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I have moved into an art-deco building somewhere in the North Shore and my problem starts at 1:30AM when my upstairs neighbour goes and have a shower. Due to the fact the building is old plus the bathroom is located next to main bedroom, I keep on getting woken up EVERY night (or should that be morning!). The water works happens nightly and lasts between 30-40mins. I am at my wits end on how to solve this problem and hesitant to confront the neigbours as I live by myself and below them which means they can make my life worst – if you know what I mean.
Would really appreciate some advice on how to deal with problem as I have another 8mths to go on my lease contract.
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I checked with Blue about whether this was noise from the pipes or the sound of water and this was her reply:
It's actually both. Once they turn the water on, the pipes start humming (or whistling is another way of describing it) and then afterwards the water
noise gurgling down drains also starts. The noise carries on for 30-40mins
which by this time wakes me up and keeps me awake. I have also tried to go outside (while the neighbours are in the bathroom) and the noise is loud even if you are standing in the stairwell.
It strikes me that there are two issues here – one is some kind of pipe noise caused by water pressure, the other is lack of sound insulation between the bathroom and Blue's bedroom, including insulation round the pipes.
This is more than likely a common property 'defect' and Blue's landlord needs to get the Owners Corporation to attend to it as a matter of urgency. Meantime, the landlord should be offering a rent reduction until the problem is fixed. This should not be seen as an aggressive action against the landlord – it's also giving them ammunition to take to the OC to demand action.
The neighbour is entitled to shower whenever they want (as long as they don't sing after 10 pm). The fault is in the building or the conversion and the remedy lies with the OC. Even if the problem was caused by an 'off-the-books' renovation, it's still up to the OC to make sure it's fixed and only the landlord can force the OC to do anything like this.
Blue should call the Tenants Advice Line 8117 3750 or freecall 1800 251 101, Mondays 3:00–6:00pm or go to https://www.tenants.org.au for more information.
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We had the same problem in our building before the year 2000. We did some minor plumbing repairs to the building and I asked the plumber what was the cause of the pipes making so much noise and his response was that there was a loose washer. After the repairs, the noise stopped.
In connection with the person above your bedroom having a 30-minutes showers or you get use to it or wear ear plugs. I have friends living in different suburbs and their complaint is traffic noise so before they go to bed they wear ear plugs.
One reason I believe we should have individual water meters so we do not have to pay for other people having long showers.
Best wishes
fernanda
