How to Avoid Renting Next to a Noisy Neighbor: Tips to Locate a Quiet Apartment

How many of you have been driven to the brink of insanity because of a noisy neighbor? The loud music, noise, or furniture shaking heavy bass can rattle your mind and drive you insane. Worse, the noise usually occurs at night, right when you fall asleep, decreasing your sleep time and making you extremely grumpy when you wake up. Having rented apartments for many years, I have dealt with my share of noisy neighbors and have found dealing with noisy neighbors can be very frustrating. So I have developed a series of steps to minimize the possibility of renting next to a noisy neighbor. While the suggestions below are not completely foolproof, I have found they help minimize the chance your apartment neighbor is a noisy one and preventing the problem before it occurs.

First, when you are narrowing down the list of apartment complexes to look at, immediately cross off any apartment complex next to a college campus, or a military base. The probability you will rent next to a noisy neighbor in these apartments are high, as these apartments probably have large populations of young students or soldiers who may have good entertainment systems, and may play them very loudly.

Next, when you are actually viewing apartments, make sure you ask the landlord for an estimate on how many tenants have families. Apartment complexes catering to families are usually a lot quieter than those who cater to single individuals, decreasing the probability you will rent next to a noisy neighbor.

When you find an apartment you are interested in leasing, ask the landlord if there were any noise complaints with any neighboring tenants of the apartment. Obviously, don't lease an apartment that has a neighboring tenant with a history of complaints. Don't forget to ask who lives in the neighboring apartments and if they have families.

Make sure you are not pressured into signing a lease. Landlords may say their units are in high demand or may rent out by the end of the day but I have often found the apartment is still available the next day. You still need the time to evaluate how noisy your neighbors are. In order to accomplish this, come back at night. As most noisy neighbors play their music, movies, or have parties at night, return to the apartment complex at night and walk around the apartment you are considering to rent. If you can hear noise outside the apartment, only imagine how noisy the inside would be if you had signed the lease and rented the apartment.

Just because you don't hear anything outside does not necessarily mean your neighbors are quiet. So if you don't hear anything outside, knock on your "neighbor's" door. Hopefully, they are home so you can introduce yourself and meet them. Carry out a cordial conversation and don't forget to ask if he or she likes to play music or movies loudly and hosts a lot of parties or gatherings. If he or she answers yes to either question, or tries to dodge the questions, you may have found a noisy neighbor and may want to look somewhere else for an apartment.

Look for further proof by observing their living room. You want to see if the "neighbor" has a large entertainment set, especially if they claim to be quiet neighbors. Chances are most entertainment systems (and noise makers) are in their living room, and not in their bedroom. If they have a big TV or if you notice large speakers and subwoofers, chances are they will be noisy neighbors and you may want to reconsider renting the apartment.

You can also ask them if they can play their music or movies at the volume they like to listen. If this is too loud for you, seriously reconsider renting the apartment. I have found most people are very honest in answering questions about noise and asking one to play his music made me reconsider an apartment I was about to lease. Note when asked about noise, most people always say something along the lines of "just tell me if I'm making too much noise and I'll turn it down". Take that with a grain of salt...as "turning it down" is very subjective, especially if they have a large entertainment or speaker system.

Finally, if you are satisfied with the apartment, talk to the landlord about the apartment complex's noise policy. I am sure most apartment policies include a noise clause along the lines of "respecting your neighbors". Make sure you understand what your rights are in the apartment complex to deal with a noisy neighbor. As I said, the advice given above minimizes the chance your neighbor is a noisy one, but it is not 100% foolproof. And if you live in the apartment long enough, one of your quiet neighbors may move out just to be replaced by a noisy one. So you may still have to deal with a noisy neighbor sometime in the future and you need to know your apartment's policy and how to work with them to deal with a noisy neighbor.

If you like peace and quiet in your apartment, I hope this guide has given you some useful suggestions in locating a quiet apartment to rent. As I stated above, these suggestions are not 100% foolproof, but it has allowed me to rent apartments without any noisy neighbors.