Help with a noisy neighbour

Lucile_park · December 2012

I was looking for some advice on how to deal with ongoing noise from a neighbour. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> For the past year I have had to endure with my neighbour who puts on his morning radio talk show at 5am. I am a light sleeper normally- so as soon as the ‘chatter’ starts I am awake. I do use ear plugs, but after a year the radio noise still remains and I am developing some type of tinnitus, most likely from the ear plugs. <o:p> </o:p> I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and also put it in writing. I most recently spoke to him last week- to which he said he will keep the noise down (as he always does), but there has been no change. It seems he is aware of the 11pm to 7am rule, as at 7am, the radio goes up even louder. <o:p> </o:p> I have tried contacting the noise team at the local council, but they don’t work those hours and cannot do anything to address the issue. <o:p> </o:p> So I am hitting a brick wall atm with this. I think the noise travels through as the radio is located in an alcove and there is an empty chimney breast behind our bedroom wall. But the neighbour does not think that is possible and even though I suggested trying the place the radio in another position in the room, he feel this is not the answer. <o:p> </o:p> So I am putting my dilemma out to the community. Hoping someone may have some useful advice they can share, as the interrupted sleep is really getting me down. Thanks

checkski · December 2012

Great sympathy, Lucile. maybe you could work on the radio positioning angle. I occasionally have the same problem, although never regularly enough to do anything about it. I'm sure any reasonable person would try moving the offending soundsource - almost certain relief for you, no sweat for them. If yr neighbour turns out to be a disobliging arsehole, as does rather sound to be the case, you could, I suppose up the ante and get up at 4.00 to make some loud noise of your own choosing, and hope that he gets the message. Some people swear by that strategy, but it seems dangerous and problematical to me. I didn't know 11 - 7 had some sort of official be-quiet status. What about posties? One lived above me and was a clumsy clattering sod, but luckily he left. If he hadn't, I surely wouldn't have been able to shut him up, officially? Best of luck. Keep us posted.

checkski · December 2012

Obvious really, but I forgot to say that my postie neighbour also got up at 5.

checkski · December 2012

PPS. Keep us posted: unintentional pun. Shut up, Checkski, and go back to bed.

maz · December 2012

There is an out-of-hours number for the council: 020 8348 3148 (Haringey). They will send someone to witness the noise. They will then write to the person causing the noise. This has been very effective,

quince · December 2012

Couple of suggestions:<div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </div><div><ul><li>The 11-7 rule may well be written into the lease for the individual flat or the entire building (or, more probably, both). Leases often carry a strict prohibition on amplified sound during these hours. Your neighbour, therefore, might be in breach and you could exert pressure on him from that angle. Proper legal or CAB advice required, I think. If he rents, then you could try to communicate with his landlord. If you rent, tell yours. </li><li>Earplugs shouldn't cause tinnitus, but poorly-fitting ones may well be irritating and uncomfortable. Ears come in varying sizes, but most plugs are sold as 'one size fits all' and suit the larger lug hole. Have a look at snorestore.co.uk - big range, quick delivery. I use 'womens' earplugs, having found that they fit my dainty (male) ears better. Try a few and see what works best. </li><li>Try not to stress about it too much. Easy to say, I know, but this kind of aggravation can really get you down. Do your best not to let it. </li></ul></div>

feli · December 2012

I had the same problem once and I called I believe is called noisy pollution I will have to check, they came around at midnight, I believe they work all night and they would go into your bedroom and check how high the noisy is and they would visit your noisy mate and then they would send them a letter and may even face eviction if they don't stop the noisy. I will find out for you the number to call

Donna · December 2012

are you prepared to throw money at the problem? you can insulate against sound from your side.

miss annie · December 2012

Islington noise pollution team were very efficient when I had a problem with neighbours a few years ago.. I'm not sure that 11-7 applies to things like a radio inside personal properties. Isn't it just for things like building works?

quince · December 2012

The lease on my old property expressly forbade 'a wireless gramophone to be played...between the hours of 12 midnight and 7am so as to cause annoyance to the tenants of the other flats in the building'.

miss annie · December 2012

Oh, how quaint!

quince · December 2012

Quite. And 'no singing' either.

WoollyAlice · December 2012

Oh Lucile, I completely sympathise. <div> </div><div>My dad has an absolutely douche-bag of a neighbour who would come back late at night after the pub and play the 120-bpm dance music until 3am. Weekdays, weekends, most nights. He would fall asleep after a few drinks and leave the music blaring out. </div><div> </div><div>My poor old dad resorted to banging on the partition wall with a plank of wood, going crazy wishing the music would stop. Sleepless nights, tired/couldn't concentrate at work the next day, grouchy. No amount of reasonable requests to turn the music down, or off, would help. </div><div>In the end he documented the times and levels of noise nuisance in a note book and recorded it on his phone a few times, then produced a report to the council. it really did take over his life & caused a huge amount of stress. I think they sent some kind of noise abatement letter - threatening a hefty fine. This seemed to help enormously, the noise has since been a hundred times better. Unfortunately it took about 4 years to get to that stage though. </div><div> </div><div>So sorry you're having to suffer this - it's horrid when you can't sleep because of irritating, repetitive noise. It can really get you down. I think you have to be persistent both with the neighbour and the council. The neighbour wont like you, but your health & well being is much more important! </div>

Stella · December 2012

miss annie · December 2012

Is the radio loud or can you just hear it? Your original post seems to suggest that he makes an real effort to keep the volume down until 7am.I think you'd have a problem getting noise pollution team to do anything about a quiet radio playing in the morning.If it is really loud call them at 4.30, before it starts, it always takes them at least half an hour to come out. What they will do is come into your bedroom and record the sound. If it is above the acceptable volume they can confiscate the radio and start ASBO proceedings. If it is not loud enough to register on their monitor they won't be able to do anything at all, they can't enforce complete silence at any time.Good luck, I had horrendously noisy neighbours playing stereos all through every weekend evening. It is horrible but if the noise is unacceptable the council team will help.

