Anyone who has lived in a block of flats will be able to tell you that they're not ideal for people who want complete peace and quiet from their neighbours, as you can almost always hear people walking above you or making noise in the corridor outside your front door.
But while some noise is almost guaranteed, you also wouldn't be wrong for wanting your neighbours to be courteous of the people living around them, and to do what they can to limit the noise they make.
One woman, however, is at her wit's end after spending weeks listening to her neighbour's kids run up and down the stairs that connect the floors of her block of flats, as they've decided that it's the perfect place for them to play tag - despite there being a park just around the corner from the building.
In a post on Reddit, she explained: "Our apartment complex has four buildings. There is a designated play area for kids, along with grassy areas and trees surrounding it. We specifically live on the second floor of the building furthest from the play area. We can still hear the kids, but as long as they're around the play area, it's easily drowned out.
"However, some of the kids from the other buildings have started to play in the parking lot near our building. Not a huge deal, kinda annoying but it's not too bad. Lately, though, they've started to run up and around the stairs/landing leading up to the upstairs apartments. This is extremely disruptive since it shakes our entire studio apartment.
"If that wasn't bad enough, they'll then stick around right outside our window screeching and shouting. I'm assuming they're playing tag, since it sounds like they made a rule that the person who's 'it' can't go upstairs. They'll play from around 5pm to 8 or 9pm almost every day.
"I get that it's outside of quiet hours, but there's a designated play area literally less than a minute away. If they wanted to run up and down stairs, they can do it in their own buildings and bother their own family. And yes, I know it's not kids from our building since we know all of the neighbours and you can see the kids running home after they're done playing."
The woman said she's now considering letting her landlord and property manager know what the kids are doing, as she doesn't think it's "fair" that she should have to deal with the noisy kids, especially when they live in one of the adjoining buildings.
She added: "I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable for expecting the kids to play in the designated area or at least in their own building. We don't complain when our neighbours are noisy, since we know the walls are thin and we likely annoy them at times too. But it's not fair that we now have to suffer due to kids that don't even live in our building."
Commenters on the post were firmly on her side, with many saying she should tell her landlord and raise it as a "safety issue", especially if the children are also playing in the car park.
One person said: "Kids shouldn't be playing in the parking lot - warn landlord of the safety issue! Use the stairs as a different complaint."
While another added: "This sounds dangerous, with the kids running up and down the stairs. I wouldn't want my kids doing that. I'd tell someone, and maybe they can put a sign up telling people not to run on the stairs."
And a third wrote: "The kids have probably already been told off in their own building, which is why they're playing in yours. Yeah, tell your landlord/property manager. You'll probably want to have an official record of the complaint and your concern about the kids' activities anyway, just in case something happens."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com.
