Apartment Issues

big big loader

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice. I have a first floor apartment which i have rented out. The problem i have is the owner occupier downstairs who every few months starts ringing and texting to complain about noise from my apartment - now its not raging parties or shouting or roaring or the like - but everyday sounds like walking, talking and tv etc. The lady downstairs has told me that she had a legal case against the builders of the apartments regarding lack of insulation in the floors/ceilings and for fire hazards as the floors between the apartments are not concrete - which seems a bit of a lost cuase to me. Anyway when renting ther apartment last i ensured to get the highest quality of tenant possible which i have done - a working couple with no kids or pets in order to keep noise levels as low as possible - i also refloored the apartment putting down as much undefloor as possible. Again last weekend the lady downstairs was on to me saying she was woken at 6 o clock am by my tenants getting up out of bed and turning on light switches etc !!!!!! she has said to me that the lease i signed (???) with the property management company listed that all owners have to insulate thri apartment floors to the last and she wants to see how much insulation i put down and if not she will be going legal. Now firstly i dont know what lease she reckons i signed as i signed none with the property management company - and also where i go from here as the issue is becoming stressful to myself and my family at this stage

_Kaiser_

Sounds like a crank to me to be honest

Many modern apartments are absolutely crap when it comes to build quality and particularly noise insulation. Nothing you can do about it that you haven't already tried, and even then the effect is minimal from the sort of noise she's talking about.

If you're confident that your tenants aren't taking the piss then I'd just ignore her. She probably shouldn't be living in an apartment block if she has this sort of attitude. Let her take it up with the builders/management company would be my advice and IF they come back to you, produce the receipts for the work you've already had done in response to her complaints. Chances are though you won't hear anything though if she's already tried this with them too.

Oh and I wouldn't be letting her "inspect" anything either.

bren2002

Apartments are leasehold, when you bought it you signed a lease. Probably a 999 year lease.
That's the lease she's referring to, just to clear up that bit of confusion.

Caliden

If she's complaining about light switches being used it says a lot about the person complaining.

I'd be looking for that detail about the management company requesting tenants to 'insulate' apartments.

After that tell her to take it up with the local authority.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/noise_regulations.html

They have the equipment to test for it. I'd be fairly confident that anyone getting up at 6am isn't exactly a party animal.

athtrasna

Do you have wooden floors?

big big loader

No id be 100% confident the tenants arent any hassle - id be in regular contact with them and get on great with them - they are straight up and on the level about everything - they both work fulltime and arent big drinkers, trying to save for a place of their own. She works shift work so in my opinion tends to think the world should stop when she's trying to sleep. Yeah i have wooden floors alright - when putting in new floors last years i ensured that the installers put in the max amount of underlay possible as stated. ive met her before and explained the situation and we talked it through - we both agreed to work together whioch was fine for a couple of months and then the rigmarole started of compaints started again. it just seems that no matter what every few months she'll keep re-appearing. i cant see how she'd have a legal case against me

Ch1me

If this woman can hear people turn on off light switchs maybe she should spend her own money as an owner occupier to sound insulate her own apartment

_Kaiser_

big big loader wrote: »

No id be 100% confident the tenants arent any hassle - id be in regular contact with them and get on great with them - they are straight up and on the level about everything - they both work fulltime and arent big drinkers, trying to save for a place of their own. She works shift work so in my opinion tends to think the world should stop when she's trying to sleep. Yeah i have wooden floors alright - when putting in new floors last years i ensured that the installers put in the max amount of underlay possible as stated. ive met her before and explained the situation and we talked it through - we both agreed to work together whioch was fine for a couple of months and then the rigmarole started of compaints started again. it just seems that no matter what every few months she'll keep re-appearing. i cant see how she'd have a legal case against me

The only possible case that I can see here is if the contract you signed forbids wooden floors - apparently some do. However I am not a lawyer so you'll probably want to check it.

If this isn't an issue though then I'd refer her to the builder/management company as I said earlier and see what - if anything - they come back with. If she's complaining about light switches then I can't imagine she'll get very far!

athtrasna

Definitely check the lease you signed with the management company. Ours strictly prohibits wooden floors apart from ground floor units. If yours does it may give credence to this woman's claims.

