Noisy neighbours

[merryone]

I live in a town with two huge universities, so as one can imagine the student population is massive. I am really thankful that I live nowhere near the universities and the streets that are full of HMO's full of students, a work mate of mine lives in a small street which has literally been turned over to student accommodation in the last few years and she's been through hell trying to get these people to stop making so much noise in the small hours of the morning. At one stage she was considering selling up and moving on, but I think it's ok for her at the moment. Some years ago when I lived few streets away with my ex husband we used to get woken up every weekend by the cacaphonous noise made by a guy who owned a mobile disco and he lived opposite. He'd get home about 1am and would start a party of his own. I actually called the number on the side of this van and to my surprise he answered. I politely asked whether he could turn it right down or off and he said "yeah I'll see what I can do" and of course he did nothing! I can only describe the experience as trying to sleep in the middle of a nightclub dance floor. I was so annoyed that I even considered slashing the tyres on his van, that's what sleep deprivation can do! I called the police who told me to call the noise abatement team and to cut a long story short I had to keep a noise diary and inform them every time the noise started up. To cut a long story short I learned that the guy was told that if he continued being such a nuisance to his neighbours that his dj equipment would be seized and thankfully he seemed to take heed as we never were troubled again.
My house is surrounded by other places with gardens and there's an occasional party but on the whole the neighbours are pretty considerate. I was watching the olympics last night windows open 'cause it was warm and all of a sudden I was unable to hear the telly - Somebody was having an almighty party, I went down and couldn't tell where it was coming from but it sounded like live music so I did a google check and discovered it was coming from a festival on the beach and the area of the beach it was on is a good two miles away from here and it was the Libertines. I was relieved to learn that it was an organised event and that it finished at 11pm. Damn shame it wasn't music I liked but what a bliddy racket! God knows what it must've been like for those living in the actual vicinity!
Small mercies for living in a generally quiet part of town. Any noisy stories folks?

 

[Muttley]

Years ago when I was a child we lived in a block of flats. We had a new downstairs neighbour who was always having all night parties. Council were useless, they told them to stop but they didn't and no follow up.

One day my dad recorded the very noisy bit at the end of the 1812 overture from a record onto a 120 cassette (2 hours worth!). He then pulled the carpet back and put the cassette player face down in the bedroom. He turned it on at about 8am. We had no neighbour on one side as we were on the end and on the other side was my nan. We then all went out for the day.

I doubt they appreciated 2 hours of Tchaikovsky at top blast when they were probably just going to sleep. It stopped the parties though and they didn't come up to challenge us.

Nowadays, I live opposite a little park and youngsters are in there at night and often noisy. Plus we've got flats opposite that have just been knocked down and new ones being built so always equipment noise. Plus all the lorries going past non stop.

Apart from that it's quiet!

 

[stratobuddy]

THIS WAS ON MY LOCAL FB PAGE YESTERDAY, sort of noise related - -

Evening all, I have just had a nice, but firm/explanitive word with 2 lads and a screaming 12yr old (Girl) in the main park by the community centre. If these are your kids please have a word.... I told the young girl (in basic terms) about the person who cried wolf, and as she gets older, and may need help, that it may not come.....

AND ONE OF THE REPLIES - - -

The screaming girl is a regular occurrence. I also worry that no one will respond if something actually did have to happen

 

[Patsy]

