I know some of you read the blogs last year surrounding how I had moved out of my parents and into an old building apartment with my boyfriend. But boy, did I complain a lot and ask for advice online. See, when we first moved, ($699 per month), it seemed like a great apartment. Very big. People love it. What we didn't know: the apartment below us is rented out to students, and that there is positively NO installation to block out sounds between the wooden floors. The students who lived below us for one year were awful. Their music was always blasting. Anytime they were home! It made our floors shake. Now, this wasn't entirely their faults. The floor has no sound absorption, but we had to call the police twice on them AND (before we called the police) ask our landlord for help twice. Nothing changed.
Anyway, eventually both us and the people below us resolved most of our issues, despite a few problems here-and-there. They eventually moved out. In Summer, no one lived below us. When the school year started up again, two girls moved in below us. I've never met them. They are very quiet. We could still sometimes hear them talking, and sometimes hear music, but nothing too bad.
We thought we had it good with them.
THEN, TODAY, WE FIND A NOTICE ON OUR DOOR FROM OUR LANDLORD:
"To the Tenants,
This is to inform you that we've had numerous noise complaints reported coming from your apartment. These noise complaints include: walking extremely loudly, scratching, slamming doors, rolling, shutting." We remind you that you are on wooden floors and to be mindful of the neighbours around you. We are hopeful you will resolve the issue.
If these complaints continue, we may be forced to write up all of the complaints and send them to the board in an effort to have you evicted.
Thank you for your cooperation."
Anyway, I was LIVID. Walking extremely loudly? I don't stomp the floors, I'm JUST living my life! It's not our faults this building is old and the sound travels through. I'm very angry and it seems so unfair.
Figures this would happen! We are not loud and we are always mindful of our neighbours. We pay our $699 diligently and the fact he added that threat about sending the complaints to the board to convict us bugs me. We watch television SOMETIMES but we always have it turned down. But what on Earth would the rolling noise come from? And when do I slam cupboards?
Now, our landlord didn't specify who made the complaints, but who else could it be but the new people below us?
Tomorrow, I'm sending an email informing him that I'm just living my life and not doing anything wrong. There's no way I'm tip toeing around my apartment. I know how it feels to be woken up; it sucks. I know. But maybe he should start sound proofing this building! I never slam, I never walk "extremely" loud. I walk normally. With socks on mostly. The doors are old and are hard to shut — we try not to late, what am I supposed to do?
I want to be mad at the people below us for not taking the issue up with us. But I didn't do that with the neighbours I called the police on. I also feel like they're being cry babies.
But the landlord had never informed us of these "numerous complaints" and I feel the threat was unwarranted.
My boyfriend tells me to calm down – that the landlord is just covering his butt. But still. It really causes my OCD to spike up. I feel so stressed I stopped being hungry and can only think of how to defend myself against (what I feel) are ridicules claims that we are unable to do anything about!
This is why I want a house.
