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Loud TV of neighbour
Dear all,
My upstairs neighbour is an old lady who loves watching very loud tv starting 11 p.m. every night. She watches anywhere till 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.
The tv is loud enough to wake up my husband and/or me with a jolt. I have heart problems which means when I get scared in my sleep with such sudden noise, I wake up with a racing heart (tachycardia). It takes a long time before my heart goes back to normal :(
I have tried everything from talking to her, talking to the building 'patriarch' who in turn spoke with the lady on my behalf, banging on the door and doing these things in a loop. I haven't yet called the police on her. Can I do that? I really don't want to.
What are the appropriate ways I can escalate this issue? The old lady pays no heed to our requests. She doesn't even open her door. This is getting out of hand as my working husband doesn't even get his sleep anymore.
What are the noise complaint authorities and their contacts in Brussels? Please guide me. I don't speak French or Dutch, so my googling powers are limited here.
Thank you in advance everyone. I really don't want to be 'that' neighbour but this situation has been going on for months now.
I imagine age related hearing loss and possibly dementia are both partly to blame. I'm not clear what the police would do but you could try calling the commune first and inquiring about noise related laws so you know what to complain about.
Have you also tried writing to her?
The issue is if she has dementia then she won't recall even if the police come. I would definitely involve the social services as siuggested.
Their must be a "règlement d'ordre interieur" in the building. (guidelines of the way the buiding is managed and ruled).
The syndic is in charge of ensuring the peace between people but has only a power to remind.
In case this does not work, the "judge de paix" is the person who can deal with your problem. It is free, you can appear in person and do not need a lawyer.
Good luck
If you speak neither of the national languages (not counting German for the sake of this argument) and she's presumably a native, how do you even know she's speaking incoherently? If I were a native and someone came up to me talking in English I'd tell them to buzz off too.
> I'm not clear what the police would do
Nor am I , but the police are, so it may well be worth talking to them to see what they can suggest.
@SD,
I speak basic French and my husband is Dutch. Besides the lady responds in English when we talk to her in English. She speaks Dutch as well. But in a typical 'old people' manner... kind of distracted and what I would say as incoherent. I speak perfect German, so I would have no issues with that language. The problem is also her attitude.
"Attitude" is a two-sided issue. This old lady has doubtless lived in Bruxelles all her long life, which probably included living under German occupation in her childhood, and feels entitled to live the remainder of her life in accordance with what she considers to be traditional standards of behaviour. She probably feels disorientated by the changes that have gone on around her and she almost certainly considers that she watches the TV at an acceptable sound volume which may indeed be the lowest volume at which she can actually hear it.
I am not saying that you should do nothing but if tell either the police or the CPAS that she has an attitude problem, they are likely to take the view that it is you that has the problem.
I wish I could reach out to an authority that could objectively measure the decibel level in my bedroom when the tv is on.
I feel sorry for her but recently not more than I feel for myself since my health is suffering. Everyone has issues in life, I just don't think that necessarily excuses us from being decent to one another.
By the way, I doubt she has lived in Brussels all her life. She seems quite international as she speaks English too. I think that is quite uncommon for really old people unless they have traveled.
Again, as harsh as it may sound, her personal issues are not mine and I am in no position in my life to be able to deal with them. I have serious health issues and 3 years more to live. I frankly can't be bothered with the problems of other people who have lived a full life. I don't expect my neighbours to go out of their way to be nice to me, I expect good manners. That is all.
On what you've just said, definitely go to the police and ask them for advice.
The police is not able to deal with this type of dispute which happens in a private property unless there is too much noise after 10PM.
As I said, the syndic of your building first and then the juge de paix if you are unable to be heard from her when asking her.
Send her a letter can help.....both to show that you have done previous remarks without succes and as a matter of her having something she can read if she otherwise forgets.
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