I had the same problem in a condo in Paulus Hook. The place looked nice, but excessive noise from tenants above (and a major bug problem!).Luckily I was renting and able to break the lease. However, the people who moved in after me paid almost 600K! They moved less than a year later. After that experience, I made a vow to never buy a condo/coop unless I live on top floor.

Thanks, everyone for your advice & suggestions. I've been in touch not only with the guys upstairs, but with the managing agent (and am getting more involved with the Board on this an other issues). I also did some research of my own, and wanted to share a good resource I discovered - http://njcooperator.com/ - you can sign-up for e-mail as well as print subscriptions, and there are articles about practically everything related to living in a condo!

www taobao com sells an anti upper floor noise device for around $50.

Attach it to your bedroom ceiling (also their bedroom), turn it on at precisely 3:17 am for 3 days. Your problem will be resolved on the 4th day.

Was there ever a tenant that was tolerable upstairs from you? It may be due to the construction of the building. I had a similar problem at a condo I bought a while back and there was little I could do other than sell it and move. Painful lesson learned: if the building is not steel and concrete don't buy anything but the top floor!

It's important that you also involve the owner of the unit in the resolution of your complaint. In our building, nothing is negotiated with a tenant without the involvement of the owner. This has allowed us to move collectively toward advocating for everyone's quality of life.

As it pertains to documentation, our master deed and by-laws state that our board is obligated to provide guidelines to protect quality of life, including (if appropriate) the installation of flooring to limit sound between floors.

As it pertains to our House Rules (in which we further document acceptable behaviors), we incorporate the following:

1. Definition of noise by decibels.

2. Designation of "quiet hours" from 10pm to 7am (weekdays) and 10pm to 9am (weekends).

3. Recognition of the unit owner(s) responsibility to promptly address quality of life issues that arise between neighbors. Failure to do so carries warnings and increasingly higher fines.

4. Recognition of the owner and their tenant (during their onboarding) that the tenant has a copy of our House Rules and will comply or risk having a fine passed to their owner.

5. Recognition by the owner and tenant that a repeated failure to conform to House Rules will result in not only higher fines but a request to remove them from residency. There are also restrictions placed on any amenities such as parking, storage, etc.

Most of our situations are resolved without the board, or with limited oversight to ensure conclusion. If you come out of the gate with an acknowledgement that everyone is entitled to reasonable quality of life, and you outline a reasonable framework, the situations over time begin to resolve themselves in short order.

We have also considered a rider to the tenant's lease but find it an administrative burden and have opted for our current framework.

Noise also has an impact on real / perceived property value. The best home is a dungeon if you must battle for simple quality of life issues.

Hope this helps.

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lulwut

Have some confidence in yourself when the noise is going on and kindly introduce yourself, invite them into your unit so they can experience the situation themself.

I once had an issue with a neighbor that placed speakers right against against the common wall our units had. After he understood the impact of the vibrating walls, he moved the speakers to a different spot while playing at similar volumes with no issue.

Some people are just a--holes but if you approach the situation in a reasonable way, you might easily work something out...

1. Write a polite letter to the tenants explaining how they are reducing your quality of life via noise - Let it be know to them that every neighbor is affected and aware of the noise, while some remain silent, you are not.
2. Ensue it's an anonymous letter for your own security and if you make contact with the tenant, politely explain that yes the noise is an issue, but you are unaware of any letter ... you would be perceived as one of the neighbors remaining silent.
3. Explain in the letter that you understand that young people need to 'let off steam', however it should NOT be at the cost of your neighbors.
4. Explain that you will be contacting the Police in future to curtail the unwanted anti-social, anti-neighbor behavior EVERY TIME it occurs and that if they are having a 'party' that they notify ALL neighbors of when and what time it will occur ... this is called being respectful and neighborly.
5. Explain that you will also contact the estate agents and landlord, if voluntary compliance to neighborly social behavior is not maintained.

This mighten be a 'silver bullet' to your problem, but it might be an option to vent your frustration to help mitigate the problem.

Happy to be #1 on your list

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In all the years of reading you might be my favorite of all, Scarecrow.

You're super "conservative", right?

If these "young men" are yuppie frat boys by the name of Francis and Chad, remember that their LAX coach made them answer questions loudly, and they just can't help it.



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OMG You really need help.

You're super "progressive," right?

If these "young men" are people of color, remember that society made them act this way, and they just can't help it.

I think you need to approach the condo board and management company and find out what is in your bylaws about noise and carpet coverage. There should be a written procedure on how to approach these situations.

In my condo, it is mandated that 2/3 of all floors must have noise abating coverage (ie; carpeting, etc). The condo management can ask to see if that is actually occurring by entering your home.

There is a written policy for noise, carpet coverage, etc. and a hearing/covenants board if tenants are breaking rules. Fines are imposed in certain situations.

It's important for you to keep a log of when these disturbances are happening and record violations. If you have to become the squeaky wheel, so be it. Any correspondence should be written and you need to keep this on hand/organized.

Unless the neighbors above are having a rager, try avoiding calling the police. Try all other avenues first. Good luck and let us know how it works out!

There are no short cuts to solving this problem. First, I would write a letter to the tenant about the sound, if it continues, call the police. Also, if there is a condo board, I would also contact them.

I own in a condo which, like many, has no restrictions on purchasing for investments or owners renting their units out. The unit upstairs from me has been rented out since I moved in, and I'm at my wits in with the latest group - loud music, bouncing balls, and - by the sounds of it - jumping off furniture! - as late after "quiet hours", sometimes as late as 3:30am.

I go up each time, they respond and stop it politely enough, but the situation doesn't change. The first couple had a child with developmental disabilities, currently there are young guys. I hate to call the police (North District, in the Heights) but I need to start getting this situation under control and would appreciate advice how to go about that effectively.

Also appreciated would be any practical changes our condo association and management could enforce - requiring use of a standard lease, copy the management on leases, increasing penalties including mandating certain fixes (new flooring with soundproof underlayment?) for repeat offending owners?

Thanks, all!