'neighbors' now purposely generating noise to harass me.

Liberty said:
Wondering...you must have a long lease, if you moved there before Covid and the landlord might be trying to get you to move now. Most folks just have a 2 yr lease at most from what I've heard. Hope the noisy neighbors haven't been living next to you since you moved in. My DIL wears those sleep masks - she can't stand to see any little lights at night. Sounds like those sounds are vibrating in the thinly insulated walls.
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that reminds me of the scene in Cheers, where Woody who is living in a rundown tiny apartment tells Sam that he can't move out to a home with hs new bride because he has a 10 year lease... Sam asks.. how he got stuck with a 10 year lease.. Woody says.. Just lucky I guess.. and that means £10 a month in MY pocket... :D
 

Olivia said:
I'd. rather go to a homeless shelter.
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Go through periods the minute you walk the door you hear stuff. It's constant. I can't believe everyone else doesn't need hearing aids. I have to wonder what this noise is doing to my hearing(again this is infrasound/low frequency bass which has the more energy behind it than higher frequencies).

But this is where this is going. They're are those that would love to have me out to get friends and family in there and others that simply don't get it-how loud they are or the capabilities of their home electronics.
 
My condo building is concrete which I think helps keep it so quiet. I would be moving if I were you even if it meant living in a studio because the rent is higher. I understand that your income is limited and I hope you find a solution.
 

Teacher Terry said:
My condo building is concrete which I think helps keep it so quiet. I would be moving if I were you even if it meant living in a studio because the rent is higher. I understand that your income is limited and I hope you find a solution.
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When I researched sound proofing many say something with the density of concrete is about the only thing that can really cut down sound and even then sometimes stuffs gets through.
 
Back in the late 80s, I wish I had done this a little differently. Was up late on a Sunday night at "friends" house... partying. Came home at midnight, to be up @ 6:30 am for work. Was living in a Mobile Home Park @ the time. I had an elder neighbor who used to play loud classical music all night sometimes.

Around 2:30am, I'd had enough... Stuck my old 100 watt Alamo tube amp in the open window (my older cousin's amp from early 70s when he was in a band), cranked it up, plugged in my piece and let some heavy stuff fly through the stomp boxes and amp and probably woke half the people in the park up. Got his attention... he looked at me, I shrugged my shoulders, and closed the window. Point made, problem solved.

I feel bad about it though. Nowadays I'd have lined my walls with soundproofing (bedroom was very small) and would not have been up so late. Heck, I'd even go over there and hang out with him a while. :giggle:
 
WhatInThe said:
When I researched sound proofing many say something with the density of concrete is about the only thing that can really cut down sound and even then sometimes stuffs gets through.
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There is a cement fire wall between my apartment and the one next to me where the bedrooms are. I can attest, that I hear next to nothing from that apartment. They have to be hammering the wall for a nail or really slam the closet door.
 
Call your city hall, there are ordinances, and a department that handles those issues. I've done it before many times, problems solved! Good luck, and a return to peace soon!
 
WhatInThe said:
In a an apartment 'neighbor' war. Have had to make several complaints and call the police about excessive electronic noise in the middle of the night over the years. They all deny it and say they use headphones when they play video games etc

At least one of those tenants is either recording environmental noise including appliances, trains, airconditioners etc and playing them with extreme volume and a lot of bass and/or using somekind of low frequency/bass generator to create vibration. For several days it sounded like there were dozens of refrigerators or train engines with vibrations. These things can be heard in the apartment but only on occassion with vibrations. One night the nearest train was a couple miles away not at a local crossing but as soon as they heard a horn they crank up their machine or recording. I have a prime suspect but a new younger tech age tenant created issues during their first year.

Debating wether it's time for a lawyer until I can move because in reality that's how it's going to end. But I don't want to speed up or escalate things until I can somethings taken care of.

I'll try talking to landlord again at this point but I've gotten some bad vibes and they may be hoping I leave so they can do some renovations and jack up the price on the next one. They also know if I leave voluntarily that takes some legal liability off them.
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An apartment? Organize your neighbours. Coordinate the incidents and times. Maybe audio record them.
 
Remy said:
There is a cement fire wall between my apartment and the one next to me where the bedrooms are. I can attest, that I hear next to nothing from that apartment. They have to be hammering the wall for a nail or really slam the closet door.
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My apartment is in a WWII era brick and concrete structure where most of the noise comes from the common areas.

I was able to arrange things so that I spend most of my time away from the front entrance.

I’m not sure if something similar would be possible in your situation but it might be worth considering.
 
The 'noise' now around the clock with music or games with extreme bass including a game or song they start between 4 and 6 in the morning. Now worried about hearing loss from repetition alone. Also realized the one's that work go to work the second half of their day which they start with 8-12 hours of partying , gaming , music etc.


Landlord is all talk. They know there's an issue yet doesn't seem to want to 'investigate' it while it's ocuring in my apartment. I'll have to push them to see or hear for themselves. It was happening one day when they were here for other problems and told them and they would not check it out.

Last round of apartment shopping a no go. And I saw previous problem tenants in the area of a building I wanted to check out which means I'll have to leave the area.
 