MouseTail

athtrasna wrote: »

Definitely check the lease you signed with the management company. Ours strictly prohibits wooden floors apart from ground floor units. If yours does it may give credence to this woman's claims.

i cant understand why you went to the trouble of laying insulation and then put wooden floors on top. Living below an apartment with wooden floors can be a nightmare, regardless of insulation. Relay carpet, or get lots of rugs to muffle sound.

hdowney

Somehow I don't think wooden floors are the problem here when the woman downstairs is complaining about upstairs neighbours flicking on the light switch!!! I think yer one is just a nutter tbh

pinkypinky

Actually, I can see the other side of it. Imagine you live in a place and the upstairs neighbours, through no fault of their own, cause a lot of noise just walking around. I can hear my upstairs neighbours including light switches, tv, toilet flushing, etc. It can really get in on you, especially if they keep different hours to you. The landlord seems conscientious here, putting in underlay, etc, but wooden floors are the likely problem. I don't know why the woman is threatening legal action because she'd had to take it up with the management company of which (assuming she's also an owner) she's a part.

CatFromHue

pinkypinky wrote: »

Actually, I can see the other side of it. Imagine you live in a place and the upstairs neighbours, through no fault of their own, cause a lot of noise just walking around. I can hear my upstairs neighbours including light switches, tv, toilet flushing, etc. It can really get in on you, especially if they keep different hours to you. The landlord seems conscientious here, putting in underlay, etc, but wooden floors are the likely problem. I don't know why the woman is threatening legal action because she'd had to take it up with the management company of which (assuming she's also an owner) she's a part.

allybhoy

I had a similar situation a few years back, got brought to court due to the noise of tenants, My tenant was working shift and the people below could hear him opening presses,going to the bathroom etc at inconvenient hours, he wasnt throwing parties or anything it was just general noise. At the start i was fielding calls from the neighbours on a weekly basis and was trying to appease them but in the end there was nothing I could do, i wasn't making the noise and i had spoken several times to my tenant who insisted he was quiet etc. I wasnt going to evict him as it wasnt his fault he worked shifts. Ended up going to court, the Judge was fairly sympathetic to both sides of the argument. He asked us both to go away and sit down together and try and see it from the others perspective, he was also fairly damning about the builders as he said if you can hear someone above opening a press then they obviously weren't built to a high standard. I have solid hardwood floors which i presume were one of the main causes, the judge did say that if it came up in court a few more times then he would have no option but to order me to have them removed but he hoped it wouldnt come to that etc. I got a few cheap large thick rugs and stuck them down in all the rooms which definitely seemed to help. I had a chat with my tenant again and asked him to be mindful of the noise, he ended up moving out a few months later anyway for other reasons and I made sure to vett the next tenants very strictly, thankfully i havent had any complaints since and now have lines of dialogue again with m neighbours..

Arbiter of Good Taste

Clearly some people here have not lived under apartments with wooden floors. Imagine a situation where you can hear every single noise the people upstairs are making - no matter how insignificant. The wooden floors seem to amplify everything, so even the slightest noise - say turning on a light switch - can be heard louder and clearer than if you were in the room itself. Add to that, presses opening and closing, walking around, toilet noises, etc, etc.

To be honest OP, your comment that you think the woman effectively expects the world to revolve around her is not particularly nice. I seriously doubt she's complaining about light switches per-se - probably just making the point that she can hear everything down to the light switches being switched on.

A lot of apartment blocks forbid wooden floors - insulation or not. If that's the case, it's in the lease that you would have signed when you purchased, so I wouldn't be too blasé about it if she threatens to pursue the matter

Cathmandooo

No wooden floors allowed in my block either.

You'll need to invest in some thick carpet or at least thick rugs. It'll make a world of difference to the sound insulation and keep everyone happy.

hdowney

Whilst I think the woman is a bit of a complainy nut, I do also think that there should be carpet floors in apartments above ground level. Wood floors make all sorts of noise.