A mum has called out her neighbour after being asked not to "make noise before 4pm as she is sleeping until then".
The woman's neighbour works night shifts and so is "essentially nocturnal", and as a result has asked there to be no noise during the day while she is sleeping.
Unsure of how to deal with the situation, the woman took to parenting forum Mumsnet to ask for advice. She wrote: "My downstairs neighbour works nights.
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"They get home from work around 7am and then wake up at around 4pm. So they’re essentially nocturnal. "We live in a Victorian terrace house, attic flat, upstairs flat and downstairs flat. She lives downstairs, I live upstairs. Bedroom is on top of her bedroom.
"Apparently the noise insulation is awful, she can hear every foot step. We have carpet and thick underlay. We very rarely hear the attic flat above us."
She continued: "We keep getting noise complaints from downstairs. We have been asked not to make noise before 4pm as she is sleeping until then. So no washing machine, no hoover, no brushing floors. Apparently she can even hear it when we open and close our wardrobe doors
"We both rent. I’m starting to wonder if she is part of the reason the previous tenants lasted six months before moving on. I used to be a nurse and did nights, so know what it’s like.
"You’re tired, grumpy, and just want to sleep. But equally if you choose to live in a flat in an old house in the city centre, it’s going to be noisy."
She added: "I don’t really feel that comfortable in my own home now, incase just walking over the floor will annoy her. I’m also going to be working from home soon, from the bedroom, so going to expect that will disturb her."
Before long, the post had received dozens of replies from fellow Mumsnet users. There was a range of opinions on the matter regarding how the woman should respond.
One argued: "If she doesn’t want to be woken up she needs to move! Sorry but you can’t change your whole lifestyle because of a neighbour."
A second echoed: "She needs to manage her own sleep and get some earplugs. It's unreasonable to expect you to be silent during the main part of the day!"
"Not your problem she needs to move to a detached house," agreed a third, while a fourth said: "No, that's ridiculous. She needs earplugs or noise cancelling headphones."
Meanwhile, a fifth wrote: "Oh, so she expects you to rearrange your life around her life choices. No. You have a life to live and it starts the second you wake up each day, not after 4pm."
However, others were more sympathetic towards the downstairs neighbour, with one writing: "I would be happy to make some compromise during the week, eg not running washing machine/dishwasher during those times. Normal living noises, walking about etc is her issue."
A second state: "Awkward for both of you. I can see both sides, but in the eyes of the law you aren’t doing anything wrong."
"I wouldn't vacuum while she's asleep in this situation, personally," a third simply said.
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