Around a month after I moved in, there was a lot of shouting going on, banging and general noise one night at about midnight.  It sounded like there were 20-odd people in the flat and as though a physical fight had broken out.  I lay awake shaking until it stopped and I eventually managed to fall asleep (luckily my son was staying with my parents).

I found out the next day from the police (who came to ask me if I'd heard anything) that she was a 'working girl', was an addict and had in fact stabbed someone the night before (WTF)?? 

She disappeared for a couple of months and so I assume she was in jail.  She came back and the shouting, screaming and banging resumed (my flat actually vibrates on some occassions).  The other night, she was having a very heated and (it sounded to me like a physical) fight with someone.  The banging, screaming, vibrating bedroom went on for 3 hours.  I was too scared to call the police but someone did as they turned up with 3 cars and 2 vans (complete with police dogs)!  When she wouldn't answer the door, they started kicking the door down (with the dogs barking in the landing all the while). At this point, my son woke up crying.  He was actually shaking uncontrollably.  I comforted him and told him the 'good guys' were here and so that was what the noise was.  It took me ages to calm him down.

After being unable to kick the door down, they got a battering ram (is that what it's called?) and got in that way.  She was arrested and taken away, only to be home the next night.

The latest was at 5.15am this morning when she decided that she wanted to listen to the radio in her bedroom (directly below mine) at full blast.  I had to be up for work today and so wasn't best pleased. 

I think it's ridiculous that my son and I are reduced to quivering wrecks because of this woman.  I've (grudgingly) put in a few complaints to the police and the council but nothing is being done!

PHEW! I feel better already!

Since December 2008 we have had to listen to these 66+ year olds, argue with and insult each other constantly. We have been woken most nights by the cretins, though more worryingly, our daughter has, since she was only nine! I have nicknamed the two miscreants " Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber".

They goad each other with vile insults. The female resident has threatened her boyfriend by saying she will have him beaten up or killed off! She has taunted him by calling him a Peadophile and has accused him of fancying his own daughter! Apparently he can't 'Perform' as a man even though he has a stash of Viagra at his dispense- but then taking into account she is quite masculine looking and has a voice deeper than Barry White's bass rumblings , this is hardly suprising!

They come home drunk and stagger across the lawns, clutching onto one another for dear life, half the time narrowly missing ending up face down in the flower beds! Their slurred speech and limited vocabulary is like an annoying drill that penetrates your skull! Once they have woken us up, that it's! We have a nightmare time going back to sleep.

We have now consulted our elected Cllr who has pushed things forward and they have been issued with a notification-at long last!- But, they have lied through their teeth and have tried to shirk taking responsability for their awful behaviour. I have a meeting to discuss what happens next, 7 days from now and will make sure something is done about them.

I know we will have a bit of a battle on our hands, but as we have done no wrong ourselves, I will battle it out with dignity and the truth, and see those plebs either shut up, or move on! Grrr!

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!

Have a good one.

I have new neighbours who have moved into the rented house that backs onto my garden. They are running a nursery/child-minding service from their conservatory which is in full view of our house and not very far away as our gardens are quite short. She spends most of the day with the children either in the conservatory or the garden. My husband and I both work from home and the noise they create is really starting to disrupt our working day. The children are about from Mon to Frid from 7.30/8am until around 5. This was a very quiet neighbourhood until 6 weeks ago.

Any advice on what I can do? I haven't even spoken to her yet - I wanted to know all my rights and legislations before I go around and explain the situation to her.

I welcome any comments or advice.

Dec2008 - Dragging of furniture sound at 7am+. Long deafening screeching sound created. I wrote a complain to HDB, and they visited them. Best of all, the owner say tht he didn't know the sound will disturb others. (Brainless man, thought he is living in a landed property?)

Jan2009 - Drilling and knocking sound from day till late night. Tried using a bamboo to knock back, and the noise disappear but come back the next day again. I wrote to HBD again, so the visited them again, Still insist that is not them. If is not them, how come it  return back the peacefulness immediately. (SO there is a casper living somewhere).

Mar2009 - Knocking sound come back again. Complain to HDB again and visited them once again. Noise disappear.

Jun2009 - Their adopted kid transforming the whole house into a playground. Running and jumping from day till till late night. Don't be surpise sometimes can last till 2am. Complain to HBD, the couple still dare to say tht they are aware and have been telling the kid not to do it but the kid still does it. Irresponsible parents.

After this visit, on and off there are still noise, thinking wasn't as bad as before, so we tolerate it.

Recently, the kid turn crazy again, not sure isit long time they are not visited by the HDB uncle so they thought that he can start transforming the house into playground. Jumping and running at the middle of the night. And sometimes at 3am. Not forgetting furniture dragging sound.

Really feel like issuing them a Lawyer letter to the unit. There is always a price to pay for what they have done.

The only thing I have not tried is write to my MP. knowing is useless, or even calling a police. This is really getting off my nerves. Work is really killing, reaching home hoping to have a gd rest, but with such idiots living above, I have no peace at all.

