't footfall, or talking and it's not just slightly late like midnight or whatever. It's excessively loud music (even if it was daytime the music would be excessively loud IMO) starting at ridiculous hours of the morning and continuing for hours upon end.

No offense to anyone but I'd really rather the 'give him a taste of his own medicine' people don't bother posting on here. I've no inclination to get into that. I have a normal life and getting involved in some tit for tat noise war with an idiot scumbag neighbour isn't on my list of things to do.

The same goes for 'oh my brothers, friends uncle had a situation like this once and apparently......' It was comments like that on other threads that made them hard to navigate and discern solid information from.

I'm looking for first hand experience and facts rather than opinion and hearsay. This quite simply can't go on. I can't go for a full days work (working for myself the quality of my work is key to securing further employment, shoddy work = getting a poor reputation = less/no work in future) on 2 hours sleep.

Any guidance or help would be most welcome.

Apologies for the length of the post I wanted to make sure I got it all out there first off as I won't really be able to add much in reply tomorrow until I'm on my break at which point I plan to ring the management rep.

PS

Finished typing this post at 6:40 and the noise is just as loud

Vahevala

What a horrendous situation to be in and it obviously so much harder as he owns his property. Try to take some recordings of the noise. Contact them management company and see if they can do anything, you need to also contact the county council, they will have a noise pollution section.

I am guessing you don't want to talk to the owner themselves? If you can't get it sorted, you will have to take it to court. I was in a situation with noise previously and the police can't do much which drove me insane :(

noisehelp

Thanks. I know I'll have to go through some channels but I'd really like to know whether or not I have any chance of success before I do.

As I said the person next door is an abrasive character and I have been told by people from the locale that he would be a dangerous customer to cross.

Add in the fact that this clearly isn't one of the cases where the person just doesn't realise they are being a bit loud because sound can travel. This is coming home with a large group of people at 2 and 3am in the morning and proceeding to turn all the speakers up to 100% and blast dance music for hours on end. It's still going on now by the way.

So, no, I don't want to talk to the owner about it. This isn't an accident or a mistake or a one off party (40th, 21st whatever) this is something he's doing every weekend and some week days now and he is perfectly aware of whats going on. Me asking him to stop won't change a thing for the better and would probably IMO make things worse for us.

Give the incessant music and shouting/stomping around and the long hours involved I'd hazard a guess there is a fair chance there are drugs involved too. This character clearly feels he can do what he wants a f**k everyone else. I don't want to get involved in a person to person action of any kind with him unless I think something can actually be done about it as there could quite easily be an issue of my, and my girlfriends, personal safety involved too.

eurofoxy

go talk to some other neighbours, if they heard something too then all of you contacting the management company at the same time will be far better than just you. and you will know that there are others in the same situation.

Its not an easy thing to deal with and you will get a lot of legal advice on here but if i were you i would start taking notes on when this is happening/duration etc. also keep notes of everything said to the management company. after a phone call write down the minutes of the call. all of this will be helpful if it hits the fan.

athtrasna

As an owner first check your lease and development rules then make a complaint to your management agent eg our development rules state no noise audible from outside the unit between 10pm and 8am. Make a formal complaint under these terms.

noisehelp

Thanks very much for the replies.

foxy I don't know anyone in the building to be honest but I did run into a couple I know to see and say hello to on my way into the basement car park and asked them if they heard the racket last (Fri) night. They said they had and complained about their 2 year old being woken up so I gave them the number of the management agent.

And yes athtransa it's in there in the contract. Between midnight and 9am

I rang the management agent myself yesterday afternoon and he said he'd already received multiple complaints and was taking the matter very seriously. He said he'd start the necessary wheels in motion on Monday because he didn't perceive this to be a case of overly sensitive neighbours or a person making noise that didn't know about it. He also offered some good advice on what to do.

Then last night, and I'm dog tired today because of it, the scumbag next door brought the party home at 4:30 am and it continued until 9:30. Hopefully that's just another piece of ammunition to go after this idiot with.

I know not every person walking the face of this planet has much empathy but I have to wonder what kind of low life thinks it's alright to keep the 14 other apartments in this block and the the 15 others in the adjacent (because make no bones this was so loud it traveled all over) block up at his whim and leisure.

What a f**king scumbag. Sorry if that's a bit ranty

Midnight Sundance

It sounds like you are following all the correct procedures. Let the management talk to him, perhaps knock into a few neighbours and ask them to record the noise also so if it does go further then you have more evidence to back it up!
Let us know how you get on!

ProudDUB

OP, do you have a digital camera or a camera phone that can take videos as well as photos? The next time this racket starts up, take a video of what it sounds like from inside your apt. It can't hurt to have an actual hard copy of it on video, as for now its just your word against his. I don't mean stand at your front door at 4am and film him as he comes home with his buddies, I mean take a video from inside your own apt where the sound from next door can be heard. If third parties are getting involved, it can't hurt to have hard evidence of what is actually happening

Edit:Midnight Sundance beat me to it. Great minds and all that.

noisehelp

Just a little update but first off, ProudDUB, thanks a million. That worked a treat.

