Noisy neighbours... what can I do?

LegacyUser

Hi All... I'm going unreg lest I be identified...

I just moved into a lovely new townhouse in the sticks. Beautiful house and I'm very happy. The only trouble is that the house next door is rented to this family with 5 kids. The youngest is about 2 and the oldest daughter looks like shes about 15/16.

The family are slightly rough, but seem nice and I have no problem living next to them. I'm happy enough to accept normal noise levels... kids playing etc etc. The problem is that the teenage daughter turns up her music VERY loud... especially when the parents are out. It was so loud last weekend that I could hear every word of every song hat she was listening to... for over 4 hours. About 90% of the time I cant hear a sound from them... its just sometimes that he music is unbearable.

S I'm not sure what to do. I was thinking of having a word with the parents, but I want to be a good neighbor.

So what do you guys thing I should do? The house is rented to the council... would they do anything if I complained to them? The development is also managed by a management company... could/would they be able to do anything? Have I any other options? I will be working fro home all Summer so this could be a very big problem and I don't want to be fighting with neighbors...

Mr. Incognito

I'd buy a pair of earphones for the daughter and try and catch her on her own for a word. Going to the parents will only antagonise the situation as teenagers are mental at the best of times. Be light-hearted and make a joke of it. She'll get the message.

Miguel_Sanchez

Next time she has it up really loud when her parents are out call over to the house and ask her nicely if she could turn the music down a bit. If you take the right tact with her - i.e. don't give out to her but rather treating her like an adult - she may be more than happy to oblige (also she probably doesn't want you giving out to her parents about her). She's a teenager so may not even think about how the noise is travelling next door.

If she keeps doing it then you may have no choice but to have a quiet word with her folks.

padser

Unless you have already struck up a bit of a dialogue with the parents I would be inclined to try and talk to the daughter first. Also wait until it has happened at least three times (if it hasn't already) as you don't want to come off as jumping the gun

Alternitively you could buy her some CD's that you like to listen to???:D

Cancer-chick

Depends really how close you are to the parents .. From your post im guessing just nods and hellos at this stage

So id say catch the daughter when she is playing the music and just explain in a v neutral way that you work from home and that her music is very loud .. If that does not work at least you can say to the parents "well i didnt want to bother you but ..." and you will be able to let them know you already talked to the girl.

If she actually listens .. result !

I know how much of a pain this can be

BeardyGit

Strike a deal in a roundabout way with the teen - Let her know you're happy for her to blare it out for a few hours over the weekend when she can get away with it, but that if she could keep it down during the week when you're working, you'd really appreciate it. Make sure she thinks she's 'getting away' with something, or she might give you a PFO! Teens are teens after all....

While you're at it, don't forget to ask her about when she's doing the junior cert and that sort of thing, instead of just about the music volume. If it's a new estate, ask her if she's made any friends there and so on. Younger teens always like a bit of attention and it'll hopefully help smooth things out for both of ye.

Of course, if you're a 70 year old man in a trench-coat and a pair of wellies, the above should be ignored and you should go straight to the council ;)

Gil

JMJR

going_mad wrote:

Hi All... I'm going unreg lest I be identified...

I just moved into a lovely new townhouse in the sticks. Beautiful house and I'm very happy. The only trouble is that the house next door is rented to this family with 5 kids. The youngest is about 2 and the oldest daughter looks like shes about 15/16.

The family are slightly rough, but seem nice and I have no problem living next to them. I'm happy enough to accept normal noise levels... kids playing etc etc. The problem is that the teenage daughter turns up her music VERY loud... especially when the parents are out. It was so loud last weekend that I could hear every word of every song hat she was listening to... for over 4 hours. About 90% of the time I cant hear a sound from them... its just sometimes that he music is unbearable.

S I'm not sure what to do. I was thinking of having a word with the parents, but I want to be a good neighbor.

So what do you guys thing I should do? The house is rented to the council... would they do anything if I complained to them? The development is also managed by a management company... could/would they be able to do anything? Have I any other options? I will be working fro home all Summer so this could be a very big problem and I don't want to be fighting with neighbors...

5 kids, even the nicest and best are going to be noisy to live beside, just a fact.

Is it just the music or are there other interferences- if the music was not an issue would the problem be solved? As regards the music it it at unsocial hours ie late at night in which case you will have an easier time getting some action. If it is afternoon, evenings, weekend days it can be more difficult to get something done unless the family agree to facilitate you.

Firstly find out what your options are and what are the facts. Talk to and get advice from the following:
Check your purchase agreement/lease agreement to see what the role of the management company is and what responsibilities they have assumed. Bear in mind that you might not be technically allowed to 'work from home' yourself' so that might be relevant to how you word your complaint!

Check with the Private Residential Tenancies Board to see who the landlord next door is. If the situation gets difficult the you may ultimately want to get the landlord involved. That may be the local authority or a private individual renting the property to the council. PRTB website will explain who/what this state body is and what they do.

Check with the local authority- Environment section (noise pollution) and Housing section (social housing).

Find out the name of and talk to the community garda if one exists.

Think about and define your problems- is it just noise or are there other issues. Try to define which ones are just irritations that you cannot control and just try to live with them and which ones are real and genuine annoyances that your neighbours should address.
Then go and talk to them about reasonable issues in a reasonable way. If things get out of hand dont get angry/shout and say things that you might regret- just get out and take advice from local authority environmental section/management company/or even solicitor.
I would advise talking to the mother & father first and only. It would be best to get on with them as there are 4 more to come up through the teenage ranks! Appear reasonable. Explain your problems and ask them to consider them. Dont put them on the spot for immediate answers. Dont forget the teenage daughter is living on Planet Teenage and will have precious little appreciation of how she affects the outside world- leave her parents to get through to her. Empathise with them, you were a teenager yourself once werent you?

Hope that helps.