What can I do about noisy neighbors?

Good luck. Only thing you can do is move.

If you fight it or try to. You will have noisy neighbors that will now be busting your balls.

Apartment life can blow.

fight fire with fire :s, or move.. I’m so sorry for you

My downstairs neighbor used to loudly practice bass all the time. So I started practicing accordion all the time. Bingo!

really?! There must be something I can do!!!

You can try to be their friend. Tell them nicely that they are a pain in the ass.

I have been there and done that. We are creatures of habit. You will not change their routine.

I practice my guitar all the time. Funny that I’ve never had any complaints before though, well other than my lame ass dad who only listened to country. God what an ass he was….

I’d have to agree with the rest of the thread. Fight fire with fire or move, there’s really nothing you can do legally unless it’s after hours, then you can just call the police and you might see them on cops.

Ugh!!!!! I hate them!!! I cannot be nice anymore. Maybe their papers aren’t current and I could have the INS check up on them.

Now that is a good idea!

I understand the temptation, but it is by far best to avoid a neighbor war. They really can escalate into violence.

Go to your landlord and say you want to be released from the lease, because of the noise problem. Insist that the landlord come to your apartment at the times you have the problem and experience it.

Then, you need to move. Make sure that your new place has a noise policy. (The one I live is has quiet hours from 11p-7a. Also, understand that in multi-unit dwellings all noise cannot be avoided. The issue is construction, which is not up to noiseproofing. Your neighbors may even be walking normally, but it sounds loud from your unit.

If you can afford it, consider a side-by-side duplex or townhouse where the noise will not be overhead.

Call the cops. As Russian immigrants, it might scare the crap out of them!

@Marina Lurve for an awesome, rational answer.

I just read @Marina‘s answer and now I am too embarrassed to post my idiotic and confrontational “solution”.

If there’s a noise ordinance in your area (and there probably is), you can call the cops.

I have lived in my place for more than 17 years with multiple neighbors above and across the hall.. There were overhead netghbors for a while who threw loud parties up to 4am. The first time it was a gentle complaint, the second time it was a broomstick to the ceiling, the third time it was a threat to call the police and that worked. Calling the landlord wouldn’t work because with rent control I was paying $500 less than market price.

A new neighbor moved in across the hall a couple of months ago. In 17 years there have only been 2 tenants before, a family with 5 children and 5–6 non gender-specific adults (well it is San Francisco)-I never heard anything. The new tenants are a young couple and they are loud. I can hear them talking from the far side of my apt when I never heard a baby cry before and the door bangs and people run up and down at all hours like a herd of elephants. Since I am getting ready to go it’s just, Oh Well!

@pdworkin Want I should post if for you? I can read your mind, you know…. :)

I feel for you. I have had my share of noisy neighbors. It seems like they follow me wherever I go! I would try calling the cops next time they are being loud so the cops can actually witness it. Hopefully it’ll spook them enough to quite them done a bit. Good luck!

Hey, at least they’re not nuts and standing outside your door screaming that you’re a demon and “YOU DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE!” True story.

@avvooooooo That was you who told that story! I remember feeling so sorry for you then. ... But that was before I got to know you. The woman had a point. I know that now.

Do what I did, It worked
be careful not to get caught

Having noisy neighbours is a really terrible experience. I have been through it myself and it can be very stressful and upsetting. It usually always comes from above. I have found that all you can do is try to reason with the people living there, do it nicely, maybe let them in to hear what it sounds like when people are stomping around at night. Personally I will never live below anybody again because it feels too much like not being in control of your own peace and quiet time. There is nothing worse than lying in bed waiting for the inevitable noise to begin, it is truly awful. Luckily I have always succeeded in speaking to the people involved, but like somebody else said here, as understanding as they can sometimes seem, it is difficult to change peoples habits and it usually goes back to how it was within a couple of weeks. Sorry I have just rambled and not really offered a resolution but it’s a very difficult issue to deal with.

Make a recording of it and turn it up high and put it outside their door!

In addition to the many good answers you see here, be sure to look at the other questions that discuss similar issues.

Wow that sux, I’d want to fight them. People like that tick me off. I wish I could give you good advice but I have none

@Val123 Hey, I might be evil but I wasn’t spawned in hell!