Noise complaint by neighbour

[Ken79]

Hi

We are new to hosting and unfortunately our first guests broke our house rules about no loud noise or parties after 10 p.m. Our neighbour messaged me on AirBnB complaining about noise and told us to stop hosting.

We apologised for noise and assured them this would not happen again. They will not accept this assurance and insist we stop hosting. They have now put a sign outside their house "You are not welcome AirBnb".

Our house is one of seven townhouses in a quiet neighbourhood.. They refuse to accept our apology and are now trying to intimidate our future guests with this sign. I met our new guests today and explained neighbours are annoyed by previous guests noise. They accepted our explanation and are happy with house.

My concern is my future booked guests will cancel. The police will not interfere as they say its a civil matter for us to resolve.

Any suggestions please. We want to continue hosting.

[David126]

The OP is in Ireland, near Dublin.

They do not have a Town House, they do not have a HoA, the Police are not going to come and evict the Guests.

Sounds like the property is an end of terrace.

Rules are all fine but as we know most people do not read them and the issue is to stop the problem, rather than dealing with it after the event.

Comments about verifying guest, two nights minimum, no Instant Book all help. Tightening up rules do no harm but still need a plan as to how they will respond if, or more likely when there is an issue, you can minimise the chances of it happening but not eliminate it.

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

@David126,

The OP said it was a townhouse.  Maybe townhouses in Ireland are not what they are in the States, but he did say townhouse.

If it is NOT a townhouse/row house where neighbors share common walls, then he's in better position.  As he said most recently, these neighbors have been a pain for quite some time.

[Bildani0]

Hi, I'm coming at this from the other side.  I live next door to a property that sleeps up 18 people in a quiet residential street in Brighton UK, and despite the listing saying 'no stag/hen parties' you can almost guarantee that a house sleeping up to 18 is going to attract that.   The (non'resident ) owner seems to be in denial despite having inflatable penises and hen party balloons tied to the door about what sort of guests are staying. No Smoking inside means they sit on my doorstep or outside my window, pizza boxes and rubbish and vile behaviour when I step over them to get in or out. Airbnb has been no help whatsoever apart from saying  they've passed on the messages.  I've emailed the host directly saying if she can let me know when the place is booked I'll go and stay elsewhere but she doesn't respond.  What I'm trying to say is that it's great for people to be making money off their property, but please consider that your neighbours aren't getting anything apart from  problems a lot of the time. Your guests may be wonderful when you meet them, but not when you're out of sight. If you can be reasonable with the owners of neighbouring properties and let them know when to expect disturbance it's a lot easier than them expecting to have a quiet relaxing weekend then having to deal with YOUR (not their) guests.

[Nina176]

i rented an apt 4 months ago and they did not tell me there was a 365 days a year air b&b above me ,i am living a nightmare they advertise a miniscule 1 bed apt for 4 people not counting children,there is continious noise starting anytime ,on the website they advertise that people can check in until until 11pm ! which is nutts because it means there will be people dragging luggage ,moving furniture ,children playing... up until usually 2am and then you have the clubbers that come back at 4 in the morning or the druggies that throw their empty packs of cigarettes in my garden, i even found a dyper full of piss in my garden ! disgusting in every way !

i keep on sending Emails to AirB&B but all the do is pass it on to the host and obviously nothing changes.

And they have hardwood floors ! so no insolation whatsoever !they sound like a herd of elephants.impossible to sleep!

I am sleep deprived ,i am psychologically exausted and i think the only possible thing to do is to take them to court for mental distress.

They are also putting the whole building at risk and there was a problem with their alarm system which is connected to the whole building so the whole building kept on going off .

there also is a considerable amount of trash in front of the building.(obviously that size apt is not made to host 4 people and up to 7...

Air b&b is a disastre in every way possible.

[Richard841]

Bilandi, you should be able to monitor bookings by going onto the hosts's website, but.......I have a similar problem, here in Burradoo NSW Australia. The next door property was rented out 3 months ago, and is in close proximity and at right angles to ours, with a shared gravel drive. Up to 12 guests, children not included, can stay, evidence of which can be seen from the state of the now worn out drive, full of ridges and holes due to the large volume of vehicles using it - that's guests plus service vehicles. The Fire & Rescue Dept at our request have flagged the number of guests' cars (7 on one occasion) as being a potential access problem in case of fire, but cannot enforce regulations onto a private property. We've made 5 complaints to the absentee owners about noise at night outside our bedroom windows, and three complaints about tenants entering our property. There was no consultion from the owners (who live 150kms away) when they set it up. In their defence, they have tried to warn tenants about 'House Rules', but these are largely ignored because tenants, once here, want to have a good time. It's pointless complaining to hopeless Airbnb as they simply pass on to the owners. We have had encouragement from police, though,  as to what we should do, and we are following their recommendations. The NSW government is dragging its heels over controls overAirbnb outside the Sydney metropolitain area, but until that happens I can see only further friction with the owners. The presence of Airbnb gives owners here all the power and the neighbours none. But that is why new promised controls will  be imposed by the Dept of Fair Trading....so roll on that day!

[Glenn431]

Hi Richard This post is 5 6yrs old now.  I wonder if you will get this msg. I have an Airbnb neighbor that is a continual source of angst to my life. I was wondering if you have had any success with NSW Fair trade as yet as I want to try this path. The host next door ,we have very small backyards, put a spa tub there. It is within spitting distance of my main living area. Wether it is the screaming kids in the pool or the loud drunken adults. We  get many days & nights of disturbed peace  The owners /hosts couldn't care less. care less. Cheers GD Albury NSW

[Nina176]

how selfish you are ,respect people's lives i hope they catch you.

