We live in an old house (1890) that has been converted into flats, and the noise from the flat above is quite intrusive at times. We can hear footsteps, voices, items being dropped on the floor etc. We have addressed the problem with our new neighbours by letter and things have improved a little. The issue is that the flat is rented so the problem doesn't feel like it will ever go away. Barring expensive insulation solutions is there anything we can do to lessen the noise?
Start by checking the property's history
If the building above you was converted into flats after you were already living there, it is worth finding out whether planning permission was granted for the work. You can check this through your local council's planning portal, which keeps records of applications and decisions.
When a house is converted into multiple flats, building regulations require certain standards of sound insulation between units under the Building Regulations 2010, Part E. If permission was granted with conditions about soundproofing, the conversion may not have been carried out properly. This could give you grounds to raise the matter with the council's building control department.
Even if the conversion happened long ago or the soundproofing meets minimum standards, you still have options.
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In many noise disputes, the people causing the problem have no idea they are doing so. Footsteps, music or general movement can carry through floors in ways that are not obvious from inside the flat above.
A calm, direct conversation can often help resolve issues quickly. Explain what you can hear and when it happens. Most people will be willing to make adjustments once they understand the impact. They may not realise how sound travels in the building, or they might be unaware of specific habits that cause the most disturbance.
Keep the tone practical rather than confrontational. You are more likely to reach an agreement if the conversation stays friendly.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Put your concerns in writing
If speaking directly does not work, or if the problem returns, you may need to put your complaint in writing. A letter creates a clear record of when you raised the issue and what you asked for.
Be specific about the type of noise, the times it occurs, and how it affects you. Keep copies of everything you send. If the situation escalates later, this written trail will support any formal complaints.
Should the flat above be rented, it may be helpful to speak to the landlord or letting agent directly. Where a tenancy agreement includes clauses about not causing disturbance, landlords may be held accountable if those terms are breached. Many will intervene to avoid further complaints.
While pursuing other avenues, consider whether soundproofing within your own flat might provide some relief. Carpets, rugs and acoustic panels can reduce the impact of noise from above, even if they do not solve the problem entirely.
When to involve the council
If informal approaches fail, your local council can help. Environmental health teams deal with noise complaints and have legal powers to investigate.
They may ask you to keep a diary of incidents over several weeks. This helps them assess whether the noise amounts to a statutory nuisance. If they determine that it does, they can issue an Abatement Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, requiring the noise to stop.
Councils can also take action where noise breaches specific bylaws or regulations. The process takes time, but it provides a formal route when other methods have not worked.
For guidance on what councils can do about noise complaints, see the information on GOV.UK or contact your local authority directly. It is worth checking for recent updates, as procedures and enforcement powers can change.
Mediation is another option worth considering. Local community mediation schemes can help neighbours reach agreements without the stress or cost of legal action. This works best when both parties are willing to engage.
Just wanted to clarify - if the Housing Ombudsman has upheld your complaint, then why haven’t Clarion fitted the above flat with soundproofed underlay & thick carpet? If they’ve refused to do anything; return back to the Housing Ombudsman. You can also ask Clarion for a surveyor inspection so they can determine whether the noise is structural or insulation related (or ASB) & then they should come up with a solution which could mean to soundproof your ceiling with panels which would eliminate the noise.
Unfortunately you have to keep fighting & emailing before things actually get done. I hope this is helpful & i feel your pain. We’ve also had a fight on our hands with tenants installing hard floors when living above someone despite tenancy agreements stating this would not be allowed & the landlords are negligent in upholding & enforcing their own policies.
Who’s the head of Housing for Clarion? Don’t keep emailing your Housing Officer exclusively - start copying in their managers also because Housing Officers have a tendency to keep things hush-hush until things really explode
Landlord(Clarion) refuses to address antisocial behaviour from tenant above me for over 18 years. Told they recently fitted carpet paid for by the Housing Association, but I can still hear dragging. I'm disabled living with Chronic Pain after Seven major surgeries for Congenital Scoliosis, amongst other illnesses.
