What can I do about noisy people upstairs?

"I’m sure at one time in our lives we’ve all been the victim of the unruly neighbor or two. The longer these type of disruptions continue, the less sleep we get, the more irritable we become and the more we fantasize about violent actions perpetrated towards our neighbors. STOP right there. Odds are, if you create a scene or confront your neighbor in a hostile manner, your neighbor will probably be provoked into making your life even worse. There are non-violent ways to go about getting your neighbor to lower the sound levels while keeping the peace in your apartment community.

The Polite Approach

My mom always said that you can gather more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. First step, try being nice and direct with the neighbors who are creating the decibel level disruption and approach them with your concern. Try not to sound too whiney or belligerent and calmly tell them how their noise is affecting you. There is a good chance that your neighbor didn’t even realize that his nightly treadmill antics were causing you that much of a problem and he may switch to a later exercise routine. If the idea of face to face confrontation is not for you, a polite letter may do the trick and draw attention to the fact that there is a noise issue. Make a copy of any letters you write and send. Record the dates of these letters as well as any confrontation situations that may have taken place. If the polite approach does not work, you may need this documentation as you progress into the next two possible lines of attack.

Lease Agreement Approach

Most leases have a written clause regarding appropriate noise levels. (If you haven’t already gotten your place, don’t forget to check to make sure your lease will have a clause relating to this, as noise is one of the most common problems facing a renter). If talking to your neighbor did not result in a positive response, or if it actually made the situation worse, you might try giving them a copy of your lease with the references to noise levels highlighted or otherwise pointed out. Perhaps if your neighbor sees the rules in writing, and knowing they signed a copy themselves, they will gain more insight about the seriousness of the matter and that the noise really is a problem.

Landlord Approach

If you’ve already confronted the neighbor, either in person or by letter, and they are also aware of the rules in the lease AND the noise is still a serious problem, indicate that you will have no other option other than to bring the noise problem to the attention of your landlord. Begin by speaking with your landlord about the situation and then follow up your conversation with a letter in which you describe how you’ve attempted to resolve the issue. In the letter, outline the dates that you’ve spoken with your neighbor and the details of those conversations. Keep a copy of all correspondence for your files. If there is a clause in your lease regarding noise levels, your landlord should be able to enforce this policy to the tenants of the building.

You may want to speak with other neighbors to determine if the problem you’re encountering is also affecting them. The larger the problem, the more influence you will be able to use with your landlord. If possible, try to get your neighbors to also contact your landlord to voice their discontent. Again, and as always, make sure to document your conversations.

If all of these tactics do not work, call the non-emergency police number during one of the times when the disturbance is occurring. If an argument seems to be getting out of hand, if you hear signs of violence from your neighbors, call 911 immediately.

Your final option, if nothing works to stop the irksome interruptions, is to find a new apartment. Although this is a drastic measure, if the noise is a serious problem and your landlord isn’t taking the appropriate steps to rectify the situation, it would be for the best for you to find a place to live where you can be at peace. Although you���ll probably want to retaliate, this is not the best idea. You’ll only cause potential trouble for yourself. The best thing to do would be to move on."

The People Upstairs

I feel you.. I have loud, college kid neighbors who might be aspiring djs for crappy techno remixes of top 40 songs. I tried talking to them politely but it got to the point that they don't answer with me at the door, and management says they can't do much about it. It's earplugs all the way for me.

I say management should fine the little snots for every 3 noise complaints.. maybe if they're shelling out $$ for their disruptions I wouldn't feel so angry about all the lost sleep.

Perhaps you could ask if you could move to another flat in the same building? Usually that's the only way to completely resolve a problem like this.

At first write them

Second talk to them politely and calmly

Third call police

move out or unless you wanna put up with it, but its the law that you can only make noise starting at 9am til 10 pm if there making noise just call the cops

Be noisy on the ceiling

crank up the music when they are loud they'll get the hint

sue them or kill them. choose

BROOM.