Loud neighbors

[Sabeine]

We live in an apartment next to very noisy neighbors. They scream and shout at each other, hammer and move furniture at all hours of the day and night, and play guitar and sing late at night. This happens way too often. After saying nothing for months I finally had it when I couldn't sleep and had to work the next day and ended up sleeping on the sofa with earplugs. Anders was in the States so I didn't know what to do. I finally got a number to call and they were supposed to send someone to tell them to turn it down and be quiet. I doubt that happened. I have called 3 times in two weeks to complain about the noise and each time the "customer service" complaints at our förvaltaren here was supposed to document our complaint and send it on to the head office. They said if these people get too many complaints they could tell them to move. Yesterday night I had to call again (Anders doesn't want to, and that's a whole other story ) and I mentioned my having called 3 times in two weeks, and they said that they had none of those times on record.

I am very frustrated. I call and nothing happens. These neighbors are awful. I spoke with the neighbors under us and they have heard them too, but don't want to "cause problems" so they won't call. What the heck is with this attitude?! I have to go to work soon today and spent most of the night listening to these people hollering and putting together (I guess) IKEA furniture until 2:36am which was the last time I looked at the clock until I fell asleep.

Short of going over there and screaming at them, does anyone have any advice? I don't want to confront them person to person. The husband is a jerk, who I have the honor of having to hear him frequently call his wife a "jävla hora". Nice huh? I don't want to try to reason with that kind of a man.

[Carolyn]

Besides calling, put something in writing. Each time this happens, document it on paper and send one to the förvaltaren, showing on it a cc to the head office, so that THEY know you are also notifying the head office.

If it's TOO loud and too persistent, I suppose you could call the police as well, but I don't know about just the noise aspect. We used to have some neighbors on the ground floor of the building next to us, and every time daddy went away on business or whatever, the teenagers would party, out on their balcony, smoking and drinking and screaming to the sky or whatever, until 2-3 a.m. Anders went out once and told them to be quiet and one of the little boys wanted to climb up the brickwork on the building to come fight him (we're on the 3rd floor). We just started calling the cops about the drinking and noise once the clock hit midnight (hey, on week-ends, they're allowed to midnight for me, even if our landlord says 10). Couple visits with the police car driving by, etc., they shut up.

[Sabeine]

I have sent a couple emails to our förvaltaren. They had not responded in the past which is why I started to call.

I don't know if calling the police for the noise will do so much other than maybe get the police upset with me for taking up their time. The difference is the teenagers you mentioned were maybe afraid that the dad would find out so they got quiet. These people are older married with a 6 year old and have no respect for other people. One time it was so loud that I decided to bang on the wall 3 times, and they actually banged back! That's when I got really ticked and started calling. Anders was in the States then. It doesn't seem to bother him since he can sleep through pretty much anything, but I have to hear it and I am getting really angry with them. I almost feeling like telling förvaltaren that either they handle it with diplomacy or I'll do it my way, and my way could get ugly. I'm sure this is not the mature thing to do, but at this point it seems that this is the only way that they will listen and take me seriously.

I am going to go down to there office on Monday and just tell them that I'm angry, these people are loud and rude, and I want to know where the form is that I can fill out to file a complaint. If they tell me there is no form, I'll tell them to make one!

[Vember]

Have you tried letting them know their noises are carrying?

Obviously you don't want to knock on their door and confront them, as then they'll know who their "opponent" is if they're the type to get disgruntled (especially since you've already gone over their head and called down the authorities (of sorts) on them)

I'd type up a note in Swedish and put it on their door. Mention "other neighbors have heard this, too" which points out that you're not just one person whining but doesn't gang up on them too much.

Just make it an F.Y.I. instead of an angry complaint. Hopefully they'd be a little embarrassed that they've caused any trouble. And if not, at least you can feel like you've tried. (Also you have more documentation.)

[Maja]

I had a similar experience this summer when Fredrik was at work, on 3 separate occassions. The neigbors downstairs were having parties under my window on weeknights til about 4 or 5 in the morning. One night they were playing soccer under my window trashed. The other night they were playing chicken on eachothers' shoulders.
I got so pissed off that I went out onto the balcony and screamed, "KAN NI VARA TYSTA!!!!" In swedish and everything (what a shocker that was!). So they said yeah, but an hour later they were still louder than believable, so I called the police department and they sent someone out. The same thing happened another night (I mean I had to call the police again).
Anyhow, nothing seemed to help so Fredrik went down to the company that owns the buildings and they called the neighbors right when Fredrik was standing there, had the guy on speakerphone and embarrassed him really bad. We haven't heard anything since then. I'm not looking forward to next summer,
I just couldn't believe that noone else had complained! This had been going on for 3 weeks straight!