My MP, Shelter and the Police have been involved but nobody is getting anywhere. This is destroying my life and exacerbating my pain. I have countless evidence of his behaviour and noise, Police references, endless Complaints to Clarion and the Ombudsman who upheld my Complaint, etc. He was given an ASB Warning in December 2023 and a Community Protection Warning January 2025. All of this Clarion are aware of and still do nothing. The Police visited me again yesterday (5.7.25) to hear more of the recordings post "carpet installation" and went to visit him to give him one more Warning before issuing him with a CPN. The Neighbourhood Response Officer told the Police they have "invested quite a lot on the carpet". Yet nobody has been to inspect the alleged installation, and I can still hear dragging as I type this. Clarion seem to have made every excuse not to actually deal with the problem, but make me out to be the issue.
The Ombudsman suggested either appropriate carpet with sufficient soundproofing in the flat above be fitted, Soundproofing or Rehouse me. They went for option three in March which I turned down as it was very unsuitable to my needs and did not have outside space which was agreed. Yet they refuse to deal with the actual problem, which is Flat 3 and his family.
It has been established that he broke the Tenancy Agreement by having flooring above ground floor. And he doesn’t start cleaning and dragging heavy furniture until after 10.30pm and that literally goes on all night, on and off. My camera records it all and I have thousands of recordings on my phone and other recording equipment I’ve been forced to buy over the years. This has affected to many aspects of my life, and right now, threatening the one person I have around me to go. My health is very bad, especially my spine. I can’t afford to keep going through all this stress every day for over 18 years now. Please help.
My advise is keep fighting for your rights I'm not going to stop fighting my corner .my teplyed to my housing is when IV had an heart attack or become very ill due to this what then
Some housing because they not living it .so people are just selfish and it will catch up with them in the end
Here’s my advice which won’t be helpful to everyone but it’s the only way i’ve rescued my sanity & given us peace & quiet. Get noisy. Stomp around, bang cabinets & slam doors. Don’t stop even if the neighbours go quiet. Turn up the TV loudly. If you don’t get peace - nor should they. Make it a part of your new lifestyle. You’re the noisy neighbour now also.
Your neighbours will get louder. They’ll retaliate. Keep going. Don’t let their intimidation stop you. Be noisy when you know they’re watching TV & relaxing. And then they’ll go quiet. That’s when you stop.
You now have the upper hand. They now know the consequences. Let them complain because you’re also making “living noises”. I’m so sorry it comes down to this but without the law helping us & social landlords not enforcing flooring rules - this has been the only option for my family. It’s saved our mental health. Claim your space & home. I wish you genuine success & an abundance of peace ??
I have previously asked them to soundproof the floor, as I paid out thousands to soundproof my ceiling after they moved in and the noise was too much but because of the construction of the building, it did very little to cut out their noise. They have done nothing - it's not that hard to put down the thickest underlay and carpets to sort the worst of this problem and I know they can afford it, but they prefer to make my life a misery. Oh and I forgot to say, they are also now running their washing machine after 10.00 pm!!!
I cannot get any help from the local council or environmental health despite requests to them. Any advice would be much appreciated.
It's innevitably a problem that does'nt go away until someone moves out or measures are taken to prevent the impact of noise transferred. Laminated flooring should be banned from the equation as it elevates noises and echoes so you dont just hear it you can feel it. Its a massive problem that effects so many peoples lives in Detremental ways.
Asb goes hand in hand with this problem also as its a knock on effect of dealing with disturbances from inadequate living conditions.
Nobody deserves to have their peace consistently determined by someone elses life & actions.
Its an absolute nightmare!! God give me strength to win the war!??
I’ve moved from one unbelievably noisy property where the neighbour above deliberately used to jump & stomp all hours of the day & night to another where the neighbours above stomp, bang cabinets, slam doors from 5am-1am.. I’ve been recording nonstop to provide evidence to the council & landlord. I don’t understand how some people need such little sleep…
I’ve a disabled elderly parent & an autistic teen who both get awoken every morning & are left to plug their ears during the day… it’s a prison.