I live in a town with two huge universities, so as one can imagine the student population is massive. I am really thankful that I live nowhere near the universities and the streets that are full of HMO's full of students, a work mate of mine lives in a small street which has literally been turned over to student accommodation in the last few years and she's been through hell trying to get these people to stop making so much noise in the small hours of the morning. At one stage she was considering selling up and moving on, but I think it's ok for her at the moment. Some years ago when I lived few streets away with my ex husband we used to get woken up every weekend by the cacaphonous noise made by a guy who owned a mobile disco and he lived opposite. He'd get home about 1am and would start a party of his own. I actually called the number on the side of this van and to my surprise he answered. I politely asked whether he could turn it right down or off and he said "yeah I'll see what I can do" and of course he did nothing! I can only describe the experience as trying to sleep in the middle of a nightclub dance floor. I was so annoyed that I even considered slashing the tyres on his van, that's what sleep deprivation can do! I called the police who told me to call the noise abatement team and to cut a long story short I had to keep a noise diary and inform them every time the noise started up. To cut a long story short I learned that the guy was told that if he continued being such a nuisance to his neighbours that his dj equipment would be seized and thankfully he seemed to take heed as we never were troubled again.
My house is surrounded by other places with gardens and there's an occasional party but on the whole the neighbours are pretty considerate. I was watching the olympics last night windows open 'cause it was warm and all of a sudden I was unable to hear the telly - Somebody was having an almighty party, I went down and couldn't tell where it was coming from but it sounded like live music so I did a google check and discovered it was coming from a festival on the beach and the area of the beach it was on is a good two miles away from here and it was the Libertines. I was relieved to learn that it was an organised event and that it finished at 11pm. Damn shame it wasn't music I liked but what a bliddy racket! God knows what it must've been like for those living in the actual vicinity!
Small mercies for living in a generally quiet part of town. Any noisy stories folks?

We used to have an open air arena 6 miles away and one weekend we could hear some music and hubby was accusing neighbours. I went to our back door and realised it was the Rolling Stones who were there that night. We also have the Utility arena that has Ice hockey and concerts just over 5 miles away and we could hear U2 so goodness knows what the level was inside. Of course it does depend on wind direction.
We've had a party with a DJ for a 1 year old last year at a house at the rear of us and a wedding party about 4 doors away on the other side of the road that had music we could hear over the TV with windows closed.
Both houses had that many complaints to the local councillor and were warned that if it happened again action would be taken.
I'll be glad when we get a moving date,we've been here 24 years and it's nothing like it was when we moved in and it is the "prestigious estate" as the local Estate Agents call it.

 

[merryone]

Thinking about it I've just remembered an absolute horror story involving myself, my ex fella and his sister the one who recently died. Funnily enough I mentioned it at the get together we had in her memory. Dave and Tracey lived with their mum and I guess we were all late teens/early twenties when their mum went away on holiday. We didn't have a wild party, the opposite as they decided that they'd decorate their mum's house whilst she was away to give her a nice surprise for her when she got back. It was a hot summer's evening so we had all the windows open and some music playing. Now their next door neighbours on the right hand side consisted of a fella who I actually knew from school he was a complete psycho but I always got along with him ok, but he was now settled with a wife and two young kids and seemed to be a changed man. Anyway I was in the upstairs bedroom and I thought I heard somebody shouting, the next thing I know an empty perfume bottle landed by my feet. Then I heard him "F**KING SHUT UP, MY F**KING KIDS ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" I called down to Dave and said "better turn the music down, Gary's on the warpath" Dave shouted back oh is he now (he was a confrontational bu**er himself) I said "Dave turn it down, I know what he's like" Dave reluctantly turned it down a fraction and we went back to work. Next thing we knew there was banging on the front door I was back upstairs at this stage and came rushing down to see what the commotion was knocking a whole pot of gloss paint over, when I get down to the bottom I could see a bliddy great knife blade repeatedly coming through the wooden door panel. It was terrifying I tried to reason with him as I used to get on with him back in the day and he told me I was an old slag. Why we didn't call the police is beyond me but we fled in a taxi to his nan's house a couple of miles away. The rest of it's a blur to be honest. If I remember rightly Dave paid to have his mum's house redecorated by a professional and Gary apologised for his loss of control and life carried on as though nothing had happened - It was terrifying but like I said earlier, if someone gets upset by noise even the most rational of people will be tempted to do something stupid, and if they're of a fiery disposition as he was you just don't know what they're capable of!

 

[Toril]

Crikey, I must be very lucky because I’ve never had a problem with noisy neighbours wherever I’ve lived.

I now live in a small quiet cul-de-sac and it’s really peaceful. The only time there’s any noise is occasionally the sound of children playing in the gardens or fireworks on 5th November and New Year’s Eve but I can easily ignore those (and my hearing is actually very good but I can block external noise out,)

Those of you who have experienced, or currently have, noisy neighbours have my sympathy because it sounds horrendous and it would drive me nuts.

 

[stratobuddy]

I forgot to mention barking dogs, they are not even in my road yet are noisy and consistent most of the day if I have my windows open, for years! I often wonder if their neighbours have complained, but they have dogs too, but quiet ones.

