Did you know that around 39 million people in the United States live in apartments? Apartments are very convenient to live in, and they are often close to the centers of cities. But there is a downside to this kind of lifestyle: noisy apartment neighbors.
It is almost impossible to avoid this problem. It may seem that whatever apartment you’re in, there is some noisy neighbor above or beside you. If you can’t take the noise anymore, what should you do?
How can you fix the problem without being rude? Keep reading and learn more about what you can do to get some peace and quiet in your apartment.
Have Patience and See if It Stops
Imagine you’re having a nice, quiet day in your apartment. Then, someone above you starts stomping and banging on something. There might be children running around and causing a ruckus.
Someone might be doing some intense exercises and stomping on the floor for an hour. Someone might start running their vacuum just as you’re trying to relax or concentrate on something. Or maybe your neighbors have a dog that barks nonstop.
All of these sounds can drive someone crazy if they go on long enough.
The good news is that these sounds rarely continue for very long. Pay attention to how much noise your neighbors make. While you might be very aware of the noise they make at the moment, are they generally very quiet?
Or do they make a racket all day, every day? If your neighbors are mostly quiet, there’s no point in making a fuss. Have patience and wait for the sounds to go away so you can get back to your relaxing day.
The Details
Remember that you are likely an annoyance to another apartment dweller without even knowing it. You might annoy the person below or beside you if you walk around the apartment with hard-heeled shoes on.
Or you might have a pet that skitters across the floor, and that sound might communicate to your neighbors. The point is that if these common noises only happen occasionally, they’re not serious. But if your neighbors are stomping and banging on things morning, noon, and night, you have a problem.
You may then have to take matters into your own hands and see if you can get the problem to stop.
Have a Talk With Your Neighbor
If you are in an apartment community, it is important to get along at least somewhat well with your neighbors. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with a person who doesn’t like you, and you’ll have to deal with them for as long as the two of you live in that building. This is why you have to be careful when talking with your neighbor about being noisy.
They may not realize that they’re being noisy, or they may not care. Depending on who the person is, this conversation could be very easy or very difficult. But it is also important to be nice when having this conversation.
If you storm up to their apartment and start shouting at them, you’ll get off on the wrong foot. If they decide they don’t like you, they may make more noise to annoy you. The best thing to do is politely explain to them that they’re making a lot of noise that is disturbing you.
Explaining the Problem
If their noise has been affecting your sleeping schedule, explain this to them. Everyone knows how important sleep is. They will likely be quieter in the future once you make them aware of the issue.
But quiet time can be difficult to achieve if your schedules are very different. You might still be sleeping at 6 in the morning while your neighbor has to get up for work at that time. If this is the case with you and your neighbor, see if you can come to a compromise.
Agreeing regarding quiet time may be the best option. A polite conversation like this can go a long way. Your noisy neighbor may no longer be a problem after you have a nice talk with them about the issue.
Document or Report the Noise Disturbances
Sometimes, a nice conversation isn’t enough to get your neighbor to be quiet. Your neighbor may not care about your complaints, or they still may not realize how loud they are. Some people are loud to irritate others on purpose.
If your polite conversation didn’t work, consider documenting or reporting the noise disturbances. You can document the noises you hear by writing them down over several days or weeks. Write down when these noises usually happen and when they are the loudest.
If these noises happen all the time, every day, you’ll have a strong case to bring to the property manager. If the noises are especially loud, you can record them with your phone or another device. You can then show this to the property manager as well.
If the manager deems these noises unacceptable, they will take care of the problem. They may have a firm conversation with your neighbors if they violate certain ordinances. You can also report the noises to the police in potentially violent cases.
All About Dealing With Noisy Apartment Neighbors
Few things are more annoying than noisy apartment neighbors. If you want to fix the problem, consider talking with your neighbors or letting the problem pass. You can also document the problem to your property manager.
Do you want to know more about dealing with common property problems? Check out our services and see how we can help.