Right this is a bit complicated so I'll give you the condensed version.

The management company contacted the owner. He said he was renting the place and he'd have a word with the tenant. Things continued unabated. I went back and forth with the management company logging the complaints. They kept talking to the owner. He eventually said he was going to move back in to the premises and sort it out.

This made me suspicious as I know exactly who has lived in the apartment and there has been 1 permanent tenant there all along. The only person who could move 'back in' is the GF who left at christmas time. So I contacted the management company and told them 'by the way, if it helps, the occupant of the property for the last 3 years has been Joe Soap'.

It turns out he was lying to the management company pretending he didn't live there and that he was renting the place out. Part of a pattern of fairytales I'm afraid. When he was confronted with the fact they knew he was lying he just did an about face and said, okay yeah I live there.

He was confronted with the latest incident (4am-10am) and claimed that his room mate tends to fall asleep with the tv and never wakes up so that could be it. He wasn't there on the day in question and he'd have a word with the room mate about it. The management company accepted this premise. That was until I sent them the audio of the party in full swing at 5am. The management company immediately contacted him and again when confronted with facts to prove he was lying he said, yeah okay there was a party. He still claimed he wasn't there on the night in question. Then he was told he was seen in the building (which he was by me) on the night in question. Yet again when confronted with facts to contradict his lies he simply backtracked and said, yeah I was there. So he went from renting the place out to a tenant who falls asleep with the tv on a bit loud. To admitting he lives there and throws parties at 4am in the morning.

However on hearing that he was seen on the night in questions he said 'so its ________ making the complaint'. Of course the management company refused to release the information but basically he knows its us now.

This is where it gets a bit interesting. In true childlike fashion he started to complain that we were bad neighbours and we'd had a big falling out. Of course no such thing occured. I had one brief conversation with him when I moved in (conversation not confrontation mind you) and he was so incredibly rude I resolved to not have any contact with him in future. So I haven't.

Anyway the management company weren't having any of it as he was finally exposed for what he is with some hard facts and evidence. While he was complaining about what bad neighbours we are he was asked what the issues where and what complaint he'd like to file against us. He had nothing so he then moved on to the

"If they had just knocked in and asked us to stop we would have".

Anyone with a brain knows thats bullsh*t for a start but he was told by the agent (and fair play to him) that it doesn't take someone knocking on your door at 4am for you to know that you can't be having parties with 20 odd people at the at those times.

So it's that little bit moved along now. I've no idea if he has any intentions of stopping but at least the absolute blatant lies he was using to hide behind have been exposed. He can't claim he doesn't live there, its a loud tv or whatever else anymore. He's now officially on the hook for whatever happens from here on in.

We'll see what happens but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled coming and going from here as, given the character he seems to be, I doubt he'll take too kindly to being pulled up on this.

eurofoxy

well done, you kept to your guns and hopefully it stops the noise, and if not i think the only way is to keep pushing the management company and keep taking audio samples of the noise, good idea that by the way...
but good luck with it in the future i hope you get a positive outcome...

gurramok

Not being patronising, try some earlplugs for your sleep. I have to use them due to a noisy bin truck which pulls up outside my apt window at 6:30am on 3 mornings of the week, i've never been woken by its level of noise since.
Think of numbers, try to get to know as many neighbours as possible to build up your case. At least a couple of them should be on the management company to help you? It is where i am.
Also as you say "I know the issues with apartments not being built properly etc.. as far as noise insulation goes and more of the issues we have had before were bareable."

You may have to splash out on sound insulation in your apt for any future general noise.

TwoShedsJackson

I wear earplugs to sleep myself and they are great, but one thing they are useless against is bass noise which travels through vibrations in the floor/wall - if that's part of the OP's complaint, which I imagine it is, ear plugs will be of limited use.

noisehelp

Thanks lads. No offence but earplugs were the first thing I tried. Also, second thing, I shouldn't have to put any earplug, or anything else for that matter, in because having huge parties 2-3 times a week from 3am onwards just isn't on.

But thanks all the same

mikemac1

That's some good work from the management company with the line of questioning

Often they don't care and don't want to know

Robus

Out of interest, is it your management company (i.e. the apartment owners and or apartment owners acting as directors of the management company) who are helping out here or is the management agent (a company employed by the management company / owners).

noisehelp

sorry to clarify it's an agent that the management company have hired

Pkiernan

Among the legal avenues I would be following are:

1. Calling the Guards out for each and every event.

2. Taking the Management company to Small Claims after each and every event (you can now show that they are aware of the issue, but have not resolved it).

and if unresolved:

3. Calling Crimestoppers to report drug use and possible sale: "Crimestoppers is a partnership between the Gardai and the business community. You can give information to the Gardai about any criminal investigation using the confidential freephone number 1800 250 025. This confidential freephone number is staffed by members of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation."