I feel for what you're going through since I've been in that situation. If the landlord won't help, is there a city ordinance so you can call police or code enforcement? Local officials aren't often helpful anymore since this problem has become so common these days, but maybe if they get enough calls they would do something.
 
You are going to have to move. That’s the only solution since your landlord doesn’t care. You should talk to your other neighbors and see if you can get them to complain to. It has to be bothering other tenants.
 
I've had that problem a few times. My solution was simple, I called it Eddie's Revenge. To do Eddie's Revenge you need two things. A VERY LOUD stereo system, and a copy of Eruption by Van Halen. This track is available on YouTube and of course, on the first Van Halen CD, Van Halen.

Premise: Everybody has to sleep sometime. When they get quiet, give them a half hour or so to fall asleep. Crank your stereo up LOUD and hit Play.


Waking them up with that a few times might teach them a lesson. Maybe not, but IF the cops get called on you, just ask them why they come to your door when you get loud for 1:28, and your obnoxious neighbors get to relentlessly drive you crazy.

Another favorite bit of revenge is playing some drum tracks by a YouTuber that goes by the nickname 66Samus.... Let's see them try to sleep through that!
 
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I've been through that with neighbors where I used to live. Not an apartment, but I lived in a row of large Victorian homes. When they are sold, the new owners usually break them up into 3 or 4 apartments. Most of these tenants were inconsiderate - some with noise, some creating dangerous situations (having a fire pit near the house), some with bratty kids, and some with pet behavior (letting their dogs relieve themselves on my property) and other issues. Complaints to the absentee landlord were laughed off. Police were not helpful. I moved 3 years ago and am now in a nice quiet (for the most part) neighborhood. I know this is not likely a solution to your problem - just telling my experiences.
 
I have noisy drug addict neighbors too. The worst part about it is people giving so much useless information and not believing you. I was feeling gaslit for decades.

The noise is visceral. There's no way to escape it. I had noise canceling earbuds with noise canceling headphones on top of that with a 50 Db air conditioner going. It's louder than that. Some padding for the walls would do absolutely nothing except mess up my walls.

Recording it is necessary but not as useful as people imagine. The police can't use it because there's no way to prove where it came from. You could videotape a wall and the noise, but who's to say that you aren't playing that noise in the background in your own place to get your neighbors in trouble? The police won't do much with that "evidence." Still important to have, but not a "smoking gun" kind of thing.

Are they really targeting me? Yes. Why does anyone question that? I'm not a partying drug addict. That makes me a target.

Can I move? No. And I don't want to have to justify it. Just no.

For me temporarily, things have quieted a little due to winter and new neighbors. But having to deal with this creates issues far beyond just a little bit of noise. Not being able to sleep creates health problems. Dealing with strategies about the noise takes time. Not being able to relax ever makes people hypervigilant. That's why intermittent noise is used in prisoners of war camps as torture. Being on edge waiting for retaliation is exhausting. When people say "be careful", what are they expecting you to do? Worry all day in your own home?

But the worst part? You start thinking that it's you because everyone else is dismissing it. It's not you.

When things quieted a bit here, I realized very clearly and profoundly. It's not me.
 
caramel said:
... Recording it is necessary but not as useful as people imagine. The police can't use it because there's no way to prove where it came from. You could videotape a wall and the noise, but who's to say that you aren't playing that noise in the background in your own place to get your neighbors in trouble? The police won't do much with that "evidence." Still important to have, but not a "smoking gun" kind of thing. ......
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I am now going to ask the $64,000 question. The police come out for domestic violence. They come out if you have an intruder in your house. They come out if there is a fight. So, recording? Fine. Video tape? Fine. B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-u-u-u-u-u-u-t ........ ? A lot of noise could be a fight. "Stay on the line please ..... "
 
dilettante said:
Do these things really escalate out of nowhere in a one-sided manner? Sure seems odd that everyone there including your landlord is out to get you.

But maybe you just need a change. Perhaps you can upgrade at the end of your lease? Maybe in farm country, where life is beautiful all the time. You´ll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats. I hear they offer many services. They may even come to take you away!
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dilettante said:
Maybe you and WhatlnThe could exchange living arrangements for a month or so and see who gets taken away first.
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dilettante said:
l did answer this post when it first came out. l was the de facto property manager for an 18 unit apartment building because my boss didn't want to do it. lt's a church owed property. ln any case, it's lmportant to know you've hired people who are honest and responsible to do the background checks on potential tenants
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I tried a different approach with my upstairs neighbors. I went up and and knocked on their door, and a lady answered. I told her that I live downstairs and I've been having a lot of problems with noise since I moved it and I'm go to try to beat them at their own game. "So I just wanted to let you know you might hear me playing guitar sometimes." I only have two immediate neighbors, one on each side of me. And we have a laundry room between us and one of them. We never hear a peep out of each other. The noise comes from upstairs and both of them are well aware of it.

I told them "You know how they're really loud until midnight then they go to bed? At 12:30a tonight, I'm going to wake them up." They were like "Go for it!"

I connected my Spark 40 guitar amp to my computer with Bluetooth and cranked up and played Eruption very loud. It sounded like Eddie was back from the dead. Eruption is only 1:42 long. And I only had to do that three weekends in a row and they got the point.
 

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