Apartment living etiquette

I used to live in a nice, quiet purpose built flat with good neighbours. The only problem was the Factor's bills (In Scotland the management company is known as the Factor) which were extortionate. Even though we paid a monthly amount to the Factor if any work needed doing in any of the flats within quite a large complex the cost would be split between each flat. So, for example if the lift in another block needed a repair every flat in every block had to contribute payment. It became very expensive to live there.

Vintagejazz, there usually is a set of rules for each apartment, and every tenant should have to sign when the move in.
I think the issue lies in managing compliance of the rules, and how strict the building manager or strata council is.

We own an apartment in another city, which is rented to a long term tenant. We are copied in to strata council meetings and can see all the correspondence regarding breaking of rules and warnings or fines, as well as building maintenance. Our building is very well managed. Ours covers noise, pets, parking, smoking on balconies, even birdfeeding and laundry on balconies.

Of course some neighbours can be annoying while not officially breaking any rules, but rule-breakers should be dealt with by the manager.

We had an apartment for a few years when we regularly spent a lot of time in the USA and Canada. The main problem was people leaving the entrance doors front and back open so that anybody could come in. There was a fenced off bin store for each block of nine apartments and some people didn’t put their bins out on the designated day consequently rubbish piled up and spilled out in the area. One lady and DH and I were the only ones who swept the bin store out and tidied it and we ended up taking everybody's bins out to stop the overloaded bins, a few times we found other people were putting their rubbish in our bin which was clearly marked with our number. One person on the third floor was a keen cyclist and he used to haul his bike up the stairs badly marking the walls. On the ground floor there was a cupboard for the meters and this was gradually filled up with people’s belongings such as Christmas decorations and tools. After we sold our apartment I used to meet a friend from the same block occasionally and gradually the apartments became rented apartments and things got worse with some people smoking by the front and rear doors and leaving cigarette ends all over the floor, she ended up cleaning this up as well as the bin store. As well as everybody having a parking space there were two visitor parking spaces by the front door and some residents commandeered them to use on a permanent basis. There were some positives - noise wasn’t a problem because of the way the apartments were designed and built and because we were on the middle floor the heating bill was minimal. However the disadvantages outweighed the advantages and we sold the apartment when we stopped spending so much time away.

I have lived in my present flat for thirty- three years in a block of eight.
We run our own management company and a yearly meeting it is decided the money to be spent, needed for the upkeep of the building. Depending on the percentage of square meters each person owns out of the whole, equals the personal bill. There is a bike/ pushchair room, landings must be kept cleared, no clothes hanging or barbecues on balconies. Everyone has their cellar and parking spaces. We have a small shared garden where we have a yearly neighbour’s barbecue plus sometimes apéritives, (especially in lockdown).
All of us have had fitted insulated wooden floors but neighbours take care of noise, parties, flushing etc after certain hours.
An immediate meeting is called if a problem arises.
Respect towards your neighbours is what keeps everyone happy.

CanadianGran

Vintagejazz, there usually is a set of rules for each apartment, and every tenant should have to sign when the move in.
I think the issue lies in managing compliance of the rules, and how strict the building manager or strata council is.

We own an apartment in another city, which is rented to a long term tenant. We are copied in to strata council meetings and can see all the correspondence regarding breaking of rules and warnings or fines, as well as building maintenance. Our building is very well managed. Ours covers noise, pets, parking, smoking on balconies, even birdfeeding and laundry on balconies.

Of course some neighbours can be annoying while not officially breaking any rules, but rule-breakers should be dealt with by the manager.

I agree. But unfortunately a lot of management companies and agents are only interested in getting the service fees out of people. And a lot of landlords don't pass the rules onto their tenants.
When I lived in an apartment rules around hard flooring, installation of satellite dishes and parking of commercial vehicles were widely ignored and nothing was done about it.

We have a communal bins which are taken out on the correct days and returned by a company who also clean the communal spaces. Also we imply a gardening company.

A lot of it in some aapartments just comes down to lack of manners and consideration:

Smoking on balconies when people on the adjoining one are trying to enjoy their's

Dropping rubbish or spilling stuff in the communal area and just leaving it there

Pounding around in heavy shoes, particularly early in the morning or late at night

People shouldn't need rules and regulations for that kind of stuff but unfortunately they do

We have a residents committee who hold the factoring company to account. The resident caretaker deals with cleaning, refuse removal, supervises the parking, looks after our lovely garden etc. Yes this leads to a monthly charge but is well worth it to us.

I think a lot of it depends on the size of the complex. On larger ones it's very difficult to get buy in from everyone, people don't know how their service fees are being spent or argue over what should be prioritised, there's different people moving in and out all the time and the whole thing falls apart.

Just remember the lease is King. If it's in the lease then the management can take them to court to enforce it, whether pets, hard floors, items in communal areas, whatever. Most people will abide when asked, but if you have a difficult person who won't obey the lease regulations then court may be the only option.

Leaseholders managing their own property can only be done if everyone is friendly and co-operative. If you have a leaseholder who is either crazy, argumentative or inconsiderate then they may be impossible to control except through a paid management company.

My son has been working from home for last 2 years. He lives in a ground floor flat and works in the spare bedroom (now an office) the window of the room is next to the entrance path to flats. Almost every day someone has a parcel delivery they ring the persons flat bell and either they are not in or don’t buzz them in. The delivery men tap sons window as they can see him to take in parcel. He sometimes has 3/4 parcels a week, someone even had a chair delivered and without asking son said to leave with ground floor flat. He got so fed up as people didnt collect parcels so he was delivering them so he has put on Whatsapp that he was not taking parcels in anymore.

