Help with Noise Nuisance from Upstairs Neighbors

Questioner

I can hear everyday living and residential sounds from my upstairs neighbor and experience this as noise pollution, especially in the evenings. My upstairs neighbor often stays up late, and when he talks / phones / plays a computer game with someone in a normal voice, the conversations can be heard almost completely. Both my home and the home above me belong to the same landlord. It is a 1930s building where I live on the 1st floor and my upstairs neighbor on the 2nd, and these living floors were recently separated from each other into two independent living spaces (before this, these floors belonged to the same home). Both homes have a laminate floor, of which I do not know which underlayment was installed. I have contacted the landlord but he indicates that he sees no way to do anything about the noise pollution that my partner and I experience. Sleeping in our home now comes down to hoping that it will be quiet long enough to fall asleep. I have several questions that are all related. What is the legislation regarding this situation? Is it normal that I can hear my upstairs neighbor's conversations through the ceiling, and am I being too dramatic? What can I do legally as a tenant to improve such situations? (I have already consulted with the upstairs neighbor - he indicates that he agrees with me that this situation is not tenable) Can my landlord 'push aside' my complaint as he has been trying to do for the past two months? I would like to hear what I can do about this situation. I like the house very much and I would prefer to just stay here, but I am slowly starting to think that it might be best to move.

Lawyer

These types of nuisance situations are always particularly difficult. If a judge wants to oblige the landlord to tackle the nuisance, there must be a case of structural serious nuisance. In a built-up (urban) environment, people cannot avoid the fact that they sometimes experience nuisance from each other because we live quite close to each other and therefore hear living noises. Only if the nuisance is the result of a technical defect (e.g. a construction error) can the landlord be obliged to take action. If you would like to discuss the above, please feel free to contact us.