The problem is back, again, with tenant complaints about noisy, running children. In this week’s Ask Landlord Hank question he deals with children upstairs distributing downstairs tenant and offers some advice. Remember Hank is not an attorney and cannot offer legal advice. If you have a question for him please fill out the form below.
Dear Landlord Hank:
Our upstairs tenant has a young kid, around two-years-old, who runs around on the wood floor at random hours of the evening and into the night. The older downstairs tenant says this wakes her up. She has asked the upstairs tenant a couple of times about this issue, but the problem persists, and now she is calling us. We realize little kids run and play and understand it is loud on wood floors. Any suggestions on solving children upstairs disturbing downstairs tenant problem?
-Landlady Eileen
HI Landlady Eileen,
This is a touchy subject as babies run and fall down and make noise.
If the flooring is all solid surface, you could talk to your upstairs tenants and ask them to consider using some area rugs to dampen the noise of the little one running.
Make sure they know that the baby running can be heard by the downstairs neighbor and maybe they could control that behavior late evening.
If this doesn’t work, you could check into acoustic panels that attach to the ceiling in the unit below and will reduce the level of sound from above.
Thin walls in multifamily housing can be trying for the tenants. Good luck.
Sincerely
Hank Rossi
Ask Landlord Hank Your Question
Ask veteran landlord and property manager Hank Rossi your questions from tenant screening to leases to pets and more! He provides answers each week to landlords.
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About the author Landlord Hank:
“I started in real estate as a child watching my father take care of our family rentals- maintenance, tenant relations, etc , in small town Ohio. As I grew, I was occasionally Dad’s assistant. In the mid-90s I decided to get into the rental business on my own, as a sideline. In 2001, I retired from my profession and only managed my own investments, for the next 10 years. Six years ago, my sister, working as a rental agent/property manager in Sarasota, Florida convinced me to try the Florida lifestyle. I gave it a try and never looked back. A few years ago we started our own real estate brokerage. We focus on property management and leasing. I continue to manage my real estate portfolio here in Florida and Atlanta. “ Visit Hank’s website here.
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