Updating post from Reddit.
Hi, I’m a fairly new landlord and could use some advice.
I own a building with 8 flats. Recently I converted a small cupboard space into a shared laundry area for the tenants—just a couple of washing machines and tumble dryers. It’s all internal, no structural changes, just added plumbing and electricity. I didn’t think I needed any permission for something like this.
Now the neighbour in the flat next door (it’s a different tenancy but shares a wall) is complaining constantly. She says the machines are too loud, that her flat vibrates, and that it’s affecting her sleep. I’ve spoken to my tenants and asked them not to use the machines late at night, and I put a sign in the laundry room asking people to be respectful because it’s a shared space. They’re saying they’ve been sticking to that, so I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. Why would they lie?
The neighbour is really angry now and has started threatening legal action and contacting the council. I don’t really understand why it’s such a big deal, and I feel like I’ve tried to be reasonable.
Do I actually need to take any action on this, or can I just carry on and ignore it? Honestly it’s getting annoying now and I feel like she’s just being difficult.
Any advice appreciated—just trying to get this right.
8 flats, in the UK, but you need shared laundry facilities? Is this actually studios/bedsits? Regardless, 2 machines for 8 flats isn't a lot so those machines will be in near constant use. I'd be annoyed too if my home shared the wall with the machines.
I’ve been calling them flats, but really they’re more like compact studios. It was originally set up as student accommodation, but I’ve been renting them out to individual tenants over the last year.
Like I get it’s frustrating for her, but that doesn’t automatically mean I’ve done something wrong. I feel like it’s more that she’s particularly sensitive to noise, and I can’t design everything around one person’s preferences.
Could you soundproof the walls ?
When the council called me, I took it as a bit of a warning, so I did go in and make a few adjustments to try and make it sound less disruptive and mainly to try to get it below the enforcement level. But honestly, there’s very little I can do to completely fix it.
It’s an older building, you can hear people talking through the walls sometimes, so it’s not like I can make it totally silent in there. And with the machines, there’s also the vibration side of things, which I don’t really know how to solve. They vibrate, that’s just how they work.
I’ve done what I reasonably can without removing them entirely, and I didn’t think it was fair to take away the facility when most tenants are using it fine.
But you said there were no complaints about the old laundry room you removed? So it's clearly possible.
The old laundry room was on the ground floor at the back of the house, and it wasn’t really disturbing anyone because it didn’t share walls with any living spaces.
This new setup unfortunately shares a wall with her bedroom, which I didn’t realise would be such a big issue when I moved the machines. I thought it being next to a staircase on the tenants’ side meant it’d be fine. It’s just one of those things that seemed reasonable at the time.
Alright, I think I no longer believe this story. This is either a very good troll, or another very lousy landlord, but either way there's little point discussing it with you.
The machines are up against the wall, on a shelving unit, in a small, first floor cupboard, with no rubber or anything beneath them.
If you know of sound proofing that will tackle that, let me know. OP's entire set up is the problem.
It’s a tricky one
My vote is still for "don't convert an existing laundry room with no shared walls to a studio flat and move the machines to a cupboard next to the neighbour's bedroom."
Yes that’s the ideal scenario
This is the set up. Idk what's up with it
I mean there’s a reason why laundry is normally in a basement and that’s because if it’s up against people walls it Disrupts them. I mean there’s soaking of multiple machines alone up against one wall would cause significant noise. You’ve taken away this persons right to quite enjoyment of there home
most flats dont have a second floor.
Do you know the legal definition of "quiet enjoyment"?
The council actually did call once and told me to stop night-time use, so I’ve tried to deal with it. I went in and put up a sign, and I’ve also tried to adjust the setup so it’s not detectable by their monitoring equipment. I’ve moved a few things around and done my best to avoid setting off their detection machine, so it shouldn’t be too loud now.
I know one of the tenants still uses it around 4am sometimes, but he works nights and it’s genuinely the only time he can do his laundry—so I’ve let that slide. It’s just one person and I didn’t think it would make much difference.
I feel like I’ve done as much as I reasonably can without getting rid of it completely, and that wouldn’t be fair to the tenants who actually use it properly.