 

[Ant7t]

I have a variation. Our neighbour hates us, as we do them now, but we have a dog and she barks at outside noises. NOT excessively, but the neighbour has, in the last 4 years, reported us 4 times to the council for excessive dog noise. I hate to admit it, coz I'm old, but I live at home still, with an 84 year old widowed mother and a brother with alleged parkinsons and definite learning difficulties. My father deceased in 2021. No, I'm not giving you my life story, but. Since my father has departed, the neighbour has got worse: I'm not joking. They are a narcissist. So, I wrote an email to the same council department as they reported us to, asking after putting in a complaint about the neighbour. The neighbour has taken (they are a year older than I am: so not a child) to using an air horn, which can be heard in the street, at times when the dog has already shut up, or tapping on the wall vigorously. AND at times when there's no noise whatsoever from our side. So, I asked about reporting them. They 'stalk' me. When I'm out the front, so are they, out the back, likewise. Recently they even had a drone hovering over our garden when I'd just come back from dog walking in the evening. They saw me go out. Over 10 mins, it went past, us slowly and back again, hovering the twice over our garden. By this time my mother had appeared and saw it too. We waved at it (it's not been seen since) and we saw it physically land on their side of the fence, and not take off again. The trouble is, they are ex-police. Know how far to go without crossing the line, and great at playing the victim. I was asked to record details for 3 weeks. This week is week 9. Allegedly they are supposed to be moving, but I just want 'someone' to see what we have to put up with. By the way, it's one person, but I will not give them a 'sex'. That makes them seem human.

 

[Patsy]

Crikey, I must be very lucky because I’ve never had a problem with noisy neighbours wherever I’ve lived.

I now live in a small quiet cul-de-sac and it’s really peaceful. The only time there’s any noise is occasionally the sound of children playing in the gardens or fireworks on 5th November and New Year’s Eve but I can easily ignore those (and my hearing is actually very good but I can block external noise out,)

Those of you who have experienced, or currently have, noisy neighbours have my sympathy because it sounds horrendous and it would drive me nuts.

We have fireworks going off regularly at all hours, weddings are worse, we got woken up at 12.30am a couple of weeks ago. We passed the house,two streets away the next day and there were lights all over the house.
Our new property is on a cul de sac, of bungalows, no properties backing on to us , a road and then more bungalows.
Our neighbours across the road have both moved and their houses sold, both are big houses and builders have already been round even though contracts haven't been signed and exchanged.

 

[Muttley]

THIS WAS ON MY LOCAL FB PAGE YESTERDAY, sort of noise related - -

Evening all, I have just had a nice, but firm/explanitive word with 2 lads and a screaming 12yr old (Girl) in the main park by the community centre. If these are your kids please have a word.... I told the young girl (in basic terms) about the person who cried wolf, and as she gets older, and may need help, that it may not come.....

AND ONE OF THE REPLIES - - -

The screaming girl is a regular occurrence. I also worry that no one will respond if something actually did have to happen

I've had experience of a screaming girl. I hadn't long moved in to my current flat and as I said there is a little park opposite. One Saturday I heard an ear piercing scream that seemed to go on forever. I rushed out onto the balcony, I genuinely thought a child was being violently attacked. But she wasn't and I sooner realised that was a regular occurrance. Literally every few seconds she would be screaming.

i don't hear it much now, maybe she's grown out of it. I thought the exact thing about crying wolf.

 

[Muttley]

