For example, if you live in an apartment building, you may think that the loud music is coming from your upstairs neighbor’s apartment, when in fact it is coming from the apartment next door to your upstairs neighbor.
A video is better than an audio recording because they can see the reference sound. For example, you might turn your TV up to a certain volume on the video, or demonstrate how much you have to turn your TV up to drown out the noise. Try to include the date and time in the recording, however possible – especially if it’s late at night, when noise can be more disruptive or potentially illegal, depending on local noise ordinances where you live.
For example, if your next-door neighbor plays loud music at night that keeps you up, you might talk to the people who live in any other apartments that also neighbor that apartment. Find out if anybody else has had the same problem. Your purpose in doing this is not to gang up on the person. Rather, you want to be able to show them that the issue is affecting others too – not just you.
Try not to approach the person when they are on their way to work or school – they may be running late, or under stress. Either way, they won’t be likely to give you a fair hearing. If you’re not sure when would be a good time to talk, you might ask them. For example, if you see them in the morning and you know they’re going to work, you might say “Hi, neighbor! I know you’re headed out to work. When would be a good time to talk to you about a community-related issue?”
For example, you might say “Hi there, neighbor! Quick favor – would you mind terribly turning your music down at night, or maybe wearing headphones? I go into work early and your music wakes me up. " If there is a specific reason their noise disturbs you, you can tell them – but you don’t have to. It’s up to you whether you want to let them know anything about your life or not. It should be enough that they are disturbing you.
This letter doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. For example, you might simply write a note that says: “Hi neighbor! This is Sally over in Unit 13. I understand you’re a DJ – that’s awesome! But could you turn down the volume a bit after 10 p. m. ? Your bass vibrates my entire apartment and makes it hard to sleep. Thank you so much!”
Since noise problems more typically happen late at night, this may not be an option for you. However, it may still be possible to email your management office, or call and leave a voicemail explaining the situation. They can get to it in the morning when the office is open.
When you find the owner of the property, contact them and ask if they’re currently renting the property. They may have hired a property management company to handle the rental. If so, you would need to talk to them about the noisy neighbor.
Let the landlord know what you would like to see happen – essentially, what an ideal resolution to the problem would be from your standpoint.
Provide contact information, including a phone number or email address, in case the landlord wants to get in touch with you and discuss the issue further.
When you get the notice that your letter has been received, put that notice with your copy of the letter. Mark the date of receipt and the date of the deadline on a calendar, or set a reminder on your smartphone.
Start your letter by reminding the landlord of the letter you previously sent. Then explain that the problem has not gone away, or that it went away briefly and then returned, whichever is applicable to your situation. Provide the landlord with a deadline, just as you did in the first letter. Make a copy of the signed letter for your records and use certified or registered mail so you’ll know when they received it.
Even if a comparable unit is available, it may not be feasible for you to move. If that’s the case, let your landlord know and they can try to come up with a different option. Maybe they could ask your noisy neighbor to move to the comparable unit.
No matter how loud and disruptive, a noise complaint is never an emergency. Calling the emergency number ties up law enforcement resources unnecessarily, and you could be hit with a fine or even jail time for calling the emergency number.
In some situations, the officer may come to your location before going to the source of the noise. They may want to verify how loud the noise is where you are to determine whether it violates local noise ordinances.
If the noise is found to be in violation of civil or criminal noise ordinances, your noisy neighbor may be fined. You may have to testify at a court hearing.
