How to Deal (and Not Deal) with Noisy Neighbors

Dealing with noisy neighbors? You’re part of the millions of people that could say the exact same thing! Luckily, that also means that many renters have had decades of experience dealing with them and can provide you with the sympathy and advice that you need to live in peace.

In this guide, we want to go through 5 tips to deal with your noisy neighbor problem starting today!

How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors

1. Pick Your Battles

Before deciding to move forward with confronting or reporting your loud neighbors, it’s important to determine whether the battle is worth fighting. Whether you live in a complex with thin walls or a townhouse with adjacent neighbors, you’re part of a community.

You can always count on a little bit of environmental noise. If your neighbors are families with infants, young children, or dogs, you can expect the occasional crying or barking. Unless the noise genuinely detracts you from enjoying your peaceful abode, it’s not something to complain about!

However, if your loud upstairs neighbors are throwing raucous parties every weekend or playing music at extreme volumes late into the night, it constitutes excessive noise. Being part of a community means respecting others around you, and interrupting a good night’s sleep or disregarding your neighbors doesn’t fit that bill.

2. Talk to Your Neighbors

The first step to dealing with annoying neighbors is to talk to them. Be polite and see if you can both find a way to remedy the situation. We understand that confrontation can be uncomfortable for some, so here are a few tips you can keep in mind with this approach:

• Rehearse: While it may sound dumb, one of the best ways to make sure you stay on track when confronting your neighbor is to have your talking points memorized. Role-play with someone you’re comfortable with before approaching your neighbor.
• When in Doubt — Ask: Truthfully, your neighbors may not be aware of the excessive noise they’re making. It may help to phrase your complaint as a neutral question. Instead of “You’re playing music loudly every evening” try “Did you know that your music is pretty loud?” A question is less accusatory and may help avoid conflict.
• If Things Get Heated, Walk Away: Worst case scenario, your argument turns to an all-out screaming match. If you sense the situation veering out of control, walk away. Excuse yourself, and leave it be. You’re not going to convince an irate person to listen to your noise complaint.

The best thing you can do is find a compromise! For example, if your neighbor is a musician and they must practice during the day, ask them if they can find a time that doesn’t negatively impact your own work.

3. Leave a Letter

If you’re unable to get ahold of your noisy neighbor, you might consider writing them a letter instead. It’s a great way to document your interaction. Plus, when speaking in person, it can be easy to lose your train of thought or to forget the entire speech you prepared earlier.

A letter should address all of your concerns without being accusatory or passive-aggressive. Our anger has a tendency to leak out when writing, so we’d recommend having someone who isn’t familiar with the situation read the letter and check for potential sore spots.

4. Compromise

Knowing how to deal with loud neighbors means learning how to compromise. Any healthy relationship features a compromise or two. Your relationship with your neighbor is no exception. Suggest a compromise alongside your noise complaint. For example, if you have neighbors playing loud music during band practices every night, suggest that they don’t practice after a certain time (like your bedtime).

This will likely yield much better results than if you tell your neighbor they can’t practice at all.

5. File a Noise Complaint

Filing a noise complaint is one of the last resorts you should take when dealing with noisy neighbors.

First, you need to figure out how to make a noise complaint. If you live in the same complex as your noisy upstairs neighbors, for example, you may want to register a complaint with your landlord. If your neighbor lives next door in an apartment or townhouse that isn’t owned by your landlord, you might have to file with the police.

Before filing an apartment noise complaint with your landlord, check to see if your lease agreement has a clause regarding noise. If so, your landlord can issue a warning to your neighbor, followed by a fine if they continue to violate the terms of the lease. In the worst-case scenario, your landlord may evict the noisy neighbor.

When filing a report with the police, expect the same results. After a warning, the police may give your neighbor a ticket for continuing to disturb the peace with their noise.

How NOT to Deal with Noisy Neighbors

While you may feel tempted to yell, scream, or fight back when dealing with obnoxious neighbors, there are a couple of retaliation techniques we do not recommend you try and implement.

Don’t Try to Compete with Their Noise

Cranking the music on your own home stereo to drown out your neighbors’ sound might be a good temporary solution, though, in reality, you’re just adding to the problem. Plus, you may just end up creating enemies with your other quiet neighbors.

Don’t be Passive-Aggressive

Though you might be tempted to write a nasty note and leave it on their doorstep, you’ll more than likely exacerbate the issue. If you’re planning on writing a note, be cordial and practical.

Don’t Approach Them with Anger

Approaching your neighbors angrily can create unnecessary drama. Before you make it a point to address them, make sure you’ve collected yourself.

Blocking Out Noisy Neighbors

Sometimes, one of the best ways to deal with noisy neighbors is by blocking out the sound using the right furnishings. Here are a few ideas:

• Invest in a Heavy Rug: One easy way to absorb sound and keep things quiet in your apartment is with a heavy rug. Plus, a nice-looking rug can up your decor game!
• Purchase More Furniture: What better excuse to get that new furniture you’ve been wanting? Sound has a nasty way of bouncing around empty rooms, so by filling them up with more furniture, you can create a room with less echo.
• Add Sound-Reducing Curtains: While blackout curtains are primarily helpful in blocking light, they can be just as useful for reducing unwanted noise from seeping in.
• Buy Some Sound-Blocking Devices: Earplugs can be helpful in dealing with loud neighbors on sleepless nights. If you have a bit more of a budget, you may even consider investing in a white noise machine.

Knowing How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors

Noisy neighbors are a part of life. Unless you live in a secluded cabin at the top of a mountain, it's likely you'll have to deal with one eventually.

Knowing how to deal with a bad neighbor can be the difference between a screaming match and an amicable relationship. Choose the latter, it’s a lot easier in the end! Want to know how to reduce noise from upstairs neighbors in the meantime? Check out our apartment-friendly soundproofing guide!