Adrift

@ Noisehelp, Keep the updates coming. Very often in this type of thread when the matter is resolved, there are no updates or the thread fizzles out. So no matter the outcome keep posting the info as it will be benificial to others in the future.


Besides that,when situations like this arise keep a dossier of what's going on. It's so important to write everything down. It's great that you have some audio to back your claim up, but even better if you have dates and times to submit with that. Especially in a case like your own where this is happening with alarming frequency.

noisehelp

Still ongoing. It's happening sporadically but not as regularly as previously.

The genius next door seems (from what the managing agent has told me) to think that this is some sort of compromise. That having my sleep and general well being f**ked with once a week should be acceptable since he's cutting down from two or three times a week.

Apart from being an anti social person I think he's also a bit of a f**king idiot. Logic doesn't seem to be his strong point.

Anyway the legal process has begun. Solicitors, decibel meters, reports to the environmental agency. Not ideal but the sooner the process is started the better.

I'll let you know what's happening. Hopefully he just shuts up for a couple of months and the next post I have will be that it is that it's all quiet on the western front and looking like being resolved.

Idbatterim

Still ongoing. It's happening sporadically but not as regularly as previously.

The genius next door seems (from what the managing agent has told me) to think that this is some sort of compromise. That having my sleep and general well being f**ked with once a week should be acceptable since he's cutting down from two or three times a week.

Apart from being an anti social person I think he's also a bit of a f**king idiot. Logic doesn't seem to be his strong point.

Anyway the legal process has begun. Solicitors, decibel meters, reports to the environmental agency. Not ideal but the sooner the process is started the better.

I'll let you know what's happening. Hopefully he just shuts up for a couple of months and the next post I have will be that it is that it's all quiet on the western front and looking like being resolved.

Its a bloody joke it even has to get to this stage! I have just moved into an apartment, having lived in them before, im a 28 year old single guy and i wont be having any parties... it is far too inconsiderate, Iv had to put up with similar to the OP before, but less than once a week and even that was pushing it, obviously we all have different tolerance levels, but you must nearly be a saint OP! if those PR**KS want to party 24/7, let them move into a detached bloody residence!

noisehelp

Just to update anyone who has had a similar issue.

The management company threw a lot of shapes without doing anything substantial. I hired a solicitor who served notice on the noisy neighbour. That shut him up for a while. He started again though.

I contacted the management company again. They failed to act again. I'm currently in the process of taking action against the management company for failure to enforce it's own rules rather than the neighbour. It's a shorter process than doing the whole thing with the neighbour and puts the financial onus on the company which as certainly gotten their attention a hell of a lot more than my pleas to shut that **** next door up.

Idbatterim

op what rooms do you have adjoining the other apartment? bedroom or living room etc?

noisehelp

It's the bedroom. Which is the worst room possible when the parties start at 4am. Try going to work on 2 hours sleep! It's very hard to function as a normal person!

Idbatterim

yeah the bedroom is by a mile the worst room! is the party wall concrete or a stud partition?

noisehelp

I couldn't tell you. We've even had it soundproofed but it doesn't do the job. Dance music at 100% volume at 4am isn't going to be drowned out by any kind of wall I'm afraid!

the_syco

noisehelp wrote: »

I couldn't tell you. We've even had it soundproofed but it doesn't do the job. Dance music at 100% volume at 4am isn't going to be drowned out by any kind of wall I'm afraid!

Sh|te soundproofing works both ways. Get a nice speaker & bass set, put it next to the wall, and play something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZ7oFKsKzY when you leave for work.

Procrastastudy

the_syco wrote: »

Sh|te soundproofing works both ways. Get a nice speaker & bass set, put it next to the wall, and play something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZ7oFKsKzY when you leave for work.

If you are in the process of taking this legal (horrible turn of phrase) don't do this. Won't do you any favours. As much as I'd be tempted to do it myself (and have)

horsemaster

It seems you are sufferring ina terrible situation! Any chance the Garda can help?

noisehelp

Thanks for the advice but I've no intention of doing that. It's more anti social than his behaviour and would effect other neighbours as well no doubt without achieving much. I wouldn't even be 100% sure he was there or not while that was going on for a start.

I've rang the Garda three times and been told on each occasion 'there's nothing we can do for you'.

eurofoxy

noisehelp wrote: »

Thanks for the advice but I've no intention of doing that. It's more anti social than his behaviour and would effect other neighbours as well no doubt without achieving much. I wouldn't even be 100% sure he was there or not while that was going on for a start.

I've rang the Garda three times and been told on each occasion 'there's nothing we can do for you'.

Guards have no powers to stop this type of behaviour, from my previous experience all they can do is come by and ask them to stop, if they dont there is nothing they can do, you are on the right track its just going to take time, taking on the management company is the best method as taking on the guy himself has already proved to be a waste of time...good luck with it and keep us posted...