How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors

We’ve all been there. It’s late at night and you’re seriously questioning if your upstairs neighbors are having a bowling tournament above you. Having noisy neighbors is an unfortunate, but universally-understood nuisance. Luckily, the beauty of living in a rented home or apartment means that it isn’t completely up to you to deal with the situation. If you’re ready to put an end to the noise disruption you’ve been dealing with, we’ve got just what you need. Follow these steps and you’ll be getting a peaceful night’s sleep before you know it.

Step 1: Determine if your noise complaint has grounds for action

The first step in confronting noisy neighbors is to define your rights as a renter, and identify whether or not those rights are being violated. For this, you’ll want refer to your lease. In your lease you will find information on what protections your landlord or property manager has in place to ensure the peaceful enjoyment of every renter. Your landlord may have a “Quiet Hours” policy in effect, in which case all tenants are expected to lower noise levels by a certain time every night. Know what’s expected of the tenants in your building so you know what time loud noise is reasonable and what time it’s considered excessive. For example, most leases will detail that quiet hours are between the hours of 10:00PM and 8:00AM, so any excessive noise within these hours would qualify.

What is quiet enjoyment?

Quiet enjoyment is described in most standard leases as the right every tenant has to a peaceful and comfortable enjoyment of the living space. If your neighbor is preventing you from enjoying your living space either from loud music, late night tap dancing, or other noises, you have grounds to reach out to landlord and request some intervention on their part.

Step 2: Document any noise offenses

As with most complaints, having evidence to back up your claims will help you in the long run. Make a list of each time your neighbor is playing loud music past quiet hours, or you might even consider recording the noise on your phone when it’s taking place. This way you can provide substantial evidence to your landlord with a timestamp of when the noise disturbance occurred. Your landlord will also be able to see for themselves the level of the noise, and will be able to bring this evidence to your neighbors should they push back against your claims.

Step 3: Consider talking to or writing to your neighbors

No one wants to have bad vibes with their neighbors, after all, you don’t want to have to avoid them in the public spaces and scurry into your apartment whenever you see them. Sometimes, most people aren’t even aware that the noise they are making is affecting others. Consider introducing yourself to your neighbor and asking them if they can be more mindful of the quiet hours, and explain that your living space is being impacted by their noise level. If you do not feel comfortable talking face-to-face with your noisy neighbor, you can also write a note and leave it on their door.

It helps if you have a solution in mind for the situation. Be specific about your request by letting your neighbor know:

• When the noise bothers you – specific times and days of the week
• How it affects you – are you losing sleep or study time?
• When you’d like quiet hours – set a time

This way, your neighbors know exactly when their noise is a nuisance and can aim to keep it down when you need to sleep, study, or work. Make sure to thank them for listening and for being willing to compromise. You may also want to document your request in writing so that you have additional proof if your landlord asks for it down the line.

Step 4: Bring the issue to your landlord or property manager

If no resolution has been met by communicating directly with your noisy neighbor, then it’s time to bring the issue to your landlord or property manager.

Present your list of documented noise concerns and let them know which steps you’ve already taken to solve the problem and give them a noise complaint letter. Be respectful, thoughtful, and calm when expressing your concerns; the more level-headed you are, the more willing your landlord might be to resolve things quickly.

Once you’ve made the complaint to your landlord, they will either speak to the noisy neighbor or issue them a written warning, especially if the noise violates a clause in their lease. They should help you resolve the noise complaint or take the liberty of fixing it themselves; at the end of the day, it’s your landlord or property manager’s job to keep all their tenants happy, not just a select few.

Step 5: Contact local law enforcement

This should be your last option for dealing with noisy neighbors in your apartment, as this is an option that could potentially cause further conflict. However, if you have reached out to the neighbors, informed your landlord, and the noise is still affecting your ability to live comfortably in your unit, this may be your only next option.

In most cities and counties, any noise over 45 decibels is usually considered excessive and against the law. If you think your neighbors are making noise that’s over this number, you can always call your local police station on their non-emergency line. Be sure to give details of the noise so that the police are aware of the exact issue and can shut it down when they arrive. Consult your local law enforcement website or call the non emergency line for details on what constitutes as grounds for police involvement.

Tips to block out noise in your apartment

Even if your neighbors aren’t breaking any laws or lease clauses, thin apartment walls can make it difficult to sleep or work in peace. Invest in earplugs for nights you need to get some solid rest. Use noise-canceling headphones if you need to get some work done or download a “white noise” app on your phone and connect it to your speakers to drown out excess noise.

Frequently asked questions about noise complaints

Use these tips and solve your issues with your noisy neighbors. If you’ve taken every step and still don’t see any changes, though it’s time to find a new place to live. Search thousands of apartments on Zumper and find your perfect, new, quiet home.