Noisy Neighbors — How To Deal With Them

Whether you live in a city, the suburbs or the country side, you’re bound to have neighbors; whether they are upstairs, downstairs, or next door. They could become your friends, someone you borrow stuff from, or even someone you can rely on to watch your pets while you’re away. However, it’s also likely that you’re going to have noisy neighbors at some point. It could be that they party every weekend and you can’t get any sleep, they jump up and down when they are working out at home, or because there are two babies next door who scream all day long and drive you crazy. Whatever the reason, it’s never fun to deal with noisy neighbors when you’re trying to work from home, study or unwind after a long day of work.

Dealing with noisy neighbors can be very simple, but it can also get complicated. Luckily, we’ve got some tips for you on how to deal with your loud neighbors. So keep on reading.

Let it go

When it comes to neighbors (and roommates) the best motto is “live and let live”. Your next door or upstairs neighbors have the same right as you do to enjoy their life in the comfort of their own home. That could mean watching TV loudly, walking around the apartment with their shoes on, having a dog that barks, or playing loud background music while they are working from home. Unfortunately, you cannot control everything that happens in their home. So before you take action, consider if the noise they generate is reasonable enough to ignore it or take action. You can do some things yourself to mute out their noise, such as playing background music at home, wearing headphones with noise cancellation when they are being too loud, or turning up the TV volume. Accepting that you are bound to have some level of noise, is the first step for inner peace when it comes to loud neighbors.

Confront your neighbor (politely)

If you find that your neighbors’ noise is unbearable and unreasonable, the next thing to do is have polite conversation with them. You might be hesitant if you don’t want to strain your relationship with them or you are just less confrontational in nature. However, if they don’t know that their behavior and noise is bothering you, they might never stop it. Ideally, you want to have the conversation during or right after they make a lot of noise. You don’t want them to deflect or claim that you are making things up. You should mention other noise incidents including the day and time they occurred. In any case, be polite, calm and factual. Explain that their loud noises are bothering you and negatively impacting your sleep, work or just the comfort of your home.

If you cannot muster the courage to engage in this conversation, you can write a note and slip it under their door. You can leave it anonymously or mention that it’s from you. That’s up to you. Hopefully, they will at least understand now that someone is suffering from the noise they are generating.

To avoid having to come over again and again, exchange numbers with your neighbor and ask permission to text them when you feel that their noise level is excessive. This is much better than having to get out of bed, walk over and knock on their door in your pajamas. Your neighbor would surely rather get a text than a knock on the door as well.

Just remember to also be patient and think about if you are not being unreasonable. If you complain about every little noise, at reasonable hours, you might turn off your neighbor to cooperate with you in the future. So put up with some noise, especially if it’s not within quiet hours and pick your battles. If it’s not resolved with a polite conversation, we still have more tips on how to deal with your noisy neighbors.

Suggest ways to minimize their noise

If you find that your neighbor is receptive to your complaints about their noise, you can offer suggestions to address it. One of the most common noises upstairs neighbors can create are stomping sounds. Ask your neighbor if they could walk around the house without shoes or add some rugs in the areas above you that you are most sensitive to. Since this is quite a personal ask, we recommend defining the scope of it. For example, ask them to take their shoes off at night when you are going to bed, or be extra sensitive in the early morning hours. Just asking them to never wear their shoes in their own house might be overstepping.

You can also offer to get them a rug to place in their apartment. Most neighbors wouldn’t mind a nice ‘gift’. Just consult with them what color and style will work for them. There are many affordable area rugs on Amazon, Target or Walmart. It’s a little expense for you, but it would surely be worth it.

Involve your landlord

If you live in an apartment building or complex, you could leverage your landlord or management company to step in. Share with them the details, occurrences and frequency of how your neighbor’s noise disrupts your day-to-day life. The landlord will usually send a warning letter to the loud neighbor, asking them to cease the activities that are causing the noise. Remember, it’s in their best interest to keep all of their tenants happy to avoid either one leaving at the end of the lease. Too many noise complaints are also usually grounds to terminate a rental lease, or at the very least not offer a lease extension.

If you live in a building with a doorman or security personnel you can alert them when your neighbor is being loud at odd hours. They will usually call or stop by and ask to keep it down. Your building might even have a tenant portal to log in these complaints. This is a good option for occasional noises. If it’s an ongoing thing, it’s better to still work with your landlord to resolve it. If your landlord requires evidence, make sure you record the noises with your phone and save it. Also make sure the time is documented.

File a Noise Complaint

If any of the above tips hasn’t changed your neighbors loud behavior or you don’t share the same landlord, it’s time to involve the local authorities. Many cities offer a 311 call service number for non-emergency assistance, such as noise complaints. In most cases the local police will be dispatched to your neighbor’s door and ask them to turn down the music, shut down the party, or cease whatever noise they are creating. These are usually anonymous, but still make sure they are justified. No one wants the police to show up at their door for simply watching Netflix too loud.

Just keep in mind that since this is categorized as a non-emergency event, the authorities might not get there before the noise ends. But still if the police show up at your neighbor’s even after their party is over, they might think twice about throwing another one next time.

Move out

If you tried everything but still your neighbor keeps making loud noises that are keeping you up at night, your landlord’s attempts didn’t help and the noise complaints keep piling up, it might be time to move. You can find another place that is quieter, or find a new roommate to move in with. It might seem unfair that you are the one that needs to move out, but once you settle in a quieter home, it will be all worth it.