How do I deal with noisy neighbors?

Whether your neighbor has a barking dog, likes to play loud music or has a late-night bookshelf building habit, don’t assume that he or she doesn’t care about bothering you. Begin with the assumption that your neighbor simply doesn’t realize how loud his activities are or doesn’t know that you’re home during the time he’s making all that racket. While you always have the option of calling your management company, a conversation with the offending neighbor should be your first resort. Don’t make that first conversation a confrontation; start out with a friendly, I’m sure you don’t realize how the sound carries from your apartment, or You probably don’t know this, but your dog barks quite a bit while you’re at work during the day.

If you start out friendly, you can always be more assertive or resort to other options like contacting the rental office later, but if you start out angry there’s no going back. If things don’t change after that first conversation, speak with your neighbor a little more strongly—but still respectfully. Let him or her know that the noise is really bothering you and ask very clearly that he or she stop, turn it down, build his bookcases earlier in the evening or whatever would fix the problem. If the problem persists, contact your management company—but you might be pleasantly surprised when you start out with a reasonable chat with your noisy neighbor.