I hate my landlord! Gah! *very angry*

[lilshadowdweller]

I wasn't on this message board last year when I had first moved in. But boy, did I complain a lot and ask for advice online. See, when we first moved, ($699 per month), it seemed like a great apartment. Very big. People love it. What we didn't know: the apartment below us is rented out to students, and that there is positively NO installation to block out sounds between the wooden floors. The students who lived below us for one year were awful. Their music was always blasting. Anytime they were home! It made our floors shake. Now, this wasn't entirely their faults. The floor has no sound absorption, but we had to call the police twice on them AND (before we called the police) ask our landlord for help twice. Nothing changed.

 

Anyway, eventually both us and the people below us resolved most of our issues, despite a few problems here-and-there. They eventually moved out. In Summer, no one lived below us. Eventually, when the school year started up again, two girls moved in below us. I've never met them. They were very quiet. We could still sometimes hear them talking, and sometimes hear music, but nothing too bad.

 

We thought we had it good with them.

 

THEN, TODAY, WE FIND A NOTICE ON OUR DOOR FROM OUR LANDLORD:

 

"To the Tenants,

 

This is to inform you that we've had numerous noise complaints reported coming from your apartment. These noise complaints include: walking extremely loudly, scratching, slamming doors, rolling, shutting." We remind you that you are on wooden floors and to be mindful of the neighbours around you. We are hopeful you will resolve the issue.

 

If these complaints continue, we may be forced to write up all of the complaints and send them to the board in an effort to have you evicted.

 

Thank you for your cooperation."

 

Anyway, I was LIVID. Walking extremely loudly? I don't stomp the floors, I'm JUST living my life! It's not our faults this building is old and the sound travels through. I'm very angry and it seems unfair.

 

Figures this would happen! We are not loud and we are always mindful of our neighbours. We pay our $699 diligently and the fact he added that threat about sending the complains to the board bugs me. We watch television SOMETIMES but we always have it turned down. Sometimes, I can HEAR THEM talking because that's how bad these floors are.

 

Now, our landlord didn't specify who made the complaints, but who else could it be?

 

Tomorrow, I'm sending an email informing him that I'm just living my life and not doing anything wrong. There's no way I'm tip toeing around my apartment. I know how it feels to be woken up; it sucks. I know. But maybe he should start sound proofing this building.

 

I want to be mad at the people below us for not taking the issue up with us. But I didn't do that with the neighbours I called the police on. I also feel like they're being cry babies.

 

But the landlord had never informed us of these "numerous complaints" and I feel the threat was unwarranted.

 

My boyfriend tells me to calm down - that the landlord is just covering his butt. But still.

 

This is why I want a house.

[linsta]

Wow, that sucks. If you're not doing anything wrong, I'm sure you won't get evicted. It wouldn't make sense because then the next tenants would just have the same issue. And if the new tenants really can't deal with it, they could just move out? In the worst case, the landlord loses either you guys or them as tenants, but you've been there longer right? And if you haven't had complaints from previous tenants, I wouldn't see it as an issue. Anyways, I hope for all the best!

 

I'm living in an apartment with wood floors right now and upstairs there is a 2 year old kid who runs (actually, stomp-runs) around like 12 hours a day. What is with toddlers having to run everywhere? Do they not know how to just walk normally? I guess it doesn't bother me a whole lot though. I can usually sleep under any amount of noise. My quad last year had 0 sound absorption, and sound would come straight in especially through and under the doors. I was able to sleep even when my roommate is screaming in the living room (my bedroom was right next to the comman area).

 

However, I had this other roommate and we didnt get along AT ALL because she couldn't sleep wiht even the slightest noise. Which I thought was a bit ridiculous. She would sleep early and I liked to stay up late and talk to my friends/play games. I would try to whisper, and sometimes, when she let me know she was going to sleep, I would be totally silent for like 1 hr and then whisper 1 word to my friend and she'd freak out at me. I didn't really think it was my fault that she couldn't sleep even after 1 hour... She would also hear people from downstairs and think the noise was coming from my room and wake me up asking if I'm talking. It was terrible -.-. I even moved my room around so I wouldn't be near her wall and it was no use. Of course, she would sometimes come home at 2am and talk super loudly on her phone with no regard for everyone else. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.

