Tweet
Hi i posted this yesterday in the court section apologies if this is bad forum etiquette to repost here. i'm just desperate for a steer. brief overview below. longer version also for anyone who wants more detail.
overview:
i live in a leasehold flat. its small - two bedrooms. there are two other flats above us. we are being haraassed by one or both of people in the flat directly above us. Aa large majority of the harassment is through impact noise and following us around as we move about the flat. but we have also been physically attacked me once and partner twice. i have two witnesses a friend witnessed the stopming and the neighbour at the top of the building contacted me on whatsap to ask about a blow overhead - my friend was also a witness on this occasion. we have reports that we have made to the police. in addition one of the physical attacks was going to court but the case was dismissed due to an error on the police's side - still not sure what it was as it wasnt disclosed...
longer version:
i am not complaining about the sound of their everyday living - i am very aware that we live in a flat and therefore to complain about people above us making noise as they go about their daily lives would be unreasonable.
the harassment we experience involves thudding bangs and blows to the ceiling that are so hard that i have felt the vibration of their impact through my body or my childen have been frightened to tears as the bangs penetrate their evening/bedtimes. the noise feels intentional and my children a often frightened by it - it feels/souds aggresive.
we are also often followed around as we move around our home. again i recognise that we are in a small flat but so there will be times when the people above will be in the corresponding part of their home that is above where ever we are at the same time at some points. again i am not unreasonable and that fact is why it has taken us so long to realise that we were being harassed. typically someone in the flat above will stamp directly overhead and walk into the room above the room we have walked into and then leave at the same time as wel leave this often happens all day - one of the people that lives int he flat doesnt work and i work from home/ am loooking after the children most of the time. regularly at around 3am i am woken by a bang to the ceiling over head where im sleeping this sometimes happens 5/6 nights a week i now wear headphones to bed which hurt so that i can sleep. we used to have success playing white noise at high levels it drowns out the sound of stomping but doesnt help with the direct impact sound of loud direct blows overhead.
the noise harassment also seems coordinated with our down/quiet times - eating, relaxing together in the lounge. getting ready for bed/sleeping or working from home. it is very upsetting at one point i was so low struggling with the sound of loud bangs outside of the home that i sought the help of hypnotherapy.
over the years we have take steps to try to limit the noise. we have soundproofed by installing a suspended ceiling, acoustic wool, a soundproofing membrane, and soundproof plasterboard. we only have two rooms left to do. we assumed the soundproofing would improve things but it feels like it made them 'angrier'. in my opinion it is a success. we can no longer hear them sneeezing (like loud screams) and grunting which we would have to put up with for most evenings. we used to be able to hear them talking clearly not much muffling at all. now it is only in the kitchen where we can sometimes hear talking as it;s not spundproofed. in our lounge we would hear the microwave door being slammed, the sound of rifling through the cuttlery draw etc. (all i may add i feel are reasonable noises to hear if you live in a poorly insulated flat)
over the years we have asked them to address the excessive noise i.e. banging and thudding particularly around the children;s bedtimes and around the children in general. each time they have refused and we have seen an uptick in activity and realised that they were targeting certain times. the son of the owner of the flat also took it as an opportunity to start texting me i feel this is harassment but becasue there was no sexual or violent content enclosed and i hadnt replied asking him to stop the police said the couldnt help.
in additon to the noise harassment and following which happpens every single day. the son of the owner of the flat upstairs has assaulted my partner - punched him to the ground out of the blue - after i decided two years prior we'd be better off just not engaging with them and ignoring them.
around two years after he attacked my partner the son has also attacked me after coming to our font door in the early horus of the morning and kicking and banging it i opened it thinkingit was an emergency and someone i knew. my children were screaming and crying in their beds. the day after that as i rushed to the dentist i turned to also find him following me i had been frightened for a long time nby that oint worried that i would be attacked leaving my home (before soundproofing the son would frequently come running out of his property and leave at exatly the same time as i was leaving mine). most recently when me and my partner absloutely desperate to get them to leave us alone, after the police and council said they wouldnt help us, the son kicked me in my stomach after i stood waiting for them to answer the door when i rang their bell to ask tehm to stop banging. then on aanother occasion recently my partner went to ask them to stop as the chldren were frightened and couldnt hear their bedtime story because the banging was so bad the son beat my partner with the buckle end of a belt. after that incident i noticed that as soon as my partner left for work in the morning the son imediately came down the stoes from his flat and started walking quickly after my partner i calle dmy partner - afraid that he would be attacked.
we have tried so many times to resolve this ourselves, with the help of the council and reporting each viloent incident to the police. we have worked tirelessy to gather evidence recordings and keeping diaries of the following and noise hrarssment. but no one will help us. the council said the dont helpw ith impact noise even though we have eplained that we have soundporrfed and are not complaining abot ordinary noises of living.
we own our flat and they own theirs. our two small children are being impacted my son is afraid to be in a room by himself and my daughter is tfrequently distrubed while sleeping and has been upset at school as a direct result. we can not afford to move and i dont want to we live a few minutes walk from my childrens' school and cross rail which really helps me to stay in my job in the city and still look after the kids.
we desperately need this to stop and im worried about the impact the harassment is having on my job and my family's wellbeing. is this omething that can be fast tracked through small claims or do i need apply to the court under one of the other acts?
