Noise Disturbances. Tenants at Mimosa Salon Suites hereby agree to maintain a reasonable level of noise at all times of the day and night, so as not to disturb or disrupt neighboring suites/businesses.
Tenants at Mimosa Salon Suites shall fully cooperate with all other Tenants in the building in an effort to maintain a peaceful atmosphere at all times.
Tenants at Mimosa Salon Suites shall agree not to create and/or maintain a nuisance or other disturbance that infringes upon the comfortable living conditions or privacy of other residents.
How to handle a noisy neighbor:
1. Pick Your Battles
Before deciding to move forward with confronting or reporting your noisy neighbors, it’s important to determine whether the battle is worth fighting. You’re part of a community and a family.
Within your location, some noise is to be expected. If your neighbors are extremely busy expect lots of voices, foot traffic, and laughter. That’s the reality of sharing a space with 19 other small business owners. Unless the noises genuinely detract you and your clients from enjoying your peaceful suite, it’s not something to complain about.
However, if your neighbors are making loud raucous noise every day or playing music at extreme volumes while you’re trying to work, it constitutes as excessive noise. Being in a community means being cognizant and respectful of others around you. Interrupting someone's peace or general workflow or simply disregarding your neighbors doesn’t fit that bill.
2. Talk to Your Neighbors
The first step to dealing with noisy neighbors is to talk to them about their noise levels and how to best remedy the situation. However, confrontation can be hard and uncomfortable. A simple complaint can be taken to nuclear levels when done incorrectly. Here are some tips to follow when confronting your neighbor with a noise complaint.
- Remember Your Goal: Don’t stray off track. You’ve come to discuss a noise problem. Getting sidetracked by anger or simple distractions won't help your case.
- When in Doubt — Ask: Truthfully, your neighbors may not be aware of their discourtesy. It may help to phrase your complaint as a neutral question. Instead of “You’re playing music loudly everyday” try “Did you know that your music is pretty loud?” A question is less accusatory and may help avoid conflict.
- If Things Get Heated, Walk Away - Worst case scenario, your argument turns to an all-out screaming match. You know, like the ones you try to avoid during family holiday dinners. If you sense the situation veering out of control, walk away. Excuse yourself, and leave it be. You’re not going to convince an irate person to listen to your noise complaint, it’s a waste of time.
3. Leave a Letter
Talking to your neighbors in person is definitely preferable to leaving them a letter. However, a letter may help to limit the chances of a screaming match between you and your neighbor. Letters also help to keep everything organized. When talking in person, it can be easy to lose your train of thought or to forget the entire speech that you prepared in your head.
A letter should address all of your concerns without being accusatory or passive-aggressive. Sometimes our anger or frustration can leak out when writing. To avoid this, have someone who isn’t familiar with the situation read the letter and check for potential sore spots.
4. Compromise
Any healthy relationship features a compromise or two. Your relationship with your neighbor is no exception. Suggest a compromise alongside your noise complaint. For example, if your neighbor plays music very loudly during the day, suggest that they don’t after a certain time (like when you leave for the day).
This will likely yield much better results than if you tell your neighbor they can’t play music at all. Asking your neighbor to compromise with you won’t hurt your relationship and comes from a place of mutual respect.
5. File a Noise Complaint
Filing a noise complaint is one of the last steps that you should take when dealing with noisy neighbors. Use this as a last resort when other, more peaceful, methods have failed to change your neighbor’s behavior.
When filing a noise complaint, you’ll have to determine who you would like to file the complaint with.
Before filing a noise complaint with your property manager or landlord, check to see if your lease agreement has a clause regarding noise. If you find a clause, be sure to point it out to your landlord, who may then issue a warning to your neighbor, followed by a fine if they continue to violate the terms of the lease. As a last resort, your landlord may evict the noisy neighbor if the situation is that serious.