I have a variation. Our neighbour hates us, as we do them now, but we have a dog and she barks at outside noises. NOT excessively, but the neighbour has, in the last 4 years, reported us 4 times to the council for excessive dog noise. I hate to admit it, coz I'm old, but I live at home still, with an 84 year old widowed mother and a brother with alleged parkinsons and definite learning difficulties. My father deceased in 2021. No, I'm not giving you my life story, but. Since my father has departed, the neighbour has got worse: I'm not joking. They are a narcissist. So, I wrote an email to the same council department as they reported us to, asking after putting in a complaint about the neighbour. The neighbour has taken (they are a year older than I am: so not a child) to using an air horn, which can be heard in the street, at times when the dog has already shut up, or tapping on the wall vigorously. AND at times when there's no noise whatsoever from our side. So, I asked about reporting them. They 'stalk' me. When I'm out the front, so are they, out the back, likewise. Recently they even had a drone hovering over our garden when I'd just come back from dog walking in the evening. They saw me go out. Over 10 mins, it went past, us slowly and back again, hovering the twice over our garden. By this time my mother had appeared and saw it too. We waved at it (it's not been seen since) and we saw it physically land on their side of the fence, and not take off again. The trouble is, they are ex-police. Know how far to go without crossing the line, and great at playing the victim. I was asked to record details for 3 weeks. This week is week 9. Allegedly they are supposed to be moving, but I just want 'someone' to see what we have to put up with. By the way, it's one person, but I will not give them a 'sex'. That makes them seem human.

You poor thing, that's a terrible story. Maybe you could look as if you're filming them for evidence, even if you don't. The drone is disturbing and intimidating

I hope you get rid of them soon.

We have fireworks going off regularly at all hours, weddings are worse, we got woken up at 12.30am a couple of weeks ago. We passed the house,two streets away the next day and there were lights all over the house.
Our new property is on a cul de sac, of bungalows, no properties backing on to us , a road and then more bungalows.
Our neighbours across the road have both moved and their houses sold, both are big houses and builders have already been round even though contracts haven't been signed and exchanged.

We sometimes get fireworks, usually when it's a religious festival. It's irritating but doesn't happen too often and no later than 10pm. Not good if you have dogs though, fireworks disturb them badly.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

We lived in a fairly up market town house (£500,000 houses in same street) in Nottingham. My late wife, a nurse, overcommitted herself to get the place from new in 2005. I moved in in 2007.

For nine years we had completely normal neighbours and everything was okay. Then, in 2016, the long-term neighbour sold up and moved out, and in moved a woman and her boyfriend a month or two later. As soon as I saw her, my bad vibes sensors went off the scale. A couple of months later, I was proven right and more.

Drugs, alcohol abuse, foul language directed at the street in general and us personally, threats to injure us, and an imitation firearm pointed at my wife. Police called on numerous occasions by us and other near neighbours. They never worked, rarely left the house other than to buy booze and more booze, trashed it, foul language was chalked on their garage drive at the back, violence, and more threats of it. Up all night usually and screaming threats in their garden in the early hours of the mornings. It essentially finished my wife. In the five years of sheer, unadulterated hell we went through, she got more and more depressed. By 2021, she was dead at 57. Sepsis officially killed her, but how she got to that position very much down to those five years of misery we endured. About three months later, I had cause to speak to the boyfriend and a female friend of both of them outside the house. I told him my wife had died. I then turned around unexpectedly, mid-conversation with him, only to see her smirking, sitting in her car.

They finally moved in later 2021 and I stayed on. The boyfriend is dead himself now. My wife also dead. Those terrible years of shaking at the prospect of going home and driving around with the dogs to avoid going home, now, thankfully, memories, but never forgotten. My wife, tragically, never got to see peace in the house again.

 

[Grizelda]

I haven't got a noisy neighbour, I've got a nosey one. Always spying on me. It makes me very angry. I should ignore it, but it's difficult to do that.

 

[merryone]