Stop night time use means stop night time use not let someone use it because it’s convenient for them
Yeah, but I mean, I’m just trying to do the best I can for him. He’s a good lad, works long shifts, and it’s literally the only time he can get it done
I told him to be as quiet as possible when he uses it, and he’s usually in and out pretty quickly. It’s not like it’s going all night. He says he uses the quick wash and does the drying when he wakes up later.
I don’t really like to say no to him—he’s never caused any trouble and always pays his rent on time.
And honestly, how would anyone know anyway? I checked and the council’s noise enforcement team isn’t even working at 4am, so I figure I’m safe, right?
No you’re not. Because she could record it and it would have the time on it. It doesn’t matter if he only uses the quick wash it’s still disruptive. You’ve been told to do something and you’re not doing it..
She actually already has recorded it and sent it in, I know because she told me. But the council haven’t followed up or done anything since, so I just figured it wasn’t a big deal.
I assumed if it really was that serious, they’d be back in touch by now?
Nah. That’s not how the council works..
She’s actually been complaining about it since last March, so it’s not like this is new. But the council haven’t really done anything in all that time, so I assumed it wasn’t serious enough to act on.
If they thought it was a proper problem, surely they’d have followed up by now?
It’s called building a case… They’ve given you things to make it better you’ve refused too do them.
I just don’t see why it matters that much if someone occasionally does their washing late because they need to. It’s not like it’s constant or going all night every night. Restci
Sometimes people’s work hours don’t line up with normal laundry times—and I don’t think it’s fair to penalise someone for that when they’re just trying to keep on top of things.
Your tenant could use a delay timer for a few hours if he’s not even getting the washing out the machine until he’s out of bed later.
So two machines between seven households during the day, and an eighth at 4am semi-regularly, along a shared wall in what sounds like a small flat.
Would you want to live in those circumstances?
Maybe not, but I wouldn’t complain this much either. I’d just wear headphones or something.
A person shouldn't have wear headphones at 4 in the morning to keep out the noise because their neighbour is an irresponsible landlord who doesn't know what they're doing.
Your attitude towards this is appalling, and smacks of immaturity.
Flippant replies like this one show that you really don't care about this neighbour. In fact they more demonstrate distain towards her - probably because she's threatening your ability to monetise that 8th room.
It's down to you the ensure that she doesn't have to 'just wear headphones' to enjoy her house.
Shame on you OP.
I really hope someone can work out where this is and show this to the council dealing to feed into their case.
This is the sort of thing that the HMO licensing schemes are there to deal with. You may be at risk of losing your HMO license if this continues, as social impact is one of the factors.
What did you do before converting this storage cupboard? Could you instead have one fewer tenants and use the empty room for laundry facilities if there is a room that doesn't share a wall with a neighbour.
OP said elsewhere, there used to be a full laundry room, he realised he could fit a bed in it so he converted it to another studio and moved the laundry stuff to an upstairs cupboard.
To borrow a dynamic from another sub then... YTA (opTA to be more accurate)
OP has said the laundry room was on the ground floor but he worked out he could put a bed in it so convereted it...
Im not sure what legal action can be taken against a noisy washing machine. lol.
there is not much they can do, but you can avoid being inconsiderate and do some basics:
enforce time frames when laundry is done.
isolate the machines with some rubber feet etc
move them away from the wall to make sure its not actually touching - this is often the source of a lot of noise
chuck some soundproof plasterboard up
all of those things are free or very cheap to you.
if the white goods are really old, buy something modern, the tech has moved on a lot in the last 5 years and most newer machines are almost silent now
Thanks, yeah I haven’t done most of that, to be honest. The machines are older but they still work fine so I didn’t really think replacing them was necessary. I could look into putting something behind them I guess, but it’s quite a small space so not sure there’s room to move them away from the wall much.
I’ve already told tenants not to use them at night (well, except one who finishes work at 4am and needs to use it then sometimes). I feel like I’ve tried to meet them halfway but the complaints are still going.
I also know the council’s noise team is really underfunded and barely works any hours, so I don’t think they’ll come out again any time soon lol.
You haven't tried to meet them halfway, the person you're replying to has given you a list of the most basic things any responsible landlord would do and you A) haven't done them, B) are blaming your neighbour for the fact you haven't controlled the noise, and C) sound a lot like you're taking the knowledge the council can't actually stop you as a free pass to continue not doing anything.
It’s a limited amount of space, so there’s only so much I can do.
Originally there was a separate laundry room, but I realised it was technically big enough to convert into a studio, so I did that and just moved the machines into the cupboard space. It was the only other option I had at the time.
I know it’s not ideal, but I was trying to make better use of the space overal, so it’s hard to come up with a perfect layout that works for everyone.
This is because you're working backwards from the rest of the irresponsible mess you've made. You've boxed yourself into a corner by being greedy, and now you're externalising the consequences of that on to your neighbour.
You've made significantly worse use of the space in all ways except you make more money.
I mean… isn’t that kind of the point of being a landlord? You try to make the best use of the space so it pays off. Obviously I didn’t intend for anyone to be upset by it, but I can’t pretend the goal isn’t to make it sustainable financially.
This isn't the best use of the space.
You had a property with seven flats and a functional laundry room that didn't upset the neighbours.
You now have a property with eight flats, and a laundry cupboard that upsets the neighbours, has the council on your back, means you have to control when your tenants can do their laundry, and has everyone in this thread where you've come for support thinking that you're an illustration of why everyone hates landlords.
You've made a very short sighted decision because you either don't know what you're doing, or you can't actually afford to do what you're trying to do, and if you can't actually afford to manage a property with seven flats properly, you're probably not that far away from not being able to afford a property with eight and all the hassle coming your way.
You should not be doing this. This isn't a game. It's a business with regulations and responsibilities. To the council, to your tenants, to your neighbours. This isn't homemade cupcakes at the market time. You do it right, or you'd better believe people are going to tell you to get your act together.
Honestly, I can see why she's angry just from your posts here. People are giving you very reasonable suggestions, and it's clear you don't care in the slightest about this woman's right to enjoy her home. You know the problems, you've been given solutions, but can't even be bothered to replace the old rickety washing machine. Classic landlord mentality. I really hope the council do force you to change it- you clearly won't do it to be a decent person.
It’s not that I don’t care—I just didn’t think replacing the machines was necessary if they still work. I only got them from Argos about three years ago, so they’re not actually that old.
I’ve already converted the original laundry room into a studio, so this was the only other space I had to work with. I’ve put signs up, asked tenants to be respectful, and I genuinely thought that was enough.
I don’t want to upset anyone. I’m just trying to balance things the best I can.
Were there noise complaints about the old room?
No, there were never any noise complaints about the old room. It was on the ground floor and wasn’t bothering anyone.
I just realised I could fit a bed in there, so I went for it.
I'm sorry, the noisy laundry cupboard isn't even on the ground floor? Is this a joke?
Yeah, it’s on the first floor. I didn’t think that would be a problem since it’s next to a staircase on my tenants’ side, so it’s not disturbing them.
I had to get creative with the layout, I made a shelf out of an old kitchen unit to fit the tumble dryers in. It’s not fancy but it does the job and keeps everything in the cupboard.
I honestly didn’t expect it to cause this much vibration through the wall.
You didn't have to get creative, you should have left the existing laundry room.
A small space, like a cupboard, generates more noise because the machines are enclosed on all sides, none of the vibration or noise goes out into the air to dissipate.
The more enclosed and fitted in, like on a shelf, the more noise is being passed from the machine right into the wall. It doesn't matter what's on the other side because you're sending all that vibration in to the structure of the building.
You didn't expect it because you don't know what you're doing.
I get what you're saying, but the rent from that studio is an extra £100 a week, so it’s hard to justify not making use of the space when it brings in steady income.
It wasn’t meant to be a long-term issue. I honestly thought moving the machines into the cupboard would work fine. I didn’t realise the setup would cause this much vibration through the wall.
