Tenant Noise Complaint

[Doug Johnson]

BP Family, 

What is your recommendation with dealing with a noise complaint between tenants in a small multi family property (triplex)? 

Situation:

Tenant 1 is using a ceiling fan that Tenant 2 can hear during the night. Tenant 1 compromised with a small portable fan near his bed but Tenant 2 can still hear fan. 

How would you handle?


Thanks!

[Taylor L.]

Either one of those has got to be an incredibly low dB level. The fan tenant doesn't seem to be making unreasonable or excessive amounts of noise.

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

They are most likely hearing noise from a fan that is out of balance and wobbling. Replace or re-balance the fan. If this is a conversion unit, replace hollow core doors between the units with solid, or take other steps to deaden sound transmission. Similarly, if the walls are plain T&G, with no airspace between the units, add sheetrock to one of both sides of the shared wallspace.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Doug Johnson:

Ceiling fans are usually almost impossible to hear, even standing directly beneath them. I would find out why this one is making noise and fix it or replace it. 

Any time there are adjoining units, I warn people heavily about noise traveling between units. I warn them when showing, I warn again when signing the lease and give them suggestions for how to remain quiet or cope with noisy neighbors. 

[Cj Koch]

Hey Doug, sounds like a tough one bc at this point, Tenant 2 is going to be extra sensitive to any noise. It sounds like you should consider insulating & creating better separation between the units during your next tenant turnaround but obviously that's not going to help you now. So I'd suggest offering to buy Tenant 2 a white noise machine or something like that to show good faith, I mean outside of making physical repairs while they're living there, what more can you do - maybe a fan ban throughout all units? Lol...

[Doug Johnson]

@Taylor L. - Yes, we did tests as well and the noise level is very minimal.

[Doug Johnson]

@Richard F. - The fan is not out of balance or wobbling. We did some tests and the noise is very minimal. Tenant 2 recommended to offer his fan that does not offer any noise so this could be a solution. 

I may just purchase the same fan for Tenant 1

[Doug Johnson]

@Nathan Gesner - I tested the fan with all tenants present and I could barely hear the fan. It does create a small hum but nothing major to replace equipment. 

Good idea about highlighting potential noise especially in small multi family properties!

[Doug Johnson]

@Cj Koch - I agree, tenant 2 might be testing the limits to see how much he can get away with. We ran fan tests together and it was extremely hard to hear

I think I might invest in white noise machine for tenant 2 though - good idea!

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks for your help @Taylor L., @Richard F., @Nathan Gesner & @Cj Koch!

[Matt Bishop]

@Doug Johnson, build that wall!

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks for the advice @Matt Bishop

[Andrew S.]

I agree with others that a properly installed and functioning ceiling fan will be impossible to hear in a neighboring room.  Let alone a neighboring unit.

However, old/worn ceiling fans can generate a hum (and you described hearing the hum) that some people are more sensitive to than others.  That hum can travel through the ceiling studs and rafters, so it is possible that the neighbor really does hear it, even if it doesn’t seem that loud.  The best fix is to replace the ceiling fan.  They are not expensive (although I will say that the dirt cheap ones tend to have more hum issues, so skip the $50 ones at Walmart) and easy to swap.

Did you try to run the fan at different speeds?  Sometimes the hum disappears at higher speeds, but not always.

Personally, I am quite sensitive to ceiling fan hum, so I can empathize with tenant 2.  I recommend spending a couple of hundred bucks and fixing it.

[Eliott Elias]

I personally wouldn’t jump in, in this situation

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks for the advice @Andrew S. ! I did try the fan at different speed levels and noticed the hum in the upstairs unit only very minimal at the highest speed - the hum dropped off more when the speed decreased. I had to put my ear to the ground to even hear the initial hum to put this into perspective lol 

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks @Eliott Elias! I wanted to be apart to mediate just in case