My advice is to hound your landlord if you’re in social housing & approach the Housing Ombudsman if things are left unresolved.
Private renters - I’m heartbroken in saying there isn’t anything that can be done apart from approaching your local MP. If a lot of us do it - they might introduce legal requirements retroactively in floor coverings in flats. If we take the example of the XL Bully situation which is extreme - they’ve introduced urgently legislation that will ban the breed…
The amount of people who LOVE hard floors
above someone else’s home is frankly disgusting…
I’m sending positive vibes to everyone & wish everyone peace & harmony in their homes
Try to find a friendly agreement, share costs ….
Amazon has some products. Careful with the NOT fireproof items.
Maybe council can have a look with those living in social
Children over 10 of the opposite shouldn’t be sharing same room, as it’s overcrowding. Talk to your council ! If you
Check the local laws and regulations on and shelter. org
Download decibel better on your phone , also/ record with video, take the cover from your phone so it doesn’t get in the way or the microphone…be very quiet , put the phone on the top of a table , fridge … and record it. Send the videos to your environment health department.
Social media helps too. Be sure not to give informations unnecessary- names , address .. etc
I really don't know what to do I have complained but I still don't get help for this.
My mentally ill neighbour liked to play his music loud all through the night, he doesn't work, but I do. After repeatedly asking him to turn it down, I reported him to the council and that is when my troubles began. He started stamping hard on the floor when I was boiling a kettle, stamping hard on the floor when I used the toilet, and when I put the key in the door when my cat was playing with a paper bag on the floor. Obviously, it shows just how poor the insulation is but this individual is very disturbed. I started banging back. Every time, he stamped hard on his floor, causing a loud thud on my ceiling, I would go to the kitchen and slam the door several times. I started recording him on my mobile and eventually after 44 complaints made to the council who did sweet FA. I lodged a formal complaint against the council cos they were not doing their job. They listened to the recordings and said it was intimidation and they got him to stop doing it. Then he started moving his furniture at 3 am in the morning, who does that? The environmental team put a recording device in my flat but had to tell him it was there.DOH Obviously, he kept quiet for the 3 weeks the device was installed. So the council said, it's daily living noise, but as I said, he can hear everything in my flat, he heard the guy putting the device in place for christ's sake. He then went into the communal garden and hacked my beautiful shrub down and then he put an animal trap in the garden ( I have a cat) When I reported him to the police, the officer said " what do you want us to do about it" "He is mental". I said, so you are saying you won't do anything until he sticks a knife in me. Still, he no longer plays any music in his flat at all. What I have learned about myself through the past 3 years with this swine living above me is that I am tougher than I thought I was. I match him every step of the way. Everyone says I should move, but when the f**k should I move, it is him that needs moving out. A tip for anyone out there if you have a mentally ill individual as your neighbour, beware, as they can make your life a misery and you are on your own with it. Things have greatly improved for me but that is because I have stood my ground and I I have made a complaint every single time, I pester the police, the environmental team and the council. I would advise anyone who is having a neighbour deliberately stamping on the ceiling to disturb them to make sure you have the voice recorder on the play as that is proof if you can get a recording.......These councils are responsible as they did not consider paying out to insulate homes, they were just interested in making more money If I thought I could take the council to court to make them pay for the distress their poor insulation homes have caused I would.
I have lived here since 2009 and I was happy, then a foreign man with 2young girls bought the flat above mine about 3yrs ago… and my life has been a misery since.
He owns his flat and I am a council tenant.
Morning noon and night for 14/18 months I am subjected to THUMPING on his floor - my ceiling!
The rhythmic THUMPING happens at any time (6am 2pm 8pm); and sometimes lasts 1-4hrs, maybe 2 or 3 times a day!
It scares my cat (MY COMPANY), into hiding and stops me sleeping or wakes me up!
I am at my wits end, it is making me (and my cat) sick and very uptight and anxious!
I have mentioned my issue with the owner for nearly 1yr now - yet he ignores my pleas for him to stop!
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