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Flat upstairs playing music most nights past 11pm

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice regarding university-provided accommodation. The flat above mine has been playing music past midnight (as in, it often doesn't start until 12am/1am/2am and then just pops up for an hour) for a number of weeks now and I contacted Pollock Halls security about it.

The first time, last semester, I got a response from them and they came right round to my flat at 11.30pm a little while after I emailed them and were very friendly and helpful, reporting that they had checked the upstairs flat (from the outside) and no music was playing (by the time they came it happened to have stopped so they didn't hear it after all).

A few weeks ago, when I contacted them for the second time after it persisted, they came round, but at this time, I was in the bathroom and couldn't get to the door so my flatmate got it and turned them away, thinking that no one had reported the noise upstairs to them when they asked about it.

As for the few more emails I've sent their way since, they haven't responded. I do feel quite bad for contacting them more than once, let alone the number of times I have - it's just so frustrating not being able to get to sleep/being woken up by this base rhythm or that constant rapping, and I doubt they're unaware they're being so noisy which just makes it all the more upsetting.

So I decided to contact my RA anonymously (it was through Facebook and I didn't want my real name to be linked to my accommodation, because nothing's really private on there) but they haven't got back to me (it has been about 2 weeks since I emailed them).

And so here I am... on TSR past midnight, with free musical accompaniment as I type!

I am lost as to what to do next...

Please could you help me? Have you any ideas? :colondollar:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

lyrical_lie

Hiya I'm a hall subwarden at a different uni, do you have one in your halls? We have an on call mobile that people can text and let us know if anything like that has been happening and we sort it out. If this isn't the case then just keep emailing them. They won't mind it's their job. Also if that's still not working you could always go upstairs and ask them to turn it down a bit?

Original post by Blue_beret

I am lost as to what to do next...

Please could you help me? Have you any ideas? :colondollar:

Reply 2

NotJustAName

This is a common issue and nothing to worry about :smile:

You're not alone and worse can happen :smile:

. Maybe put a note through the person's door? They might not know their making so much noise. Why not talk to your neighbours about the noise and do something collectively about it? You could actually go and talk to security and your RA face to face. Don't feel like you're being annoying. They are there to deal with issues like this and I am pretty sure you're not the only one complaining. Security and RAs enjoy solving issues and this is an easy issue to solve. Why not even go to your SU and discuss the issue? After all, that is what they are there for; helping students. :smile:

Reply 3

ubisoft

Just go directly to the flat of whoever is playing the music and tell them.

Reply 4

Bombay-Tough-Guy

Original post by Blue_beret

I am lost as to what to do next...

Please could you help me? Have you any ideas? :colondollar:

contact your local council Environmental Health Officers , they can enforce laws and service notices with the Police, that will soon shut them up

Reply 5

nearlyheadlessian

Of course, actually knocking on their door at the time and telling them you can't sleep because of the noise is the best thing to do. Doesn't mean it will work though.

A note under their door may be worth it, but otherwise I'd keep up at security. I would phone them and be a great deal more specific. Not least because if it's audible to you then it should be over the phone. I'm afraid that an anonymous message to your RA on Facebook probably won't get a response (when I worked in reslife it wouldn't have) - if you want their help you'll need to ask them properly. Otherwise name and shame the flat / room number in your residence facebook group.

Reply 6

Blue_beret

Thank you for your replies, everyone - they have been both helpful and reassuring.

Original post by lyrical_lie

Yes, we have both a Warden and a Resident Assistant for each flat (by the sound of it, your subwarden equivalent maybe?) I suppose I could take a little trip down to my flat’s RA’s flat and have a word with them but I think I may have created a nice little set-up to an awkward encounter through my message… by the way, I should note that though it was anonymous, I did identify myself somewhat by saying that we met just a few days before when she was taking her recycling out. Though that obviously didn’t do any good…!

Original post by NotJustAName

This is a common issue and nothing to worry about. Maybe put a note through the person's door? They might not know their making so much noise. Why not talk to your neighbours about the noise and do something collectively about it? You could actually go and talk to security and your RA face to face. Don't feel like you're being annoying. They are there to deal with issues like this and I am pretty sure you're not the only one complaining. Security and RAs enjoy solving issues and this is an easy issue to solve. Why not even go to your SU and discuss the issue? After all, that is what they are there for; helping students.

Original post by ubisoft

Just go directly to the flat of whoever is playing the music and tell them.

The trouble with having a word with the flat upstairs is that I cannot identify which of the two directly above ours is behind the noise – I went on two investigative missions up there last semester but they were useless as I could not hear the music from outside either of the two adjacent front doors. It was probably a good thing anyway, though, as I can't imagine confrontation with these residents would do much good - they have sounded quite aggressive at times when I've heard their voices from upstairs. I might give the Security guys a ring, though – my apprehensiveness about phone calls/fear of being thought of as a nuisance have held me back so far in that respect.

Original post by Bombay-Tough-Guy

contact your local council Environmental Health Officers , they can enforce laws and service notices with the Police, that will soon shut them up

Haha yeah, I did look into this although I don’t think the accommodation would appreciate it if I suddenly brought ‘the big guys’ in on them like that, before they had a chance to sort it out themselves. But then I suppose if Security are not replying to my emails…

(Just kidding. If it comes to this, then it comes to this – but only as a last resort I think.)

Original post by nearlyheadlessian

Hmm, well I could but I'm not sure it would work (if I knew which flat it was). If they had contemplated that their music might be disturbing other residents, then in order to avoid this they wouldn’t be playing it loudly at these hours just in case (or at all – they often play it during the day, but I haven’t mentioned this before as I don’t think they’re obliged to keep the noise down before 11pm (please correct me if I am wrong)). Therefore I don’t think there is anything I can say to them that would change their mindset and subsequent music-playing hours.

Ironically I have avoided ringing up Security at night in case I disturb my flat any more than the flat upstairs - that is, if I were to stay in the flat to do it, anyway... Fair enough about the RA message – I suppose sending it anonymously was rather futile. That last sentence sounds a brilliant idea though…

All in all, I think my plan now will be to ring up Security when they’re next playing music upstairs, nipping it in the bud, and then if in the moment I can’t bring myself to, it’ll be straight off to my RA the next day. Thanks again, all :h: