September 2020

You’ve turned your apartment into a beautiful place to live, everything is great, and then a noisy neighbor upsets the balance and disturbs the peace. When dealing with noisy neighbors, the ultimate goal is to find a way to coexist and maintain a respectful relationship. Here are multiple solutions to peacefully resolving the situation and avoiding unnecessary conflict.

Connect With Your Neighbor  

If you’re living in a shared space with adjoining walls, it’s understandable that you may hear others’ footsteps and music from time to time. And, if you’ve never mentioned your concerns to your neighbor, they probably don’t know that they’re bothering you. Choose the high road by connecting with your neighbor first and expressing your concerns in a polite and concise manner. Write them a note or knock on their door at a time when you’re calm and collected.

Find a Compromise

Be specific about your request by letting them know how your life is being affected by excess noise. Are you losing sleep or study time? Has it become increasingly difficult to work from home? It will be easier to find a compromise if both parties understand the extent of the issue. Approach the conversation with solutions in mind, like exchanging phone numbers so you can text each other when things get too loud, or work out a schedule of quiet hours.

Add White Noise

Even if your neighbors aren’t blasting music or stomping around their apartment, living in close proximity to others can sometimes make it difficult to sleep, work, or read in peace. Invest in earplugs for the nights that you need some solid rest. Try noise-cancelling headphones for those important work-from-home meetings, or download a “white noise” app on your phone and connect it to your speakers to drown out any external noise. For people who would prefer to avoid confrontation, these ideas can provide a quick fix.

Talk to the VIDA Leasing Office

Hopefully a respectful conversation with your neighbor resolves your noise issues, but if not, you should contact the leasing office. All VIDA residents sign a lease agreement that specifies both residents and guests conduct themselves in a manner that does not disturb their neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the community or constitute a nuisance. Quiet hours are from 10:00pm to 8:00am, but residents should be respectful of their neighbors at all times. If you provide specifics on the issue, the leasing office will reach out to your neighbor to address your complaint and you will remain anonymous.

A Note About Smoking

While smoking isn’t noisy, we do receive complaints about people smoking in the building and it traveling to neighboring units. As a reminder, VIDA apartments and townhomes are smoke-free buildings. Smoking of any kind, including cigarettes, pipes, vaping devices, and non-tobacco substances is prohibited.