[Deleted User] · December 2012

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Lucile_park · December 2012

Thanks for all the messages everyone. Just to answer some of the questions raised. The neighbour and myself both own our flats. He has always been a reluctant ‘neighbour’, for example refusing to pay for the half of the fence when the winds earlier this year blew the boundary fence right down. So I do try and keep my distance from him. @ maz- am on the Islington side, thanks anyway @ quince- appreciate the earplug website- will have closer look. It does get really uncomfortable wearing earplugs for too long. CAB is a good thought, have never used them before. @ Donna- not sure exactly how the noise travels, so not keen to spend money as it may not work- could be through the floors – as it is the guy below me and next door to me, very strange that noise carries from there to begin with. @miss annie- Islington noise team did seem interested in the issue, until they found out the time was 5am- to which they said their teams are finished by 4am for the evening/ morning- so no one available to come out and investigate the noise. As for the radio- it varies- some mornings it is just very loud, but every morning I do hear it. Mon to Fri it goes on at 5am. Sat/ Sun it was 7am, but the last 2 weekends it have moved to 8am. It really is like clockwork. At 7am on weekdays- it goes up a lot louder. @ WooleyAlice, @Stella- thanks for the thoughts- it does help to read others experiences @Misscara- I was thinking of inviting him in at 5am to listen. My husband is at least there too. I think it may be the case that if he hears it and sees how the noise travels, then he may eventually do something to address it. I think I do need to warn him I may do that, so thinking I will try and chat to him once again and then offer him the 5am visit. Also I think I may need to try Islington council again, as the person I spoke to last time was not very helpful. But am not holding out much hope with them

Stella · December 2012

You are welcome. Yes, it helps to know that others have been in the same situation, but it sort of doesn't change yours, does it? Wishing you all the best with finding peace.

Lucile_park · December 2012

@ checkski- seems my response to you went awol. Just wanted to say thanks for your comments...shall keep you posted...yes a bad pun there :-)

barnesbq · December 2012

I really can't understand why some people can be so god damn inconsiderate! I have had this problem myself in the past, and the solution was accidental. One night I actually lost my mind as this music pumped through my floorboards and shook my beadsted from the flat below. It'd been about a year of constantly asking a bunch of young black male students to not play Rnb during the week at 4am (or smoke pot) with them ignoring my every request. So I broke into their flat whilst they were in, marched up the hifi in my pyjamas and pulled plug out in front of them. They threatened to kill me the next day, and I believed them. They were furious. But so was I! They actually stopped doing it after that. Extreme measure. I wouldn't recommend it - but thought you might like the story and some sympathy!

gardener-joe · December 2012

@barnesbq: "young black male students". How is these folks' colour of relevance?

Idoru · December 2012

I was wondering the same thing myself.

checkski · December 2012

Hmm. It's a knotty one, this. When is ethnicity relevant to a story? I had a furious row with an old friend years ago, when I asked him why he had to tell me, en passant, that the person breaking into his car was black. He was furious because officially he was vigorously anti-racist - he wasn't aware that he was reinforcing a negatively stereotypical association. 'Would you have felt it necessary to tell me if the man had had red hair?' I asked. He had no answer to that one. In poor Barnesbq's horrible experience I suppose the R 'n' B makes the neighbours' cultural ethnic credentials guessable anyway, even if he hahdn't mentioned them. But the other details - dope, noise, aggression - could be from anyone, which leads me to advise B to be careful how he tells that story in future. He's on a borderline, IMO. On the other hand, ALL those details would be relevant, if the police were trying to track down an unknown criminal.

Ali · December 2012

'Would you have felt it necessary to tell me if the man had had red hair? You might in Glasgow as he/she would probably be a Celtic supporter

ADGS · December 2012

Yeah, I would definitely mention it if a criminal was a ging.

gardener-joe · December 2012

@ADGS: "Yeah, I would definitely mention it if a criminal was a ging". w.t.f ... ?

ADGS · December 2012

Gingers can't swim, they attract enemy radar, they attract sharks, they insist on being placed at "the captain's table", they get up late, they nudge people whilst they're shooting. They muck about.<div> </div><div> </div>

[Deleted User] · December 2012

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miss annie · December 2012

I find that it's ginger men that are troublesome. Ginger ladies most definitely do not muck about. Arky will concur.

Arkady · December 2012

I am exceptionally partial to a ginger. That said, since the recent demise of my relationship with one, I'm branching out. All physical types welcome. Intelligence and wit essential. Applications via PM.

Mirandola · December 2012

Are you Damian Lewis?

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