Tenants moving out because of upstairs neighbours?

Hi Desi,

I am sorry to hear of your issues.

I would finish what your tenants started and have a conversation with the agent, landlord and neighbour. If however you get nowhere and the noise is what you would consider anti-social your next port of call would be the council.

Firstly, you need to confirm the tenants above are unacceptably noisy. Now the flats is empty, why not do a few visits. Some tenants can be very sensitive to noise, maybe you don't really have an issue? If you conclude that the tenants above are unacceptably noisy then you need to contact the council's Environmental Officer. I am not sure that he/she will see it as a priority if the flats is vacant. It's shame the former tenants did not complain to the police and council and make a written record of when and what was disturbing them. It's a difficult one, as even if the environmental officer records the noise to get evidence, the level of noise needs to be really loud and sustained. What sort of flat is it? Was the property built as flats from the outset or is it a converted family house. The latter may not have sufficient sound proofing. Talking to the current landlord is probably your best bet, take them to the flat and demonstrate. If he/she is reasonable I can't see why an eviction could not be threatened - agents are unlikely to do anything whilst the rent is coming in!

Given that all that is increasingly being provided between tenants horizontally is two thin pieces of plaster board and a few wooden studs and vertically a bit of plaster board some fibre glass and some chip board flooring, this sort of thing is only going to get worse. The above certainly satisfies my local council anyway.
Imagine having to tolerate this when on top of everything else, one of the tenants is a shift worker.
Between flats the standard is not much different.
I have successfully got a council to stop a pub from blasting out music but it took weeks and the council officer agreed to come out at a moments notice to measure the noise. Not everyone would be so lucky.

Hi, thank you all for the prompt responses. I contacted the agent asking for an update as their answer to the tenant was close to nothing, just an acknowledgement. They replied to me that they will follow the 'relevant procedure'. Asked them what does this mean. May be nothing :(. Don't know whether I can do anything at all.. The flat is purpose build but the ceiling/ floor is really bad I have to admit. This in combination with noisy and inconsiderate neighbours can be very irritating....I don't know the landlord and I believe he lives somewhere abroad, so this is not an option.

I will be honest and say, in my experience, this type of complaint is often an excuse to leave a tenancy earlier than the contract allows. However if you satisfy yourself that their noise complaint is justified you could do try asking advice from noise insulation experts to see if improvements can be made. Additionally continue to pursue the landlord upstairs - so what he lives overseas he must have UK agent that can deal with your complaint. I understand having a young child can make it difficult, but the flat must be of suitable construction to contain a certain amount of noise. I do agree that some people are very sensitive to noise from adjoining flats too, but don't take this lying down!

If the flat upstairs has wooden/laminate flooring , check the terms of the lease ... there may well be a clause saying that this is not allowed

I had this situation in reverse ... I was receiving complaints about tenants of mine. I was forced by the council to put carpet down on top of my wooden flooring.

I agree that the ceiling/floor problem needs some attempt at solution. So pursue tracking down the landlord and his/her agents.
There is no way children can be kept from running about and making a noise. On the other hand, frequent complaints could encourage the family above to move out - as life is miserable for conscientious parents shutting kids up all the time.

Hi I got a similar problem in Westminster on a old flat. It is a problem as the agents I think will now have to tell any prospective tenant there is a noise problem !!

Definitely check the lease about laminate floors and requirement to keep all but the kitchen and bathroom carpeted.

Specialist contractors/acoustic engineers can suggest things to help reduce the sound. Like a new suspended ceiling on Z hangers but it will mean a reduction in stud height.

In my case I am pleading with the tenants to keep calling the Council's Noise complaint team and get their determination that the noise is clearly "anti- social" with that I think I can get the landlord to take action against the lessee of the flat above but without some independent determination I don't feel I can force the issue.

If the building is not that old you could check if it was built to Building Standards and got final completion If the construction is not to code you might have a angle here but not sure

Reply to the comment left by Neil Patterson at 21/11/2018 - 11:14
I had this situation. My female tenant chose to leave because of the violent rows of the tenants in the flat below. Even after sho moved out she would not put in a complaint to the council in case of repercussions. She was that frightened. When I subsequently advised the council, I was advised they could only act on a complaint from residents and not a landlord.

I experienced similar problems, but it turned out that the flat above had twice the number of tenants as on the contract so they could be moved out.
As mentioned above, if there are bare floorboards or laminate, this will make the noise unbearable below.

If you are in a conversion, the tenants are basically sharing the same house and the noise will be the same as if they were in the same family, unless a lot of money has been spent on soundproofing.

But if the family are just being a family, which includes a child running around, that is unavoidable.