If you live in a flat or an apartment, you probably know that it seems as though the walls are literally made out of paper. All your neighbour has to do is breathe and it can feel like your walls are caving in. It's definitely not their fault though, and if the people next door, upstairs or downstairs aren't being obnoxious with their noise levels, you'll probably just let it go and be understanding.
One man took to Reddit's 'Neighbours from Hell' thread to explain that his neighbours were complaining about the amount of noise he was making, and it was making him uncomfortable, to the point he didn't want to stay in his own flat.
He wrote: "I started renting a flat (UK) a year and a half ago, and since then I have probably stayed in the flat for three weeks altogether, in those three weeks even after being as quiet and considerate as possible my downstairs neighbours are still causing problems and banging on the ceiling all the time.
"There is little to no soundproofing and the floorboards are extremely creaky so it's difficult for both sides but they are being so unreasonable and banging on the ceiling just expecting me to go whenever they command, sometimes I will get home before they get back from work and sleep and then once I wake up they realise I'm home they turn their TV off and stay silent for ages, almost like they're trying to listen to what I'm doing?
"How can I explain to these people that I have every right to be there and they cannot control things outside of their own flat? If somebody else was to move in they would be in all the time and causing a lot more noise than I am! But still, they have a problem.
"Any advice on how to deal with these obviously very entitled unreasonable people who will just be shooting themselves in the foot if I was to move out of there for good? Thanks."
People in the comments were quick to say that living in some flats can be a nightmare situation, and there are usually two sides to every story.
One wrote: "I’ve noticed there’s usually two sides on this one the people upstairs, and the people downstairs. Upstairs thinks I’m just living my life downstairs thinks you sound like a fucking hippo, or elephant, or entire Safari!
"Living in flats is challenging for most people and I’m sorry that you’ve got intolerant people banging on your ceiling but you may be louder than you think. That doesn’t give them license to bang but they’re probably just really frustrated.
"Maybe have a word with them and see if there is some sort of compromise? Revenge probably won’t work because all it’s gonna happen is the situation is going to get even tenser and has the potential to blow completely out of proportion in my experience it might be better to try to talk it through or speak to management companies than retaliate."
Another wrote: "My upstairs neighbor is like this, she will throw tantrums for hours by slamming things and stomping back and forth simply over the sounds of me existing i.e. closing cupboards, doors, showering, cooking, cleaning dishes, putting dishes away, etc.
"Half the time I'm not making any noise at all though. Start documenting, get out your phone, and record. Contact the rental company/landlord and inform them of the situation, as confrontation with people like this most likely won't do anything good for you.
"Landlords are responsible and obligated to deal with things like this, and clearly they are making loud noises to bother you/retaliate for normal apartment sounds which is harassment."
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