 

I want a house too. I hope everything works out for you .

[lilshadowdweller]

Wow, that sucks. If you're not doing anything wrong, I'm sure you won't get evicted. It wouldn't make sense because then the next tenants would just have the same issue. And if the new tenants really can't deal with it, they could just move out? In the worst case, the landlord loses either you guys or them as tenants, but you've been there longer right? And if you haven't had complaints from previous tenants, I wouldn't see it as an issue. Anyways, I hope for all the best!

 

Well, we complained about the last tenants because they always played music, and because the floors are so bad at sound proofing, it was pretty bad. But they said they couldn't hear us. We just assumed they were deaf and that's why they didn't understand how loud they were being. My boyfriend thinks the threat is just regular procedure -- we have been here longer, and we play up every month. We take good care of the place. I don't see how (beyond the apparent noise problem) they would really want to kick us out. Especially since the girls below us are students. (I'm pretty sure.)

I'm living in an apartment with wood floors right now and upstairs there is a 2 year old kid who runs (actually, stomp-runs) around like 12 hours a day. What is with toddlers having to run everywhere? Do they not know how to just walk normally? I guess it doesn't bother me a whole lot though. I can usually sleep under any amount of noise. My quad last year had 0 sound absorption, and sound would come straight in especially through and under the doors. I was able to sleep even when my roommate is screaming in the living room (my bedroom was right next to the comman area).

 

I know! I'm not a toddler though. I walk pretty quietly, so when they wrote "extremely loud walking", I was appauld. It's not like we wear shoes in the house. Am I not allowed to simply walk? It urks me our neighbours below us don't get it. People don't purposely but on loud shoes and walk around...geeze.

 

However, I had this other roommate and we didnt get along AT ALL because she couldn't sleep wiht even the slightest noise. Which I thought was a bit ridiculous. She would sleep early and I liked to stay up late and talk to my friends/play games. I would try to whisper, and sometimes, when she let me know she was going to sleep, I would be totally silent for like 1 hr and then whisper 1 word to my friend and she'd freak out at me. I didn't really think it was my fault that she couldn't sleep even after 1 hour... She would also hear people from downstairs and think the noise was coming from my room and wake me up asking if I'm talking. It was terrible -.-. I even moved my room around so I wouldn't be near her wall and it was no use. Of course, she would sometimes come home at 2am and talk super loudly on her phone with no regard for everyone else. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.

 

And see, my roomate (boyfriend) and I get along well and follow the same patterns. I do have trouble falling asleep with too much noise (even the television), that's why we got an air purifier. It makes a fan like noise which drowns out all other noises and helps me sleep.

I want a house too. I hope everything works out for you .

 

After all of these problems...my own house is looking pretty good right now. I'm so worn down. Like, it's 12:30 PM, and I've already went into the washroom 4 times to get ready for bed - the door squeaks A LOT because it's very old (unlike the student's below us, their apartment is remodeled and new), and I kept worrying whenever it squeaked and I shut it, also, I used the cupboards, too, and they are very old and wooden -- they make a loud noise whenever they shut REGARDLESS of how slowly you close them. What can I do? Our kitchen is right above the girls' bedroom.

[Masaryk]

Which province do you live in? Regulations concerning tenant rights and the steps tenants can take to protect themselves vary from province to province. Most provinces have a government agency you can file a complaint with.

[lilshadowdweller]

I reside in the Province of Ontario. I'm not sure what precautions I can take but I've been looking into it. If my sound was that intrusive (ie; walking, shutting cupboards, rolling (whatever that means), should they not call the police? :/

[Spritzie]

I hate apartments. We've been having these issues at our place. We're 2nd floor. We're always careful, we don't slam stuff and try to walk semi-quietly. The people above us... yeah, they're obnoxious. They have a little kid that runs laps around/across the apartment most of the day (and often the night.) You can just hear and trace the footsteps from one side of the apartment to the other, and back again. Over, and over. Day, night. Now it's gotten to the point where there's huge bangs that shake the ceiling, knocking off the little popcorn stuff, rattling the windows and lights. We've complained, multiple times, only because it's constant, day, night, the windows rattle. The landlord has talked to them, repeatedly, and nothing really changes. So I have no idea if they'd follow through.

