I’m looking for advice about my tenancy situation.
I moved into a new flat yesterday on a 6-month assured shorthold tenancy, having paid all 6 months rent in advance. However, I’ve already moved back to my old place as I find the flat unlivable due to noise. The ceiling is paper-thin, and I can hear every movement and conversation from the upstairs neighbours.
As someone who is autistic and highly sensitive to external noise, living there is not feasible for me, and I would not have rented the flat had I known about this issue. Unfortunately, the tenancy agreement does not include a break clause.
Is there any way to cancel the agreement and recover some or all of the rent I’ve paid?
You could try negotiation, but if that fails, ask the local environmental health officer to inspect and measure the noise. If it is at a level considered a hazard, you might have a case to unwind the tenancy and get your money back, but you only have 90 days to do that and only 30 to get a full refund.
As someone.who is autistic and highly sensitive to external noise (your exact words) YOU should have checked these things before agreeing to let did you view did you explain to the landlord and ask could you visit again at a different time (possibly when people are home from work/school)
If it is that serious (and i am in no way doubting that it is) then.the onus is on YOU to check
I’m afraid the high court have ruled in this situation and it favours the landlord and not the tenant
They have stipulated that they are not going to mandate sound proofing as it’s too costly.
This is regular noise ( babies crying , walking on floors etc etc ) and you are sensitive due to your diagnosis .
I had a tenant in a similar situation who complained about his housemates noise but I showed him the high court ruling and that was the end of it