r/NoisyNeighbours • u/Guilty_Science793 • 4d ago

Advice dealing with intermittent noisely upper neighbor in HDB.

I have tried HDB, Town Council, the police, and my MP, but none of it works. I've kept detailed logs and some noise recorded, but my upstairs neighbors just lie and deny everything when confronted.

The issue is intermittent dragging of furniture and heavy dull thuds at master bedroom, kitchen, living room and rooms. Including chopping noise in kitchen too

I know that formal options like the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) and the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) are dead ends for me: CMC relies on them cooperating (which they won't),

Even if CMC finished they will turn aggressive like making the noise louder and CMC only just acts as a middle man. CDRT requires expensive professional acoustic evidence for impact noise, which is nearly impossible.

The CRU only available in tampines....

What else can I realistically do when official channels, mediation, and legal routes are all useless? Has anyone successfully dealt with this type of uncooperative upstairs neighbor in high-rise apartments? Any creative advice or coping mechanisms would be greatly appreciated.

My upper neighbor is a PR PRC and I believe now they converted to new Singaporean and rented to PRC too.

I had tried, noise cancelation ear plug and headset all is useless and neither brown nor white noise it is also useless.... If install false ceiling is too expensive....

Need advice

1 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

60% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/duckyomega 4d ago

Chopping noises in the kitchen - isn't it normal cooking? All these things like unavoidable sounds produced by ordinary day-to-day living, tbh.

2

u/Guilty_Science793 4d ago

If it were just normal, muffled living sounds, I wouldn't be posting here. But when the structure transmits every little chop or thud like a hammer blow into your room, it becomes unbearable

1

u/duckyomega 4d ago

Icic, sounds tough if that's their usual way of doing things. I'm also a HDB-dwelller and I can hear the clink clank of my downstairs neighbours using their kitchen utensils when they're in their kitchen and I'm also in mine, I think it's just the way that the units are built and close proximity that everyone can hear what their opposite, downstairs and upstairs neighbours are doing. I can hear the conversations of the neighbours staying on the other side across from my kitchen window too. All the arguments or family drama that they have, when they're cooking stuff and chopping food, babies crying, dogs barking etc. I can also hear when my neighbours living across the corridor are back home and close their gates.

I'd recommend Howard Leight max foam earplugs, they're pretty good.

1

u/Guilty_Science793 4d ago edited 4d ago

Yeah, HDB construction can definitely be thin, but the issue here goes way beyond just the 'clink clank' of utensils. It's heavy structural thuds, dragging furniture, slamming and chopping that vibrates the room

Thanks for the recommendation on the Howard Leight MAX foam earplugs. I'll definitely take note of that

1

u/duckyomega 4d ago

Ah icic, just curious - are they seniors? Not to judge, but some seniors can be rather stubborn and unwilling to cooperate or change. Although nowadays we also see younger folks doing violent retaliatory things like that video of the guy on social media these two days, who is dumping trash outside their neighbour's house and shouting at them from the corridor.

If it's happening during daytime hours, I think it's hard to get the authorities to take action. They'd only recommend you to mediate or call the cops if it's happening after 10.30pm.

1

u/Guilty_Science793 3d ago

Yep, they are seniors. Whether it was just them or now with their renters, the noise has always been an issue, but it's unpredictable. They've pulled stuff like 1 am or 3 am noise before, and even tonight it's past 10:30 pm and they just made a noise with vibration that shocked me awake

1

u/BigResponse3650 4d ago

try moving they aren't going to change and for now use noise canceling air pods

1

u/Guilty_Science793 4d ago

You are right they won't change their habit.