 

My suggestions is first, to write a letter (and keep a copy) explaining that you do everything in your power to be quiet and thoughtful of your neighbors, including not slamming things, walking softly, talking quietly, keeping music/tv volumes low. Explain that due to the way the building is constructed, there's not much more you can do. Maybe add a list of the things that are super loud, like the bathroom door, the cabinets, and ask them to come fix them so that they don't make noise.

[Angeló]

you should see the idiots living underneath me ... a couple in their 30's and their 10-year old daughter ... they're always fighting and breaking things ... day in day out .. and they love doing it after midnight ... but when I moved in (also about a year ago) I was re-arranging the furniture and the woman came up and to me and told me to keep it down because her daughter wants to sleep (it was 5 in the afternoon) ; then a couple days later she came up again and told me to stop walking so loudly ... (i dont know whatsup with people and that complaint really) ... another couple days my landlady came over and brought me new curtains - we were hanging the curtains when she came up again and my landlady told her - if you don't leave at once and stop annoying US , these curtain poles will end up in a place you won't like .. (my landlady is one tough cookie) and then she told me not to be polite with her ... and she indeed stopped going up to me but now I'm the one who's annoyed by all the screaming , breaking and running around they do ... ha ha ..

[Kaana]

I have the pleasure of living in an apartment for half the week, and I can honestly say I have never heard of any problems between my dad and his neighbours. We can hear the neighbours on all three sides talk pretty loudly sometimes, plus the neighbours diagonal to us, but it's never been loud or frequent enough to be an issue. Considering that most of the apartments are rented out to students or single/professionals/whatever you'd call them, I think our little area makes the most noise with a 7 year old running around :3

 

I've also had the joy of moving around houses a lot. We're on a corner block at the moment, and our neighbours are so noisy! When we first moved in they were still doing some DIY stuff, so they had metal cutting things and saws going all day and all night for about a month. Even now, it's quieter at the apartment than it is here. And we only have two neighbours. (Just on a side note, there's also a Buddhist temple(?) across the road. The music and chants are absolutely beautiful. So sometimes the noise is good.)

 

Also a note on toddlers - c'mon people, could you tiptoe around when you were two? It takes quite a while to get out of the stomping stage and into the walking-like-a-human-being stage, although keeping a kid in an apartment all day is... weird. Isn't there a park or something?

[Saxen]

I've had some issues with this in the past, and currently me and my boyfriend live below a rather noisy couple who have their speakers on the floor and watch Lord of the Rings at 2am on Sunday/have parties in the middle of the week ¬_¬. Instead of going to the landlord and possibly turning it into an ugly affair we poked a lil note under their door to get some communication going, and now we text eachother when it's too loud.

I'd maybe go to your neighbors and have one of them simply walk on the floor/turn the tv on in your apartment with the other listening downstairs, then switch them. That way they can see it's not you stomping around or making excess noise, you're just going about your day to day business. Maybe offer to get a rug of some kind? If you're kind about it I'm sure you'll get a completely different reaction than going through your landlords/courts etc. and it'll probably be resolved a lot quicker.

[LillytheGrundo]

Living in an apartment is the worst! I'm sorry those things are happenng to you. We have the same noise issues where I live. It's a side by side town house and there is no sound proofing between the walls. I can hear the neighbors kids screaming, talking, playing. I can hear them fighting with each other. They have music going at all hours, even like 2am when I would think the kids should be asleep! I can hear doors shutting, cabinets shutting, walking up and down the stairs. I can even hear when they flush the toilet! So I totally symathize.

 

 

I'd maybe go to your neighbors and have one of them simply walk on the floor/turn the tv on in your apartment with the other listening downstairs, then switch them. That way they can see it's not you stomping around or making excess noise, you're just going about your day to day business. Maybe offer to get a rug of some kind? If you're kind about it I'm sure you'll get a completely different reaction than going through your landlords/courts etc. and it'll probably be resolved a lot quicker.

 

I agree with this. If they are students they are probably young and don't know how quiet you really need to be in an apartment. I bet you you guys can work it out. :-) Good luck!