any guidance would be super appreciated.
overview:
i live in a leasehold flat. its small - two bedrooms. there are two other flats above us. we are being haraassed by one or both of people in the flat directly above us. Aa large majority of the harassment is through impact noise and following us around as we move about the flat. but we have also been physically attacked me once and partner twice. i have two witnesses a friend witnessed the stopming and the neighbour at the top of the building contacted me on whatsap to ask about a blow overhead - my friend was also a witness on this occasion. we have reports that we have made to the police. in addition one of the physical attacks was going to court but the case was dismissed due to an error on the police's side - still not sure what it was as it wasnt disclosed...
longer version:
i am not complaining about the sound of their everyday living - i am very aware that we live in a flat and therefore to complain about people above us making noise as they go about their daily lives would be unreasonable.
the harassment we experience involves thudding bangs and blows to the ceiling that are so hard that i have felt the vibration of their impact through my body or my childen have been frightened to tears as the bangs penetrate their evening/bedtimes. the noise feels intentional and my children a often frightened by it - it feels/souds aggresive.
we are also often followed around as we move around our home. again i recognise that we are in a small flat but so there will be times when the people above will be in the corresponding part of their home that is above where ever we are at the same time at some points. again i am not unreasonable and that fact is why it has taken us so long to realise that we were being harassed. typically someone in the flat above will stamp directly overhead and walk into the room above the room we have walked into and then leave at the same time as wel leave this often happens all day - one of the people that lives int he flat doesnt work and i work from home/ am loooking after the children most of the time. regularly at around 3am i am woken by a bang to the ceiling over head where im sleeping this sometimes happens 5/6 nights a week i now wear headphones to bed which hurt so that i can sleep. we used to have success playing white noise at high levels it drowns out the sound of stomping but doesnt help with the direct impact sound of loud direct blows overhead.
the noise harassment also seems coordinated with our down/quiet times - eating, relaxing together in the lounge. getting ready for bed/sleeping or working from home. it is very upsetting at one point i was so low struggling with the sound of loud bangs outside of the home that i sought the help of hypnotherapy.
over the years we have take steps to try to limit the noise. we have soundproofed by installing a suspended ceiling, acoustic wool, a soundproofing membrane, and soundproof plasterboard. we only have two rooms left to do. we assumed the soundproofing would improve things but it feels like it made them 'angrier'. in my opinion it is a success. we can no longer hear them sneeezing (like loud screams) and grunting which we would have to put up with for most evenings. we used to be able to hear them talking clearly not much muffling at all. now it is only in the kitchen where we can sometimes hear talking as it;s not spundproofed. in our lounge we would hear the microwave door being slammed, the sound of rifling through the cuttlery draw etc. (all i may add i feel are reasonable noises to hear if you live in a poorly insulated flat)
over the years we have asked them to address the excessive noise i.e. banging and thudding particularly around the children;s bedtimes and around the children in general. each time they have refused and we have seen an uptick in activity and realised that they were targeting certain times. the son of the owner of the flat also took it as an opportunity to start texting me i feel this is harassment but becasue there was no sexual or violent content enclosed and i hadnt replied asking him to stop the police said the couldnt help.
in additon to the noise harassment and following which happpens every single day. the son of the owner of the flat upstairs has assaulted my partner - punched him to the ground out of the blue - after i decided two years prior we'd be better off just not engaging with them and ignoring them.
around two years after he attacked my partner the son has also attacked me after coming to our font door in the early horus of the morning and kicking and banging it i opened it thinkingit was an emergency and someone i knew. my children were screaming and crying in their beds. the day after that as i rushed to the dentist i turned to also find him following me i had been frightened for a long time nby that oint worried that i would be attacked leaving my home (before soundproofing the son would frequently come running out of his property and leave at exatly the same time as i was leaving mine). most recently when me and my partner absloutely desperate to get them to leave us alone, after the police and council said they wouldnt help us, the son kicked me in my stomach after i stood waiting for them to answer the door when i rang their bell to ask tehm to stop banging. then on aanother occasion recently my partner went to ask them to stop as the chldren were frightened and couldnt hear their bedtime story because the banging was so bad the son beat my partner with the buckle end of a belt. after that incident i noticed that as soon as my partner left for work in the morning the son imediately came down the stoes from his flat and started walking quickly after my partner i calle dmy partner - afraid that he would be attacked.
we have tried so many times to resolve this ourselves, with the help of the council and reporting each viloent incident to the police. we have worked tirelessy to gather evidence recordings and keeping diaries of the following and noise hrarssment. but no one will help us. the council said the dont helpw ith impact noise even though we have eplained that we have soundporrfed and are not complaining abot ordinary noises of living.
we own our flat and they own theirs. our two small children are being impacted my son is afraid to be in a room by himself and my daughter is tfrequently distrubed while sleeping and has been upset at school as a direct result. we can not afford to move and i dont want to we live a few minutes walk from my childrens' school and cross rail which really helps me to stay in my job in the city and still look after the kids.
we desperately need this to stop and im worried about the impact the harassment is having on my job and my family's wellbeing. is this omething that can be fast tracked through small claims or do i need apply to the court under one of the other acts?
any guidance would be super appreciated.
Comment