- 'What are the neighbours like?' is an often-asked refrain for new occupants
- If your neighbours are being loud or objectionable, what can be done?
- Property manager Ashleigh Goodchild provides three pieces of advice
“What are the neighbours like?”
This is an often-asked question from renters and buyers, but truth be told, you really never know until you move in.
However, this is a really important thing to consider when looking for your new home, and what happens if you get it wrong and you have a problem with them? What next? What can be done?
True story
We had an upmarket apartment in the Perth CBD and some lovely elderly tenants who lived in the property for about 6 months. The neighbours were fine until a new person moved on to the same floor.
He was recently divorced, was in a high-level career and going through a bit of a midlife crisis. He went on a drug bender and ended up terrorising our tenants and other residents with an axe through their front door.
This didn’t happen that long ago and it was a horrible experience for anyone to have to go through.
So it does happen and there are many more stories where that came from.
Most often complaints are about noise, music or dogs barking … once I even had a complaint about the neighbour weeing directly into the toilet and not down the sides of the toilet bowl during the night which was resulting in him losing sleep … another true story.
Advice on what to do
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Document the times and dates that the “nuisance” was and is happening.
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Follow your local council or strata guidelines with regards to restrictions on noise. These can normally be found on their website. A reasonable amount of noise is allowed during certain times of the day and week.
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Advise your local council, property manager or strata manager and get advice on the next steps to resolve your concerns.