[Marcus21]

@Nina176

I’m a host but I also have troubles with neighbours who don’t host responsibly.

have you called your local council about this??

ours has a noise patrol/anti social behaviour team

i live surrounded by absentee landlords who don’t care what their Long term tenants do as long as they keep paying..not quite as bad as you describe but similar.

i don’t know where you are but now the council here has powers to fine landlords who persistently cause noise problems. 

Call the police, call the council..build up a case history.

if you are in a block try finding your freeholder..this air bnb host most be in violation of their lease causing noise like this..I’d be suprised their lease allows air bnb at all..

keep it calm and rational they can’t do this kind of thing to you.

[Marcus21]

@Ken150

im a host and a neighbour of a new host myself and they did make exactly this mistake at new year, I was mad as hell at the timebut you calm down...people make mistakes what’s important is to be seen to be learning/making an effort to correct your behaviour. 

Obviously being outside putting up cctv sends a message but..

...have you considered making your neighbours sign a bit redundant by putting up a sign of your own? 

“Please respect our neighbours by keeping noise to a minimum in outside areas..”

maybe even “..noisy guests will be asked to leave with immediate effect” 

you dont want to scare the hell out of your guests but you can’t be afraid of losing bookings by telling them what’s expected. 

With a sign your angry neighbour has a very public display you are trying to manage the problem very hands on. 

Consider making it a draft and editing it over time to get the tone right maybe the neighbour could get involved in suggesting what to write, then they’re involved in helping you find a solution..and could be more supportive of that solution 

I find in my air bnb which is very small and in a Old block with poor soundproofing and lots and lots of neighbours here in over crowded central London that a in built house manual is the best way...guests don’t read the rules..they don’t even read a printed manual ...try to find ways to get them to find the rules as they go! 

Dare I say it...the odd note in the right place..I have a label on the shower door facing in asking guests to ventilate the window..

stitches in time to save nine/big problems occurring.

you can go a bit too far micro managing with labels (I put the odd one up in friustration and take it down again soon after!) but..it’s a tactic here and there that can work. 

[Jackie148]

Hi Ken here in Australia if we have a set of units it is usually in a body corporate which has by-laws where guests, owners, tenants have to follow set guidelines one of these would be no advertising from a dwelling is it possible you have this type of set up if so you could let them know this is occurring 

[Gordon0]

@Ken79

You are not the antichrist here, and neither are you destroying communities. Your neighbour is the problem. Airbnb isn't a breeding ground of bad guests (they are actually few and far between). Perhaps your neighbour would prefer it if you rented your house out on a long-term basis? There are plenty of tenants from hell out there...

Build bridges by all means, but you are not the cause of the issue here. 

[Cormac0]

@Ken79

Perhaps, Ken, you could share you Airbnb profit with your neighbours, after all, you don't mind them sharing the downside, (potentialy, parties all night every weekend) as you well know you'd have absolutely no problem letting your property long term in Ireland at the moment for a very good rent.

The notion that you could guarantee your neighbours that no more party will take place is just plain stupid, and I can see why you neighbours are justifiably angry.

Parties are like farts one can just about tolerate one's own.

[Ana1136]

@Cormac0 I am sure there are not partying all night every weekend but it was an isolated incindent. And I am also sure that the neighbours will have a party or gathering at one point of their lifetine and will be loud for a couple of hours. That is the thing about communities, tolerance and respect. @Ken79 for sure didn't want to upset the neighbours but guests who don't follow rules happen as you know beeing a host. And the good side is that those are rare and will stop when told to be quiet. And if not, he can always cancel their reservation. It is not that big of a deal honestly to go to that extremes of putting signs.

[Cormac0]

@Ana1136

I own an apartment block which from time to time I spend extended periods in, and I've had to intervene to shut parties down based on the local quite time laws and residents complaints, so I can base my comment on the experience and here's my take.

1. there is just no talking to some people, on a number of occasions I've shut the electricity off to bring these people to their senses. 
2. living in an environment not knowing if at the weekend you’re going to be kept awake all night while partygoers just could not give a **bleep** is very stressful.
3. Residence will make allowance for people they see on a regular basis as they know residents have a party once in a blue moon. while no such allowance is made for transients guests, Airbnb for example.
4. The gig economy has turned residential areas that under normal circumstances would not be allowed to engage in commercial activity into such. For example, try putting a sandwich board advertising motor repair or a legal practice outside your home and its quickly put a stop to by local bye-laws.

Looking at it from other peoples perspective in the uncertainty that’s the killer while the owner of the property is enjoying the profits from the comfort of an armchair many miles away.

[Alice486]

I am a neighbour of a house doing airbnb. 

We have had endless problems with parking, noise, rubbish, trespass on private property and obstruction of parking areas.

I have spoken to the owner of the house several times, received apologies...but to be honest the apology is easy to give and not of any use to me when same problems occur again and again.

I have submitted a complaint to the airbnb site.

I have taken photographs and posted on facebook today to see if I can shame the owner.

There were perfectly good tenants in this house, who were given notice and told the house was being sold. Within a week or two it had become an airbnb.

We are a gated courtyard with 7 houses and our gate code is being given out at random to all and sundry. I am about to check if our community insurance on the courtyard covers paying guests...

Airbnb is a pain when it is next door to you...