I live in an upstairs flat and we share the freehold with the owner of the flat downstairs and the original owner had bought the place for her daughter to live in whilst she was studying, she was young and noisy and a couple of times we had to go down and tell her to turn her music down but she was always obliging and apologetic. She met a fella and they moved away so her mum rented the place out to another couple who were ok. Eventually she sold up and a woman in her twenties moved in and she was quiet and kept herself to herself and all was good until she moved her fella in and he was an absolute ar$ehole. He was rude and arrogant and it all came to a head when he objected to my tiny foldaway bike being in the communal hallway. Seriously it was like having a small suitcase in the corner, it didn't block either door but he pushed a note under the door saying it was a fire hazard and that it had to go in our flat or outside. I tried to reason with him saying that it wouldn't stop anybody getting out in the event of a fire and I pointed out that they had the luxury of a back door and a window that they could get out of without breaking their necks, like we would upstairs, but he just shrugged and said "not my problem" just remove it please. Oh who hates confrontations made me lock it up outside. It was stolen within a fortnight! Once he decided paint the main front door without consulting us, fine not complaining but only polite, he filled the hallway with paint and tools and tutted loudly when I wanted to get out. It was a wooden door and he painted it blue, now c'mon out of politeness one would say "I'm thinking of giving the front door a bit of a paint job, would you mind if I painted it blue?" Finally one time we were both going out at the same time, he heard me open the door behind him, yet he went out first and slammed the front door behind him right in my face...so I opened it and shouted "Didn't your mother teach you any F'cking manners?!" When I saw the for sale board outside their flat I really hope the heard the massive cheer I gave! The place was bought by another couple who were fine, then another guy bought it and he was lovely but he's moved overseas and now rents it out. The guy who lives there now is absolutely lovely and I dread the day he moves on as they usually do. One of the tennants was a young woman on her own and she was obnoxious, I remember oh's mate accidentally rang her doorbell and she went mad at him and slammed the door in his face, she never smiled or said hello if you saw her in the street and then once I'd ordered a chinese takeaway and I'd been looking out for the delivery and had seen the guy pull up so I ran downstairs to find her at the front door telling him that she hadn't ordered anything and to go away. I said excuse me but I have and she just shoved past me and slammed her flat door. I actually mentioned this to the landlord as we're in contact with him about insurance and stuff and he apologised but told me she was moving out very soon...yay! So no, not noisy neighbours as such but when you live upstairs from a property that gets rented, then you don't know what you're gonna get. I can only hope that it doesn't get turned into an air b n b in the future that'd be a proper nightmare!

 

[Grizelda]

I live in an upstairs flat and we share the freehold with the owner of the flat downstairs and the original owner had bought the place for her daughter to live in whilst she was studying, she was young and noisy and a couple of times we had to go down and tell her to turn her music down but she was always obliging and apologetic. She met a fella and they moved away so her mum rented the place out to another couple who were ok. Eventually she sold up and a woman in her twenties moved in and she was quiet and kept herself to herself and all was good until she moved her fella in and he was an absolute ar$ehole. He was rude and arrogant and it all came to a head when he objected to my tiny foldaway bike being in the communal hallway. Seriously it was like having a small suitcase in the corner, it didn't block either door but he pushed a note under the door saying it was a fire hazard and that it had to go in our flat or outside. I tried to reason with him saying that it wouldn't stop anybody getting out in the event of a fire and I pointed out that they had the luxury of a back door and a window that they could get out of without breaking their necks, like we would upstairs, but he just shrugged and said "not my problem" just remove it please. Oh who hates confrontations made me lock it up outside. It was stolen within a fortnight! Once he decided paint the main front door without consulting us, fine not complaining but only polite, he filled the hallway with paint and tools and tutted loudly when I wanted to get out. It was a wooden door and he painted it blue, now c'mon out of politeness one would say "I'm thinking of giving the front door a bit of a paint job, would you mind if I painted it blue?" Finally one time we were both going out at the same time, he heard me open the door behind him, yet he went out first and slammed the front door behind him right in my face...so I opened it and shouted "Didn't your mother teach you any F'cking manners?!" When I saw the for sale board outside their flat I really hope the heard the massive cheer I gave! The place was bought by another couple who were fine, then another guy bought it and he was lovely but he's moved overseas and now rents it out. The guy who lives there now is absolutely lovely and I dread the day he moves on as they usually do. One of the tennants was a young woman on her own and she was obnoxious, I remember oh's mate accidentally rang her doorbell and she went mad at him and slammed the door in his face, she never smiled or said hello if you saw her in the street and then once I'd ordered a chinese takeaway and I'd been looking out for the delivery and had seen the guy pull up so I ran downstairs to find her at the front door telling him that she hadn't ordered anything and to go away. I said excuse me but I have and she just shoved past me and slammed her flat door. I actually mentioned this to the landlord as we're in contact with him about insurance and stuff and he apologised but told me she was moving out very soon...yay! So no, not noisy neighbours as such but when you live upstairs from a property that gets rented, then you don't know what you're gonna get. I can only hope that it doesn't get turned into an air b n b in the future that'd be a proper nightmare!

Like a box of chocolates: you don't know what you'll get!

 

[merryone]

Like a box of chocolates: you don't know what you'll get!

