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[Jimmy-T]

You call an exorcist when you hear things that go bump in the night, but who do you call for things that go bonk during the day?

“I am suffering from the constant banging of a bed on wall at all hours as my upstairs neighbours have sex,” writes Wizardofoz on the Flat Chat Forum. “I  am pretty sure it is directly upstairs. How do I tackle this problem? Ask my neighbour to their face? Leave a note?

“The banging goes on all hours and it sounds as if they are in my room. There’s that and a squeaky bed and I really don’t want to know how often my neighbour has long sex sessions.

“It’s like their bed is hitting wall and skirting and it’s a new issue as I haven’t heard this before and I’ve lived here for seven years. Please help.”

Oddly enough, Wiz, this problem perfectly illustrates one of the most fundamental principles of apartment living.  It’s a fact that is so obvious yet so frequently overlooked it should be carved in stone in the doorway of every unit block: The neighbour making a noise doesn’t know how loud it sounds in your room.  How could they?

But as, happens so often in strata, the problem contains the seeds of its solution. So consider dropping a gentle, humorous and anonymous (if you prefer) note to all your above, below and around your flat, saying something like this:

“I don’t want to spoil your fun, and I envy your enthusiasm, but if you are the neighbour whose energetic love-making is banging your bedhead off your bedroom wall, all night and day, you might be interested know the rest of us can hear.  Share the love, but please spare us the sound effects.”

If embarrassment doesn’t put a brake on the bonking, the Flat Chat Faithful have their own solutions. “Wait for a moment or two after the noise stops and then applaud loudly or play a recording of applause on your hi-fi gear,” suggests StrataGuru PeterC.

Needless to say, there are more suggestions here on the Forum.

If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.

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[wizardofoz]

Thanks Jimmy and co – it is a difficult situation. The strata sent a breach of by-law of noise of a personal nature and believe it or not they emailed it to the whole block and didn’t understand what it meant? hahaha

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