frequent noise complaints about upstairs neighbors

[Drew McLoughlin]

Looking for suggestions in dealing with frequent noise complaints from downstairs tenants about upstairs neighbors. In an early 1970s build quadruplex, nearly all downstairs tenants I've had complain emotionally every few weeks about noise upstairs. Main issue is litte kids upstairs running and playing. One person downstairs works from home; the noise occasionally impacts their work. I live downstairs, and my roommate just moved out largely due to noise from upstairs.

Whenever there is a complaint, I speak with the people upstairs. These are younger kids so I have not given any official noise violations as long as the noise stops once I speak to them. But it keeps happening. Tenants know that noise "after hours" can be grounds for noise violations - which is included in the lease. After hours noise has not been a frequent issue. Unfortunately, a decent amount of noise can be heard through the subfloor from people just walking upstairs. 

One upstairs tenant is extremely irritated and threatening not to renew because they think they need to walk on eggshells and claim to just be just trying to live their life. I generally believe them as I have lived in 3 of the 4 units myself. Doesn't take much to cause noise downstairs.

From a leasing perspective, I restricted the number of people who can live in upstairs units. Hard to tell in an application/ screening who is going to be a busy body... 

Open to soundproofing renovations but don't have much budget at this property. Probably shouldn't have replaced the carpet with LVP in the upstairs bedrooms/ hallway last year (~1000 sq ft)... new carpet could probably be done for around $4k, but not sure it would solve the bigger noise issue. Maybe the spend is justified if turnover/ vacancy increases due to this. There are pets upstairs and just put in new good quality LVP last year, so I'd rather treat the source of the issue (better than I have been) beforethrowing replacing LVP with carpet. 

Do I enable tenants to manage themselves: give the people downstairs license to take a broom to the ceiling (as they have expressed a desire) and tell the people upstairs it's not personal? Only half kidding... Have had one person upstairs come down to my downstairs unit to hear what it can sound like. Think that helped them empathize. Just need everyone to internalize (1) the people downstairs are not being unreasonable, and (2) the people upstairs are not trying to "stomp on your head when you are sleeping."

[Srinivasa Subramanian]

@Drew McLoughlin 

I think you’re already handling it really well.

This really isn’t a “bad tenant” problem — it’s a 1970s construction + LVP upstairs + young kids + WFH era combo. Even great tenants will sound loud in older buildings because the sound transmission is just poor.

I’ve dealt with something similar in my office space before, and what actually helped was sound-dampening panels. They’re inexpensive and surprisingly effective for the downstairs tenant who’s working from home. Even a small environmental change can make a big difference in perceived noise.

If the downstairs tenants are long-term and reliable, sometimes offering a small goodwill rent concession for a month or two helps reset the relationship and shows you’re trying to be fair.

On the upstairs side, little things help a lot:

Felt pads under furniture

Area rugs with thick rug pads

Encouraging soft shoes / socks indoors

And I definitely would not advocate broom diplomacy — that escalates tensions quickly and can turn neighbors against each other. Better to keep all communication flowing through you so no one feels personally attacked.

You’re doing the right things by addressing complaints promptly and helping both sides understand each other’s perspective. In buildings like this, it’s mostly about setting expectations, adding a few inexpensive sound buffers, and keeping emotions from overheating.