[lilshadowdweller]

I hate apartments. We've been having these issues at our place. We're 2nd floor. We're always careful, we don't slam stuff and try to walk semi-quietly. The people above us... yeah, they're obnoxious. They have a little kid that runs laps around/across the apartment most of the day (and often the night.) You can just hear and trace the footsteps from one side of the apartment to the other, and back again. Over, and over. Day, night. Now it's gotten to the point where there's huge bangs that shake the ceiling, knocking off the little popcorn stuff, rattling the windows and lights. We've complained, multiple times, only because it's constant, day, night, the windows rattle. The landlord has talked to them, repeatedly, and nothing really changes. So I have no idea if they'd follow through.

 

Awe, that stinks so much. It's not the kid's fault but I can totally see how upset that would make you regardless, and how does one resolve a toddler issue? Yours sounds hard, too.

 

At least your landlord spoke to them face-to-face about the "numerous complaints", mine just shoved that letter underneath the door. -__-

 

My suggestions is first, to write a letter (and keep a copy) explaining that you do everything in your power to be quiet and thoughtful of your neighbors, including not slamming things, walking softly, talking quietly, keeping music/tv volumes low. Explain that due to the way the building is constructed, there's not much more you can do. Maybe add a list of the things that are super loud, like the bathroom door, the cabinets, and ask them to come fix them so that they don't make noise.

 

We're keeping a copy of both his note, and we're sending an email back to Fred regarding it. We're going to explain that we do everything possible and are extremely mindful. We walk normally, and they're not concerned about the television volumes. But yes, it is because of how the building is constructed. We're also going to point out that we can hear the people below us shutting their doors, going to the washroom and talking, but we don't complain because we know it's merely the apartment.

 

was re-arranging the furniture and the woman came up and to me and told me to keep it down because her daughter wants to sleep (it was 5 in the afternoon) ; then a couple days later she came up again and told me to stop walking so loudly ... (i dont know whatsup with people and that complaint really)

 

Funny how you go out of your way to tolerate their own noise and they come up and complain to you. ^^;; Blah. How do people permanent live in apartments with issues like these?!

 

I have the pleasure of living in an apartment for half the week, and I can honestly say I have never heard of any problems between my dad and his neighbours. We can hear the neighbours on all three sides talk pretty loudly sometimes, plus the neighbours diagonal to us, but it's never been loud or frequent enough to be an issue. Considering that most of the apartments are rented out to students or single/professionals/whatever you'd call them, I think our little area makes the most noise with a 7 year old running around :3

 

It's good that you get along. But imagine how it would feel to have a letter telling you that you are loud and you had no idea you were? xD Cause I was not aware there was any sort of issue until Fred placed that letter underneath our door.

 

I've had some issues with this in the past, and currently me and my boyfriend live below a rather noisy couple who have their speakers on the floor and watch Lord of the Rings at 2am on Sunday/have parties in the middle of the week ¬_¬. Instead of going to the landlord and possibly turning it into an ugly affair we poked a lil note under their door to get some communication going, and now we text eachother when it's too loud.

 

We did that with our former neighbours and things went a bit better. I would text him when they were being loud and they knew to turn it down. I've considered speaking with them personally but I don't know if it's needed. Again, I have no idea who they are. The old neighbours told us they were going to be girls. So we know that they are two girls. Sometimes I hear them talking. Occasionly they listen to music.

 

I maybe taking this far more seriously than needed, yes. But the last part of the note bugged me a lot...

[Masaryk]

There are few things worse than landlords on a power trip. As a tenant, it's really important to know and exercise your rights. You know you aren't being a nuisance to your neighbours. Rather than getting in a fight with your landlord over it or risking getting evicted for something you didn't do, you should check out the resources at this website, and contact them, if necessary. I hope that helps.

 

I've actually had some pretty good luck with renting, in the past. When I was away at school for a year, I rented the upstairs apartment in a duplex. I never had any problems with my landlord or my neighbours. (My neighbours were actually pretty awesome.) When I moved to another city, I rented in a large, downtown building, with a sizable student presence. Noise was always a problem there, and the building manager wasn't a very nice person. She got moved to another building, then got fired a few months later.

 

And buying your own place is definitely a great idea. Buying a house was one of the best decisions I ever made. I don't know what the real estate market is like where you live, but it is very possible to get a mortgage for $100k while working full-time minimum wage. Talk to a mortgage broker to find out what you can afford, then start saving for a 5% down payment. Interest rates are super low right now, so take advantage of it, if you can.

