Excessive construction noise

Nina1197
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Excessive construction noise

Dear AirBnB-community,

 

I would like to get your feedback on circumstances that have arisen in our current stay in Paris with a four-month rental.

 

In the building, there is a renovation going on (Mon-Fri from 7AM to 7PM), which included the use of jackhammers last week. The noise was so constant and loud that it was impossible to have phone calls in the flat. As we are partially working from home, we have a poor little dog that is suffering from the noise, and there was no warning of the host prior to our stay that the description of the ‚Bright and quiet‘ flat may have changed, I am wondering what our rights are.

 

I have already spoken to a support agent who was incredibly unhelpful. The hosts argued they did not know about the construction (there is a notification in the hallway for the start of constructions in Mid-July as well as coverage of carpets). The agent told us we can cancel at the usual conditions (one month in advance) and we cannot claim financial reimbursement, as the construction noise is beyond the landlords control. He does not see a breach of contract, despite the description of the flat being calm. 

From your experience, is this correct? This seems highly unfair to guests and - of course - frees all AirBnB landlords from any responsibility regarding false descriptions and lack of due diligence on their property. I was quite surprised in the lack of support, as we booked through AirBnB expecting better support in similar situations. As you probably know, it is also quite difficult finding alternate accommodation in Paris and this leaves us quite helplessly exposed.

Thanks to all who take the time to share their experiences and insights.

 

All the best from Paris,

Nina

14 Replies 14
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Nina1197  If the host doesn't live in the building, and has self-check-in and a cleaner, he may never go there, so the fact of the notice in the hallway doesn't mean that the host was aware of the planned renos. 

 

Don't really know what to suggest, as a 4 month booking would have the long term policy attached to it, so you stand to lose money if you cancel. 

 

You can try contacting Airbnb again, in the hopes you get a more helpful rep.

 

If the construction is slated to continue for a long time, you just have to decide if you can tolerate it. (Jackhammering generally doesn't go on too long- once they've demolished what they need to, it'll be over)  If for a short time, maybe you can just make the best of it?

 

If the host didn't know about the plan, then it definitely isn't breach of contract, but a host should really keep themselves informed about what goes on in their rental property. 

Nina1197
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Hello Sarah,

 

Thanks for your reply!

 

We are monitoring the situation and will have to decide on what to do based on the information and options we have.

The owner is indeed living abroad so management is done by an agency listed as co-host on AirBnB. As they have visited the flat prior to our check-in to make a protocol on the state of the flat, they passed by the plastic covered hallway and the notification posted at least that time. 

All together, that is really unfortunate news, as it means we (and anyone else) may lose a fortune (rent is about 2000 EUR/month) or end up being stuck in a flat unsuitable for use as advertised - or both. Despite using noise-cancelling headphones, I have been unable to concentrate on work for a week - with the dog I cannot join co-working spaces and I have to enter multiple meetings a day. Like most, home office is still required on most days due to to pandemic restrictions.

 

Well, if this is what regulations say, there is not much we can do. I will definitely take this into consideration the next time I use AirBnB - overall quite a disappointing experience. I hope they change the regulations on noise in the future. As a landlord (which I am as well), I find it highly questionable to rent out a flat under these circumstances. A pre-warning would have helped us to at least

plan ahead.

 

All the best,

Nina

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Nina1197  Okay, now it becomes more clear. You should really avoid booking places run by property management companies and agents. Those are the listings that guests end up having the most issues with. They almost always refuse to refund guests for legitimate issues. Additionally, Airbnb lets those agencies with scores or hundreds of listings get away with stuff they would never allow regular hosts to, because they bring in so much business for Airbnb in guest service fees.

 

Doesn't help with your current situation, but advice for the future is to book places with real hosts who look after their own listings. We have a personal stake in making sure guests are looked after well, and it's better for us to allow  guests to cancel and be refunded if they have a legitimate issue that can't be resolved, than to have unhappy guests who will leave bad reviews. 

 

Property management companies don't care. If you look at some of these company's reviews, there are usually lots of complaints, to which the company responds to the review something like "I'm very sorry you encountered an issue and found it not attended to in the exemplary way we normally deal with things. We will contact our local agent to address this, and look forward to hosting you again." 

 

Yet you see the exact same guest complaints in reviews continuing. Nothing has been done to correct  known issues.

 

They think disingenuous damage control is a viable alternative to actually looking after their properties and guests.

Nina1197
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Definitely a good tip - as they are listed as co-host, it was not transparent from the beginning but maybe we can do something to make this clearer for future guests. I did not know this was such a prominent issue on AirBnB - what a shame. It’s such a cool platform.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Nina1197  A friend of mine who hosts a self contained suite in her home received very short notice that the city would be digging up the road right in front of her house for several blocks, all summer long, to install new sewer and water lines. There was no way of knowing which days they would be working in front of her house.

 

As soon as she got that notice, she contacted all of her booked guests to let them know, saying if it was a deal breaker for them and they wanted to cancel, she would fully refund them.

 

This is how most hands-on hosts would handle a situation like this. 

 

There's nothing to be scared of just because a listing has a co-host. Many co-hosts are friends, neighbors, or family of the host, another local host, or an individual who co-hosts  a few listings in the area for out-of-town owners. Those co-hosts are usually just as easy to work with and attentive to issues as a home-owner host.