I realise that compared to most my problems are minor - i have a group of middle aged men who smoke and chat in their garden at night, all from the same flat.  The problem is that they shout rather than talk (it almost seems like they are arguing but then they laugh) and do it several times a night between 12pm and 3am.  Then one of them gets up at 5am to cough and spit in the garden.  Sounds minor but is not a nice way to be woken!  The bedroom windows of all four flats face into the gardens and the noise just echoes up the walls and its too hot to close the windows. 

We've talked to them (as have other neighbors) and although they were nice and stopped that night, they've carried on since.  We then wrote a note but to no effect, but we aren't sure how good their English is.

I'd like to find out if they rent so we can approach their landlord but does anyone know how i can found out if they rent please?  Didn't get very far with google.

Many thanks
Rach

Just thought id let you know about this domestic soundproofing company i used to soundproof my walls. they where great and i couldnt believe it..... it worked!!

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They have even just finished working with the BBC DIY SOS for an episode on BBC 1 this year.
Heres their webpage for soundproofing walls - [LINK REMOVED].

I would like to know if anyone else has tried this approach. Ifso please tell about your experiences.

EDIT: I know link spam when I see it, djrobo, but since this might actually help some people on the forum I'm going to leave it here. If you'd like to visit the website of the company djrobo refers to, copy and paste the address below into your browser.

noisyneighboursolutions.co.uk/soundproofing_walls.php

-Laurence
NN Administrator

Finally she kicked the guy out and we at last thought peace was around the corner.  Since december 2009 it has been a pleasure to be living in our house again.

However, now the hot whether is here and the abusive guy has moved out, the eighteen year old boy has started getting into the habit of having his friends around and sitting in his back garden drinking lager around a small bonfire.  At first we didn't mind too much as they would only be once a week or so, and usually by 11 pm they would all go there seperate ways and extinguish the fire.

As you can appreciate in this heat we need to sleep with the windows open at night. Whilst my wife used to go to bed at around 10pm she had been waiting until around 11pm to ensure they have left. Just recently these gatherings have been getting later and the friends appearing have grown in numbers.  This week seems to have become worse. Every night apart from Thursday there have been these "garden parties" involving a dozen 18 year olds drinking and swearing until the early hours. I must stress that they are not massively loud, but they are loud enough to wake you with a sudden laugh or shout.  The teens do seem to get quieter the later it is, but not quiet enough to sleep through with our windows open.

As you can appreciate it is difficult to approach a dozen young "boozed up" lads at 1am without fearing a brick through the window. 

The mother is no use at all and simply can't control the 18 year old lad.

Any ideas how we can stop this?

Nowdays, we are still listening to random music, stamping and pissing in the toilet (and worse) and their constant banging.

It's horrible putting up with the noise from upstairs. We have never played music or had people over because we know how small the apartment is and don't want to subject people to annoying noise. Even though I would love to bash a broom on the ceiling or bang as loud as them, we purposely make sure we don't do the same back. It will only cause more stress.

We can't stand it. We plan to buy a house on a acreage. All I'm saying is that if anyone is going to move, don't move to a bottom floor unit.

If they are not doing DIY they are having bbqs with loads of people in the garden and have had a few partys too.  He works for a brewery company and at various times of the night ( this Monday night at 2.30am) a van comes and delivers parcels into his van, slides the doors open, throws the parcels in, slams the door shut then dirves off.

I went over yesterday to ask them when the DIY is likely to finish as after a year and a half we were fed up with it.  They couldnt have cared less.  They had the cheek to complain that a friend of mine put a hanging basket bracket up on my wall at 6pm one evening about 6 weeks ago.  They should thank their lucky stars it didnt take 16 months to do it!!!!!!  I tried to explain to them that from our side of the house it is really noisey, they might think that they are doing something trivial in their house but the sound travles and its really noisey and irritating, they just said the DIY will be finished when its finished.  They are totaly unreasonable, they couldnt care that my son was in bed when he promised to finish at a reasonable time last year then continued drilling anyway, he just said "well I wanted to put my curtains up so I could go to bed!"

I dont think I am going to get as lucky as some of the people that have emialed in and said that eventually their neighbour from hell moved.  Unfortunately I dont think that I can afford to move myself.  This constant nosie is making me ill.  I work in a noisy environment and when I get home I want a bit of peace and quiet and never seem to get it.

I have asked the council for advice and while I was on the phone to them,  next door started dirilling and she commented that they sounded as if they were in my house.  Its on and off all the time.  You never know when they are going to start and stop.  The woman that lives there was very childish and immature when I mentioned the noise from the van being filled with parcels.  She just said to her partner, "oh your going to have to get up at 2.30am to complain to him because hes disturbing her!"

She also commented that I wake her up when im getting my son sorted out for school in the morning.  Well shell be hearing a lot more of that.   As they are unwilling to show any consideration for me why the hell should I show any for them!

My only hope is to win the lotto then I will move and rent my house out to a bunch of students that couldnt  care less, just like them.

Laurence
NN Administrator