[lilshadowdweller]

There are few things worse than landlords on a power trip. As a tenant, it's really important to know and exercise your rights. You know you aren't being a nuisance to your neighbours. Rather than getting in a fight with your landlord over it or risking getting evicted for something you didn't do, you should check out the resources at this website, and contact them, if necessary. I hope that helps.

 

I've actually had some pretty good luck with renting, in the past. When I was away at school for a year, I rented the upstairs apartment in a duplex. I never had any problems with my landlord or my neighbours. (My neighbours were actually pretty awesome.) When I moved to another city, I rented in a large, downtown building, with a sizable student presence. Noise was always a problem there, and the building manager wasn't a very nice person. She got moved to another building, then got fired a few months later.

 

And buying your own place is definitely a great idea. Buying a house was one of the best decisions I ever made. I don't know what the real estate market is like where you live, but it is very possible to get a mortgage for $100k while working full-time minimum wage. Talk to a mortgage broker to find out what you can afford, then start saving for a 5% down payment. Interest rates are super low right now, so take advantage of it, if you can.

 

Thank you Masaryk, that's very helpful. :) I guess it helps that you're from the same province. :) And I'll definitely start looking. Right now it's the off season for my job, so I'm currently on EI, but we have a lot saved and I think we may be able to get a good place.

 

Anyway, we typed out a note to the people below us, wha do you think?

 

 

 

Dear Neighbours:

 

This letter is in response to a noise complaint you have made to Fred regarding us.

 

We understand how it feels to have noisy neighbours. Our previous neighbours, who occupied your unit before you moved in, had been very disruptive themselves, constantly played music at high volume and had late night parties, waking us up at night.

 

I do not want any misunderstandings between us. Any noise we may create is not made purposefully. As you may know, the flooring which divides our two apartments provides positively no sound absorption. We can also hear you. We can hear when you close a door. We can hear when you shuffle about and we can sometimes hear your conversations. We also can hear, what seems to be not only yours, but everyone’s plumbing. We do not say anything because we don’t consider it disruptive and we understand that there’s nothing that can be done due to the flooring this building has and we have learned to live with it.

 

Please also know that our apartment is not newly updated in the manner yours is. What is now a second bedroom in your apartment was at some point a kitchen, we assume they made your unit into a two bedroom apartment by converting your kitchen into a bedroom. Our kitchen is still in a separate room, which is above, now the smaller bedroom in your apartment. Our cupboards are very old and no matter how slowly we attempt to shut them, the noise is very loud. Our washroom door lets out a loud squeal because it is old and rusty. Our closet door also makes the same noise.

 

As for the scratching noises you may have noticed, that could simply be our cat. She likes to dig around in her litter box, I assume she also does it night, but she has never made enough noise to disturb our sleep, so we really don’t see how those noises would be disruptive to you.

Please know that we always have been mindful of our neighbours. We rarely have people over, never have parties past 11pm and we never listen to music. We already have a few area rugs in our living room to help drown out some of the noise. We most certainly do not walk around the apartment in high heels, and the fact that you can hear us walking only shows how bad the insulation between our units is, but, unfortunately, this is not something we can fix on our own.

 

We do not consider ourselves to be noisy, therefore we can only guess which noises are frustrating to you. In an attempt to resolve this, I’ll provide you with my number so you can text me whenever you feel we are being disruptive.

 

My name is Rayna and my partner is Artem. My number to text is: (---) _______

 

I hope we can come to an understanding and reach grounds where we both are comfortable.

 

Regards,

Upstairs Neighbours

[Masaryk]

I'm always happy to help. I really get upset by abuses of power.

 

I think your letter is great. :) It isn't confrontational in the least, and you did a thorough job of addressing every complaint against you, then provided a way to be contacted. You showed empathy for dislike of excess noise and you explained that the noise travels both ways.

 

I hope that you and your neighbours are able to come to some sort of understanding until you are able to find a house you like.