 

The thing you have to try to find out is if the co-host is one of those, or some big management company.

 

When you look at a listing with a co-host, click on the co-host's profile. The profile will show all the listings that user has and all of their reviews for all their properties. If they have more than a handful of listings, it's probably a management company. So that is one method of determining.

 

However, some property managers are managing properties that are listed under the owner's account, rather than theirs, so in that case it could appear they only manage a few listings, when in fact they may manage 50. In that case, you'd have to dig a little deeper, ask some questions before committing to a booking.

 

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Nina1197 

 

I can certainly understand why you are unhappy with this situation. I would be too.

 

As @Sarah977  accurately noted, the hammering will probably end soon. Personally I couldn’t tolerate it for long because I have severe PTSD related to explosive noises but I avoid cities anyway.

 

 I definitely agree that everyone should avoid listings made by management companies. 

Thank you for your kind words. Sounds terrible and I hope it will get better in time!

@Nina1197 

Your situation is unfortunate but as someone who lives in an apartment....... it's not something a host has control over. My downstairs neighbor did a full renovation last year which lasted an entire month. The owner had the construction crew put up notices AFTER residents started complaining to the management office. We weren't hosting due to covid at the time (our listing is a private room in our home) but we live there, Henry works from home full time, and I had to work from home for a week as well.... we were not happy with having to put up with the construction noise from 8 till 6 every day, 5 days a week for an entire month and relieved we didn't have a guest staying at the time, but even if we did, I doubt that as hosts we could have been able to do anything about it. 

Yes, if someone really needs quiet, they could only be assured of that by booking a self contained home where there are no close neighbors, regardless of whether something is advertised as quiet. Not only does a host have no control over neighbors, anywhere, or building maintenance in an apartment or condo building, quiet is one of those relative terms. What seems quiet to an urban dweller in the heart of a big city may be noisy to someone who's used to living in the countryside.

Nina1197
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Hello you two,

 

Thank you for your insights. It is very helpful to receive different perspectives on the issue.

 

We have moved to Paris for work (but due to Covid, we are not working from the office full-time). As we are both big-city people, we are quite used to noise - just not this excessive. Due to the construction noise we faced (far over 55dB) we have been unable to enter remote meetings on days we work from home - despite using noise canceling headphones. Of course, we cannot continue to miss out on work and I think for anyone moving abroadthe inability to work from home would pose an issue in 2021. 

 

Personally, I have had my doubts over whether the hosts knew or not. A construction like this (I saw the demolition) takes multiple weeks and the note dated back to July. As works will continue until December, this will affect our whole booking

period and has surely

affected bookings prior. 

I only know what I would have done: inform guests prior to booking and offer flexible cancellation terms as well as a reduction in rent. We were very surprised to find these options were not offered by the support team. But it is what it is - unfortunately.

 

All the best from Paris,

Nina

@Nina1197  For sure what you have described is excessive noise and the owner or manager should have let you know. And construction going on for your entire stay makes it unworkable. I feel you have a legitimate issue for a refund so you can move elsewhere.

 

I was just making a general comment that anywhere there are close neighbors or it's in a building with multiple units, home owners don't have control of what goes on around them and sometimes there is no warning.  It could be a private home in a quiiet neighborhood and the neighbor decides to spend the day chain sawing down trees or using a leaf blower and a weed eater all day. If it's only one day and you have a long booking, no big deal, but if a guest had only booked for a day or two, they'd likely be upset.

 

 

@Nina1197 

Agree that construction noise is excessive noise and makes it impossible to take phone calls or join zoom meetings and if they knew in advance the owner or management company should have let you know. But as @Sarah977 said, when we are talking about rentals in apartment buildings, owners/managers don't have control over what happens around them in the same building so they usually aren't in a position to offer reductions or cancellations every time something like that happens. 

 

I own and live in my apartment, and since the downstairs neighbor wasn't offering to pay for alternate accommodations for everyone in the building or paying people for the inconvenience, Henry and I had no choice but to put up with it (or go stay with our parents lol~) but what if we were renting out our entire apartment? If the tenant came to me and complained, I'm honestly not sure what we'd be able to do - if I could afford to let them leave and keep the place empty for the duration of the construction, then maybe? But what next? Would I be expected to provide full/partial refunds and/or keep the unit empty every time some sort of construction happens in the building or nearby? I'm not saying this is fair or right...... but just realistically......

 

Fyi, there was another unit on the 6th floor that did a 5 week renovation a few months ago (we live on the 14th fl) and Henry said while it was way better than last year when it was the unit directly below us, it was still pretty loud (=impossible to take a nap). I'm usually not home during the week and for some reason, missed reading the notice posted IN the elevator, so I didn't even realize there was construction happening before Henry mentioned it to me. (Henry also said it was posted 2wks in advance.....so he doesn't get how I could have missed it 🤣

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Personally if I was the host I would have notified you in advance that building work was ongoing and offered you the opportunity to cancel penalty free

 

i have rental property in an apartment block and the owner are always notified in advance of major building works. I would be surprised if the owner wasn't notified .

 

I would ask Airbnb if you can cancel penalty free as you are not able to have quiet enjoyment of the apartment. 

Nina1197
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Thanks for your kind words. I will try to reach an alternate support agent and see what they say.