We've lived in the property for nearly 24 years and we've seen 9 changes of occupant in the downstairs flat. It's a one bedroom garden flat with a conservatory and it's only really suitable as a stop gap and that's the trouble. It would be fine for an older couple like us who's family has grown up, or a single person who intends to stay single or any couple who don't wish to start a family for that matter. The guy who's there right now was living alone for the first couple of years but for the last year or so, he's moved his girlfriend in. I'd say he's in his 40's and she looks a lot younger, late 20's early 30's and it's fairly likely that they'll decide to start a family and will outgrow the place. We've had a mixture of tenants mostly good thankfully but the awful ones have been just that - awful, and its a terrible worry that history will repeat itself. Like I said before I just hope it doesn't end up being an air b n b with people constantly coming and going, making noise etc etc

 

[Duke of Cheese]

All I can say is be careful what you wish for in general about who lives next door us. Our neighbour before the ones from Hell had noisy young kids who invited more noisy ones round to play. I used to wish they’d move - particularly during the school holidays. Then they did move and children at play sounds were replaced by ‘You effin’ cu….I’m going to shoot you my pistols…and constant foul and shouted language in general directed towards us and nearby neighbours. Now another lady with young children has replaced them, and I now actively embrace ‘normal noise’. I absolutely welcome and love it.

 

[merryone]

All I can say is be careful what you wish for in general about who lives next door us. Our neighbour before the ones from Hell had noisy young kids who invited more noisy ones round to play. I used to wish they’d move - particularly during the school holidays. Then they did move and children at play sounds were replaced by ‘You effin’ cu….I’m going to shoot you my pistols…and constant foul and shouted language in general directed towards us and nearby neighbours. Now another lady with young children has replaced them, and I now actively embrace ‘normal noise’. I absolutely welcome and love it.

I hate the sound of screaming kids as much as anyone. Our next door neighbour has a couple and they're often out in the garden splashing around, yelping etc etc and when they have friends around to play the noise ramps up a bit but I'm fine with that - happy kids doing normal things at a normal time of the day and come tea time it stops, they'll go inside and peace and quiet is resumed. What I dread is having to put up with any kind of noise that is going to disturb what I'm doing eg watching tv and especially when it comes to sleeping - A noisy party doesn't just mean loud music, it's loud people, banging doors, our doorbell being rung in error and of course the fact that you're gonna have to face up to them in order to ask them to turn the music down or off. Anti social behaviour as you've described - well that's a different ballgame altogether and it can have devastating consequences and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I do wish though that in general neighbours would be more considerate. I do remember one incident here in the early years when I returned from my late shift 8.30 pm from work to hear a lot of noise and to see a big bunch of youths gathered at the top of our street. When I turned in I saw another whole bunch of them running up and down our street, shouting fighting, vomitting on people's doorsteps I noticed the front door of the house opposite was open, kids were coming and going and loud music was pumping out. I called the police who came along and dispersed everybody. We were later to find out that the 14 year old son of the couple opposite had been allowed to invite a couple of friends around for his birthday and the invite had gotten onto social media and went completely out of control. The parents got home to carnage and it never happened again!!!!

 

[Ant7t]

You poor thing, that's a terrible story. Maybe you could look as if you're filming them for evidence, even if you don't. The drone is disturbing and intimidating

I hope you get rid of them soon.

So do we, thanks. Allegedly supposed to be going soon, but we won't hold our breath, we'd probably die Although that might please the neighbour. My report is now on it's 30th page and growing.

I haven't got a noisy neighbour, I've got a nosey one. Always spying on me. It makes me very angry. I should ignore it, but it's difficult to do that.

If they are anything like our one, I think they'd love it that you are angry. And it is difficult to ignore, but as long as you don't physically confront them. If you did, they could play the victim and you'd lose. And if they aren't like our one, still be careful.

 

[merryone]

Well it's Brighton pride this weekend and I really don't mind the noise coming from that. I live a few streets away from the park and on a good wind I'll hear all the headliners as clear as day! Last year it was steps who I love, obviously can't see the stage but lying in the bed upstairs with the window open I can enjoy the music and see the firework display lighting up the sky. This years it's Girls aloud so that should be a bit of fun - best seat in the house, well bed!