Take action against noisy neighbours before we rent flat out?

We’re about to move out of the little flat we own in Madrid and rent it out. It seemed like the perfect little pad for a couple. But a few weeks after we got the mortgage, new neighbours moved in upstairs…

We hear every step they take, both the impact and the fact that every floorboard squeaks very loudly. It’s often louder than the music and television in our flat (over 50db during the night, way more than what is allowed by Spanish law) and wakes me up even with earplugs designed for road workers. They slam the door and get up multiple times in the night to go to the toilet (which we also hear). We installed a layer of soundproof plasterboard on the ceiling, which did a little bit to reduce the woman’s footfalls, but not the man’s due to the way he walks.

We appreciate you can’t change how people move around, the only real solution is to get the floor refurbished (pretty sure a few screws and some lubricant would at least sort the squeaking) but they don’t want to. We spoke to the comunidad and building administrator, but nothing came of it. We also asked them to oil their clothes line because it has rusted to the point that it sounds like a medieval drawbridge opening  - nope.

Is this just normal in the city? Should we be nervous that tenants will get fed up and leave us with an empty property? Is there any legal action we can take? Should we offer to pay to have it reconditioned? Or should we just try to sell?

Any advice?

If we only registered 50dB in our apartment I think I'd wonder if we'd missed the end of the world. This isn't just normal in the city, it's normal in Spain.

Sell & move to Iceland

When I read your post ..I came to the conclusion that you are not normally flat dwellers .because all the things you mentioned are part and parcel of living in a block of flats.

The SPANISH are very noisy from my experience they leave the babies to self SOOTHE what ever that is and move FURNITURE around at 2 am in the morning 

The dustmen arrive at 3am so do as the SPANISH do go to BED at 3.30 am and wake up at NOON sorted

Love Hugh xx

ps you could always come to live near me its very peaceful compared to CAMPOSOL or MADRID

Hugh is correct in what he says, but I think the OP is a spoof having a laugh!

For the benefit of those thinking of moving to Spain, noise pollution may come as a shock and you need to consider carefully what and where you choose to live. For Rupert & Juliet from village snotty in the UK where all social behaviour is strictly enforced,Spain may be unsuitable, but for Cid & Chardonnay living in a corpy high-rise with an all day barking bull dog that uses the balcony as a toilet, Spain could be home from home.

To some it can be a culture shock, Spanish people can only shout, usually all at the same time at one another, they see it as normal. Bleating the car horn because they are too lazy to ring the door bell is also quite normal, it’s illegal but who cares. Door slamming and general banging about at all hours is standard practice. But remember that you have to learn to tolerate their culture, just like they tolerate ours, young Brit tourists in Benidorm, drunk, vomiting in the street, urinating on the pavement and sometimes from the hotel balcony.

It takes all sorts to make a world.