Honestly, at this point I’m hoping she just gets tired of complaining and decides to move. I don’t mean that in a bad way—it just feels like no matter what I try, it’s never enough for her. She even complained about them slamming the door to the room as if I have control over that at all.
I’ve done what I can within reason, and I can’t keep redesigning the whole setup around one person.
YTA. You're a horrible person to create a noise nuisance on the neighbours just so you can squeeze another human into a shitty room you're calling a studio for profit.
The council won’t do anything, I’ve complained about neighbour using W/M 1am my whole flat shakes. Your best option would be to add some kind of timer switches so they automatically cut power between certain times.
Maybe try putting rubber feet on all the machines? Not sure if that will help though
This will help, but the landlord seems only to be seeking assurances that he has done everything he can, can't possibly be expected to do anything more, that his very reasonable neighbour is being unreasonable and that the landlord is absolved of all responsibility. Rubber feet/insulation/decency is beyond this simple landlords capabilities. I hope the neighbours take it up with the council and succeed in getting the courtesy they deserve.
But people do need to do their laundry, I think the tenants would be really appreciative of the washing machines (I had to live in an accommodation without any washing facilities at uni and it was terrible! Had to spend 2 hours every weekend to do my washing).
No one is saying they don't deserve the right to do laundry - people have offered lots of potential solutions (like your rubber feet idea - I thought the same but using some inch thick rubberised flooring).
Offer to come and inspect the issue by running the machines and see the nuicence level inside her flat.
You could get a dB meter to see the noise level and determine if it's a legitimate complaint.
If it is legitimate then you have a few choices. Move the laundry facilities or place a time locked door on the facilities and agree a time schedule for use of the facilities that's agreeable to the tenant in that flat.
When you check make sure you stay for a washing spin cycle as this will be the most intrusive part of the washing cycle.
Measure the background dB level and then add 10db to this level. If the running of the washing machine and dryer is above background plus 10db then you can't use it between 11pm and 7am time frame or it be classed as a nuisance. If it's below background plus 10db then she would have no legal grounds to make it letigious but for tenant harmony it might still be good to lock out the facilities throughout night time.
Just move the washing machines away from the wall. It’s quite simple tbh. Sound travels in flats. She can complain all she likes, but it’s only two washing machines, it’s not like a plane taking off noise
No, just two washing machines and then a couple of dryers stacked on top of them in a cupboard.
Just tell her to get over it. It’s only washing machines. It’s not malicious the noise.
They're up against her bedroom wall, no rubber beneath, in an enclosed space, and not on the ground floor where the vibrations can be absorbed. He has no room to move them away from the wall, and one of his tenants uses them at 4am.
Would you like to sleep in that room?
Edit: Oh, and during the day, the other seven tenants have to use them.
How do you know it’s her bedroom wall? It could be the toilet for all we know?
OP said elsewhere in the replies. Laundry room used to be ground floor and no shared walls but he converted that to another flat and moved two washers, two dryers to a small cupboard in the stairwell that is next to her bedroom.
Oh I see. Tbh I don’t think much can be done. Or the OP wants to do anything else, by his replies
Nope, he's going with the "hope the council forgets and the neighbour moves" strategy.
So based on previous replies. You have turned a 7 studio/bedsit place into 8? Did you get any relevant planning permission or hmo licencing stuff sorted before you did this? As the original planning and hmo stuff may have been conditional on there being a laundry room. If it's hmo licence territory and you didn't update the licence expect a 20k fine and having to pay back 2 years worth of rent to your previous tenents. You've pissed off your neighbour so council will now by looking into all this stuff.
In terms of can you ignore it. No you can't. Assuming all the above is in order. The council could eventually issue enforcements notices to turn the property back to the way it was before with the laundry room. Even if the noise is only during the day and I note someone is doing it outside legal hours (this needs to be sorted now. Between 7am and 11pm at the very least, for things that are particularly loud between 8 and 6) then they can get an order to confiscate the offending items still if its very bad. If people keep using it at 4am then yes you will have issues sooner rather than later.
I think you may need to invest a bit more money into the laundry in the cupboard idea. Not saying it's a bad idea just needs to be done properly to avoid issues.