BayMare1967
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon
I have lived in my current apartment for nearly ten years and have been a quiet tenant. Never one complaint or problem with a neighbor and totally clean record However, for the past year, the neighbor below me (who moved in a year ago) has caused a myriad of problems with noise but the one I complained about to the landlord was loud TV noise coming from her bedroom, which is directly below mine. Initially, I approached her and she was shockingly defensive considering we had never even met before then. Her response to my complaints were nasty letters directed at me personally that had nothing to do with the noise...so I knew I wasn't dealing with a reasonable person.
As for the TV noise, I could hear it after 10 pm, which is supposed to be quiet time. So...after a formal complaint to the landlord, she ended up receiving three notice of disturbance letters over time...which has now led to a final warning letter, which upper management sent to her. The letter basically gives her 14 days to "fix the problem" or she will have to move out. So...the result of this is that she has indeed turned the volume down on her TV but I can still hear it. It is not over the top loud but when I lay my head down on the bed to sleep or try and read a book etc, I hear it and I never get a break from it. My landlord came in one night to hear for himself and he thinks I'm being too sensitive to the noise and that it's not that loud. I reminded him that I hear this almost nightly and it does wear on you when you are trying to sleep. He was only hearing this for about a minute so it's easy to say "it's no big deal" until you have to constantly hear it. he describes it as "normal apartment noise" but I didn't realize a TV was in that category. Hearing people speak, sinks, dishwashers, crying babies....I thought, was normal noise. Not a TV that has volume control.
I have tried fan noise and ear plugs, but I cannot mask it.
I also realized that after almost ten years here and several neighbors below me, she is the only one I have heard noise from like this. It is constant and wearing but just borderline enough that my landlord is on the fence now about kicking her out.
So..what can I do if my landlord can in fact hear it but doesn't think it's "that bad". I'm losing my mind and sleep over it though. Perhaps I'm more sensitive than him? Can she be kicked out over this since it is in fact quieter but can still be heard?
Do I have any rights here at all? I feel so helpless with all of this. I have children and pets and finding a new home might be a huge challenge right now. Not something I can afford...plus I simply don't want to move. Should I go over my landlord's head and speak to upper management?
I have lived in my current apartment for nearly ten years and have been a quiet tenant. Never one complaint or problem with a neighbor and totally clean record However, for the past year, the neighbor below me (who moved in a year ago) has caused a myriad of problems with noise but the one I complained about to the landlord was loud TV noise coming from her bedroom, which is directly below mine. Initially, I approached her and she was shockingly defensive considering we had never even met before then. Her response to my complaints were nasty letters directed at me personally that had nothing to do with the noise...so I knew I wasn't dealing with a reasonable person.
As for the TV noise, I could hear it after 10 pm, which is supposed to be quiet time. So...after a formal complaint to the landlord, she ended up receiving three notice of disturbance letters over time...which has now led to a final warning letter, which upper management sent to her. The letter basically gives her 14 days to "fix the problem" or she will have to move out. So...the result of this is that she has indeed turned the volume down on her TV but I can still hear it. It is not over the top loud but when I lay my head down on the bed to sleep or try and read a book etc, I hear it and I never get a break from it. My landlord came in one night to hear for himself and he thinks I'm being too sensitive to the noise and that it's not that loud. I reminded him that I hear this almost nightly and it does wear on you when you are trying to sleep. He was only hearing this for about a minute so it's easy to say "it's no big deal" until you have to constantly hear it. he describes it as "normal apartment noise" but I didn't realize a TV was in that category. Hearing people speak, sinks, dishwashers, crying babies....I thought, was normal noise. Not a TV that has volume control.
I have tried fan noise and ear plugs, but I cannot mask it.
I also realized that after almost ten years here and several neighbors below me, she is the only one I have heard noise from like this. It is constant and wearing but just borderline enough that my landlord is on the fence now about kicking her out.
So..what can I do if my landlord can in fact hear it but doesn't think it's "that bad". I'm losing my mind and sleep over it though. Perhaps I'm more sensitive than him? Can she be kicked out over this since it is in fact quieter but can still be heard?
Do I have any rights here at all? I feel so helpless with all of this. I have children and pets and finding a new home might be a huge challenge right now. Not something I can afford...plus I simply don't want to move. Should I go over my landlord's head and speak to upper management?
