Noisy neighbors require careful solutions. After all, you desperately want the noise to stop, but you don’t want to stir up drama in your home base. Luckily, there are techniques you can use to navigate this dilemma with tact. Find out the best ones below.
How to Have a Tactful In-Person Chat
As trusted local property managers, we advise that it’s a good idea to convey your complaints to noisy neighbors in person rather than through text or notes. After all, your neighbor can’t get the same information from a note that they can from interacting with you. They can’t hold a dialogue with a written note. They can’t read its facial expressions or body language. Most importantly, they can’t get a full picture of its feelings and intentions.
As a result, because the note provides such limited information, people will feel the need to fill in the blanks themselves. And you can’t control what conclusion they jump to. However, with an in-person conversation, each party can get a more accurate read on each other. This starts your conflict resolution on a better foot.
Make it a Cordial Chat
Begin your conversation with a personal introduction. Share your name and explain that you’re the person’s neighbor. That way, they know you’re not some random, faceless stranger. Then, you can delve right into the main issue.
If you can, keep any negative emotions at bay. Try to keep the tone neutral. Stick to the facts, instead of your feelings. Unfortunately, if you get emotionally charged, the aura you give off could be contagious.
For instance, if someone’s dog is being loud, state just that, nothing less, nothing more. Don’t get into how much it upsets or disturbs you.
Provide a Solution
Now that you’re discussing the issue with your noisy neighbors, provide a ready-made solution. This way, you pave a clear mental path to erasing the problem. By doing this, you also show your willingness to cooperate in problem-solving the issue.
The solution could be simple, like just asking them to reserve their noisy behaviors for the daytime and early evening.
After you’re done with your main points, share your contact information so that you can keep each other in the loop. If needed, you can hold further discussions to negotiate terms that work for both of you.
Approach the Situation with Empathy
While talking to loud neighbors, try to see the situation from their perspective.
Try to imagine how you would feel if you were suddenly confronted. How would you want someone to speak to you, with which tone of voice, and which phrasing?
Not only is this the kind thing to do, but it’s also imperative for preventing your chat from becoming heated. Needless to say, the other person won’t respond well if they’re on the defensive.
Also, when people see that you’re genuinely trying to meet them halfway, they are more likely to soften their attitude, to match. As they say, kill people with kindness.
Reference Neighborhood Guidelines
Quite possibly, your community could have noise guidelines. This neutralizes the situation because everyone must follow the rules—it’s nothing personal. As such, you could cite these guidelines as a part of your broader point.
Keep Your Conversation Private
It’s never a good plan to make your chat a public spectacle. After all, your objective is to solve the problem in peace, not to start drama. If loud neighbors feel like a mob is against them, they may respond to fire with fire. Instead, have a quiet chat with the other party alone.
Noisy Neighbors: Escalating the Issue
Escalate the issue only if you absolutely must, if you have no other recourse. By getting into this step, you’re inviting bad blood into your relationship.
If you do choose to bring the issue to a third party, try to stay as cordial and level-headed as possible throughout the ordeal. Afterward, when dealing with any loud neighbors, try to maintain an attitude of diplomacy.
Mediation
One of the softer ways to escalate the issue could be to involve a mediator. In essence, the mediator will bridge the communication gap between you and loud neighbors in a guided dialogue. Many cities have these services, so it could be worth looking into.
Police Involvement
Police can intervene in your predicament when it violates your community’s policies.
Most communities have noise ordinances and laws that ban excessive and unreasonable noise levels. Some even carve out specific blocks of time when residents must follow quiet hours. Each area has its own set of rules. Furthermore, many locations’ noise ordinances prohibit the prolonged use of noise levels above specific decibels.
So, if you call the police, they may come by to check the loud resident’s compliance. They can do this by placing decibel meters on the person’s property lines and gathering meter readings. In that vein, you can ask the police to enforce local noise ordinances.
Making the move to call the police could instigate a lot of discord between you and your neighbor. Because of this, be certain your problem merits the seriousness of involving law enforcement in your dispute.
Renters can contact their landlords to address this issue. Again, doing this means you’re getting a third party in the middle of your dispute, so tread carefully.
That said, you are entitled to the “quiet enjoyment of the premises” under many lease agreements. Loud neighbors can impact this “quiet enjoyment.”
Furthermore, one of your tenant’s rights is to contact your property management company or landlord to address the issue. You can file a noise complaint with them. From there, your landlord or property manager will use their protocol to handle your noisy neighbors.
Note that your property manager or landlord will have little say over your neighbor’s behavior if they don’t own your neighbor’s property. For example, if another property management company owns the offending nearby building, your property manager is not allowed to intervene in your neighbor’s actions.
Let Your Property Manager Handle Noisy Neighbors
You can tackle your problems with loud neighbors with a concrete strategy. First, you can start by having a brief, cordial talk (or talks) with your neighbor about the problem. If that doesn’t work, you could try mediation. Next, if that doesn’t do it and the problem is urgent, you can get your property manager, landlord, or even the police involved.
If you need a property manager who will advocate for you, we can help. Our property managers understand how much loud neighbors impact your well-being.
After all, your life is already chaotic—an assault on your senses at 3 am is the last thing you need. They will work tirelessly to figure out solutions that work for everyone involved. So, contact us today to live in a community where your property manager truly cares.