[linsta]

I hate apartments. We've been having these issues at our place. We're 2nd floor. We're always careful, we don't slam stuff and try to walk semi-quietly. The people above us... yeah, they're obnoxious. They have a little kid that runs laps around/across the apartment most of the day (and often the night.) You can just hear and trace the footsteps from one side of the apartment to the other, and back again. Over, and over. Day, night. Now it's gotten to the point where there's huge bangs that shake the ceiling, knocking off the little popcorn stuff, rattling the windows and lights. We've complained, multiple times, only because it's constant, day, night, the windows rattle. The landlord has talked to them, repeatedly, and nothing really changes. So I have no idea if they'd follow through.

 

My suggestions is first, to write a letter (and keep a copy) explaining that you do everything in your power to be quiet and thoughtful of your neighbors, including not slamming things, walking softly, talking quietly, keeping music/tv volumes low. Explain that due to the way the building is constructed, there's not much more you can do. Maybe add a list of the things that are super loud, like the bathroom door, the cabinets, and ask them to come fix them so that they don't make noise.

 

Spritzie, that sounds terrible! Although it sounds like a lot of it may be the condition of the apartment? The toddler upstairs from me stomps around all day too (or cries) but shaking ceiling/rattling lights and windows doesn't seem normal. At least, I've never experienced anything like that anywhere I"ve lived.

 

I guess I don't mind the toddler upstairs because I tend to tune out easily. Also kids are the cutest ^-^ so I can't be upset

 

----------

 

Rayna, that letter sounds great. I think it explains your situation perfectly. I hope it works out with you and your neighbours. I found living in a quad difficult because some people have just never lived with other people and don't know how to at all. That was kind of like one of my housemates last year. She seemed to be used to a particular way of living and habits since she had been an only child and extremely spoiled. It just seemed like she couldn't adjust to even small things, and would constantly complain about trivial things. Then again, she would leave food in the fridge for months on end, never wash her dishes, and spill things all over the counter and floor DAILY. She would make smoothies and leave them sitting out for a whole month. I've found bread crust in the bathroom, half cut apple face down on the floor... and once she puked all over her jacket, rinsed it off quickly then left it in the washroom for a week. I ended up yelling at her pretty badly one day (she was horrible with confrontation, so it was pretty easy) and she stopped talking to me after that, but she got *slightly* better after that so it was worth it imo xD

[lilshadowdweller]

With different people, it really does matter their preferances. For instance, my boyfriend likes to leave the television on, it helps him sleep. If the television is on for me, it tends to distract me from my sleep.

 

Anyway, they must have read the note now, we slipped it under their door and we can longer see it there. (We just got back home.) We're going to let our landlord know that we have taken precautions and are attempting to do our best to keep the noise down. (I want him to know that we've offered a solution - my telephone number). ^^ So we'll see how this goes.

[Sweetdang]

Fantastic letter, I wouldn't have worded it any other way.

 

I hope you get a positive reply! :D

[LillytheGrundo]

That letter is great! I hope you made a copy to show your land lord in case things don't get better but I think they will. Fingers crossed for you! I'm currently listening to my noisy neighbors and their children (for some reason they are not in school today) stomp around and scream at each other. My apartment has been shaking since 8am EST so I totally sympathize with your situation. Best of Luck!!!

[lilshadowdweller]

Ick. I wonder why they weren't at school? We still have yet to email our landlord. We actually called him on Friday, but some girl picked up who we don't know. But yes, we have a copy of our letter. The girls never responded but I hope it's maybe helped them understand our situation. (Being above them and all.) We are doing less now after 11 - not washing dishes, moving things around, ect. Anyway, I only have to worry about that 11 real until summer, when the girls move out. (Unless they stay longer -- but that's rare for students.) It's entirely empty during summer.

[LillytheGrundo]

Apparently not at school today either! Thankfully I have things to do today so I won't be around to hear all the noise. Living in an apartment can be so stressful at times. I don't like that I have almost no control of the noise in my own space. I like things very quiet like all the time. lol

[Edmunda]

I think the family that lives below you should move out and buy a house

[lilshadowdweller]

lol. To this day, they've never texted me, so we'll see how it goes. I'm going to assume we're quiet enough for them now? What drives me NUTS is the fact that one girl below us smokes pot every night. It stinks. It goes right up into our bathroom and a little into our hallways. I'm not judgemental, but geeze, they complain about our noises - yet they smoke it up every night? I don't want to smell it.