I have a tenant in an apartment and they are having problems with the family living underneath - essentially 2 boys playing on video games until the early hours of the morning and making lots of noise. If my tenants knock on the door, nobody answers and it carries on - they suspect the children are being left by themselves overnight. I have told the management company who passed the complaint to the family which seems to have aggravated the situation in causing a big argument. My tenants are two months into a six month contract.
Who has responsibility to deal with noise, me or my tenant?
What is the best way to deal with it - management company, police, council?
I suspect my tenants are going to want to end the tenancy early, do they have any right to do this?
Any advice welcome.
Thanks
Its the tenants responsibility to deal with the noise problem, although it may become yours if and when they leave. They have no right to end the contract early but if its a regular fixed term tenancy, then they can leave on the last day without notice.
I agree with David.
I have a note on file that may concern you: "If it is to do with noise, you (the tenant in this case) can get the council involved. But be aware the complaint will go on record and may make it harder to sell the house."
The advice I have on file to pass to your tenant is as follows:
Citizens Advice Bureau (citizensadvice.org.uk) can help with neighbour disputes, although whether and how much it gets involved depends on the issue and individual’s circumstances. For its online guide to neighbour disputes, visit adviceguide.org.uk.