Our flats are not leased. We are owner occupiers which makes a difference.

We loved in a lovely flat in Germany. We had a note pushed through the door saying "please shut your door lowly". Lesson learned!

My main gripe is the noise from above. No consideration shown at all even though lease states must have suitable carpet and undelay fitted. Am sure they haven't. Loud noises early hours of the morning wake me up. Don't want to complain as need to get on with neighbours but it is getting to that stage.

Never lived in an apartment or flat but do live in a semi and things can be just as bad !
Previous tenant was actually a relative of my dads, but it didn't stop him from sweeping his own chimney at 8am on a Sunday morning and probably grinning while he did it, knowing that his chimney ran alongside my bedroom !
The new tenants can't seem to close a door quietly, least of all their front door that they have to slam for some reason!
They also have no carpet on their stairs and seem to enjoy running up and down in hob nailed boots whatever the time of day !

I have just retired and bought myself a ground floor flat with a nice little private garden. The main thing that annoys me is that there are only 3 flats, I’m on the ground floor by the entrance door and there are two upstairs. I am the only one who ever cleans and the communal entrance hall. Although it’s by my flat - everyone uses it. But also the stairs to the upper floors have never been vacuumed or the banisters and walls wiped down etc. I can’t do them because of my disabilities! I think the upper flats are both rented out but I’ve never seen the landlords.

My main bugbear when we lived in a flat was that although there were rules about not using power tools or a washing machine before 8 a.m or after 9 p.m. nothing could apparently be done to make people obey these rules.

Someone habitually moved DH's locked bike to the other end of the yard, and twice chained it to bikes to be collected by the police as ownerless. This although his bike was in daily use.

For years we had a pleasant upstairs nieghbour, but when he moved two small children were allowed to jump off their sitting-room furniture onto the floor. As our sitting-room was directly under theirs this was not pleasant. Complaints were met with "Children have to play:" when I pointed out that jumping should be done outdoors I got a very dirty look from the mother concerned and no effort was made to control the children.,

Hard floors are common here, so most people do wear slippers indoors or walk around in their stocking feet, but children riding trikes indoors or rolling balls across the floors has become very usual.

Glad we live in a house now, and I hope and trust we will not need a flat when we get older.

I have recently moved into a ground floor flat in a two storey courtyard development of 22 flats. I understood that there was a monthly payment to a factor for the upkeep of the communal gardens, parking places, bin stores etc. Have now discovered that the factor went bankrupt or simply disappeared a couple of years ago (with over £300 in the account) The residents committee has lapsed but some of the owners/tenants continue to maintain the gardens, put the bins out and litter pick etc. Others are using their flats to run businesses (Air B & B and car valeting) and there are 4 commercial vehicles regularly parked. This is expressly banned in the lease, as are wooden floors in upstairs flats. My upstairs neighbours have uncarpeted wooden floors. Thankfully being deaf this does not bother me much but visitors say the noise is terrible at times.

The vast majority of the owners/tenants are lovely welcoming and helpful people but there are a few who are in breach of the rules and it seems that the rest of us have no means of enforcing the terms of the leases.

T

inishowen

We loved in a lovely flat in Germany. We had a note pushed through the door saying "please shut your door lowly". Lesson learned!

What a lovely typo! (And I don't mean "lowly")

Somehow in Germany it seems possible to implement rules about when people may mow lawns or do other loud tasks in their flats or gardens. I only wish it were possible in other countries as well.

Absolutely no televisions hung on adjoining walls!! Our neighbour's living room backed onto our bedroom and their tv was on the adjoining wall, they used to watch into the early hours of the morning and we could hear every word!! They turned it down when we asked but it's still droned and vibrated into the wall.

We are planning to move to a retirement apartment in the next 12 months. The ones we are interested in have a laundry room, does anyone have experience of these. I am sure someone said to me once you have to book a slot to use the laundry.

When did flats start being called apartments ? I have luckily it seems always lived in detached houses. I might be too selfish to tolerate flat living and the thought of having upstairs neighbours clumping around in shoes on hard floors or a dog playing with a ping pong ball must be really very annoying. It means I can be as noisy as I like, Hoover when I want or play loud music without upsetting anyone else !

If its okay to ask on this discussion thread, could anyone please give me the highs and lows of living in retirement flats/ blocks specifically for over 55's/60's? I was widowed last year and for various reasons will need to sell my house in the near future but the only property I will probably be able to afford to buy is a leasehold flat.
Which is okay. But I'm so used to (mainly) peace and quiet at home- I particularly feel stressed by the occasional loud music from adjoining properties.
So I was thinking that a retirement flat in a block just for older people might work for me and be quite peaceful?
Any thoughts from GN's who can give me advice?

I would never live in flat again having experienced noise problems when I tried. I now live in a Victorian Terrace house which is remarkably quiet and wouldn't leave it...

Living at the bottom the issues I have are door slamming, the person at the top stomping down the concrete stairs very early in the morning and waking me and another neighbour and his motorbike! He brings it to outside the back door and tinkers, revving it up etc. Much worse in the summer, I have to keep my back windows shut.
He used to do this until late evening until a neighbour with children in the back bedroom complained to him.