Real Estate & Property Law

HARD SURFACE FLOORS - NOISE ISSUES - THINGS NEVER STAY THE SAME

People send me complaints and also proposesd solutions. Consider the following emails:

"I found you articles on noise interesting. The noise issue has been taken to such an extreme by our HOA that it requires all architectural change application regardless the amount of noise level it might create to be pre-approved by neighbors. Is this fair ?"

My response is that pre-approval of the neighbors would be helpful in many cases. It might be included as criteria, but is not always helpful in considering requests for installation of hard surface flooring. Why? It does not address the necessity of protection in the form of soundproofing. It does not solve any problems related to the future neighbor's and how they might be affected, upstairs or downstairs.

For example, certain neighbors are more sensitive to noise than others, Sometimes personal relationships (good or bad) come into play. One owner might get their neighbors approval because they are friends, or because they are a very quiet occupant. Neighbors who have experience with noise issues will probably be reluctant to approve a flooring change, even if they are friends with the requesting Owner. Owners whose proposals are not approved by their neighbors might be less willing to approve another neighbor's proposal. And neighbors who do not get along could really create an unfair situation. No owner should be allowed to have "veto" power over what their neighbors can or cannot do. And, if you read other blogs on this subject, you will see that circumstances can change rather drastically from one month to the next. Someone may move in upstairs who removes area rugs, or has rambunctious kids, or an active dog, or high heels (as opposed to the tennis - shoe'd prior resident). Or, the downstairs neighbor moves out (the one that is friends with the upstairs neighbor and whose kids play together on a regular basis), and the new neighbor who thought they would have peace and quiet has to endure the upstairs neighbor's noise.

So, getting the neighbor's approval does not do anything to forestall possible problems in the future that arise with regard to the presence of the hard surface flooring.

Consider this email:

"I purchased my one bed room condo over 5 years ago. I totally loved everything about it, until a few months later. The upstairs unit is carpetted. The first residents over me were a 'small framed' couple. There was not a problem. Then, they moved out and a average sized husband and wife moved in. That is when I noticed the creaking in the floor, day and night. Maybe the previous neighbors did not use the bedroom that was over my head, but the new neighbors sure did! I felt like I could hear their every move. I was unhappy with the noise and talked to them but they kept putting me off. Then the owner died and the place was empty for about 6 months and I had peace and quiet. Then a new couple purchased the place and the noise picked up again. The husband who is a big man and wears hard soled shoes has very heavy footfalls. I have approached the new residents quite a few times and talked to them about the noise level. ... Now the resident upstairs is removing the carpeting and putting in laminate flooring. Previous efforts to alleviate the creaking did not work.
Am I in for it? This is so frustrating, what are your general thoughts?

My thoughts are yes, you are in for it. You will probably have to address these problems through specific channels, like alternative dispute resolution (trying to get the upstairs neighbor to talk about what mitigation is needed and/or get the board to be involved), or pay an attorney to get involved and make demands. Not a good situation, to be sure. These are the kinds of problems that arise when there is not a strict ban on changing out carpetted floors to hard surface floors, and the creaking is another issue altogether, perhaps a problem with the building construction, and perhaps just an inherent problem that will not be resolved. Sometimes it is due to use of green wood that later, when it dries out, results in loosened nails and screwing down the flooring works. Here, I am not sure what the problem is, but you will probably have to pay to have that determination made, and get the upper owners permission to send your expert in there. Again, if there is no cooperation forthcoming, you will probably need the assistance of an attorney. Sorry I don't have a better answer. Maybe someone "out there" does. "We" are open to suggestions.

Full post as published by California Condo & HOA Law on November 28, 2008 (boomark / email).