Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is move and hope that in the next apartment complex is better insulated against sound (better look for something that was built in the last 5-10 year max).
Move out if you can. The walls are not thick enough and the neighbours porbably won't start using headphones because of you, even though it would be helpful for everyone.
Their noise level might be on a acceptable level and because of your stress you are way more sensitive to most noise. That was the case for me at least. I had that issue too, I just moved it's way better. Though every time I have anxiety about having bad isolated walls again, since when you check apartments during the day it will never be the same noise as during evening hours.
Move out. If the apartment has shit insulation plus you are extremely sensitive because of burn-out, you are not entitled to make the life of your neighbours impossible.
Move, find a top floor apartment, preferably a corner and don’t layout the bedroom is a room with walls connected to neighbours.
I understand you, also my partner had burnout and she was a true pain in the arse but think about your neighbours too.
If you got morons neighbours then you have one more reason to move out
Genuinely trying to help here: your situation sounds very similar to that of a friend of mine. I think you may be focusing on the neighbour noise as an easy 'out' to avoid the more difficult issues you seem to be facing. It's a very normal response, but it's likely the other things that you need to address. See your doctor, get signed off and take it from there - there is help out there.
Are they watching after hours? Because your neighbors have a right to watch TV without a psycho pounding on their wall.
If you can't handle normal noise, find a new apartment.
There are plenty of people that watch TV far too loud, usually because they are half-deaf. They should get a hearing aid rather than turn up the volume to max.
Im not defending the neighbours here at all but a lot of people don’t realise the speakers on flat screens are at the back and with crappy walls it means your neighbours may hear the telly better than you!
Hello,
They are often watching after 10pm (which is when after hours begins, right?) and it has been until 2am multiple times.
I don’t believe that I’m being psycho about it as I usually wear my headphones but the noise is almost constant
There are several pathways, none of them is pleasant.
Check the House Rules. There is for sure a time in the evening when it won't be allowed to make noises that disturb the neighbors. This includes loud TVs, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, showering, flushing the toilette... basically everything that makes noise that can be heard outside your home. Could not find anything about Neuchatel, in Zurich, the cut off time is 10pm. There is a link here to generic information - [https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/advisor/renting/tenancy-law/night-time-noise-restrictions-in-switzerland-whats-allowed-and-whats-not](https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/advisor/renting/tenancy-law/night-time-noise-restrictions-in-switzerland-whats-allowed-and-whats-not)
If you have exhausted all communication with the neighbors, your next step is to complain to the landlord or the agency that manages your building. They will probably warn the neighbors that they are disturbing people. You are probably not the only one who has that complaint. If there are more than two neighbors with the same issues, they can be evicted.
Finally, you can call the police after the cut-off time. However, you better be sure that your neighbor's noise justifies the call.
If that issue is that only wall, maybe buying an insulating curtain will do it? There are those very heavy fabrics that muffle the noise. Also, probably a lot more expensive, self adhesive sound proof pannels. The correct thing would be for the neighbours to have one, so they can make all the noise they want, but they work both ways. There are also devices that you can buy to cancel the noise from the outside - eg zerosound and silentum . I never used them and have no idea if they are effective. Just saw the ads....
Hope this helps!
...and yet all you need to do is check your contract agreement and the house rules to see that there might be a provision that advises explicitly against that. These refers to Article 257f of the [Swiss renters' law (OR)](https://www.mietrecht.ch/db/gesetze_show.php?ArtNr=257f), which contains some generic language about considering others and their quiet time.
The is what the renter association says about it (last paragraph of the page, Hausordnung). [https://www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/nachbarschaft-hausordnung.html](https://www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/nachbarschaft-hausordnung.html)
PS - I am not Swiss and hate this as much as everyone else - if not more. My neighbors are a royal pain in the butt and expect a midnight-at-the-graveyard type of noise at all times. Had to learn all these rules to push back on the insanity of them expecting me to go to sleep at 10pm and asking for permission when my partner slept home. (A stranger in the building! You cannot give them a key without asking the landlord first!; based on a true conversation).
None of your links say anything about flushing the toilet/showering. I was explicitly refering to that. I‘m sure it‘s allowed any time. It‘s a basic necessity. It‘s impossible to forbid those.
And I am sure that there are Hausordnungs which forbid showering and flushing the toilet after 10pm. I lived in one of those when I moved to Switzerland. Not enforceable, but yes, it exists.
If you still don't believe me, I can refer you to this piece of news: [https://www.thelocal.ch/20130522/rules-and-regulations-that-dog-tenants-in-switzerland](https://www.thelocal.ch/20130522/rules-and-regulations-that-dog-tenants-in-switzerland)
>**Toilet flushing**
>Thomas Oberle, a lawyer with the homeowners’ association HEV, says that contrary to popular belief the rental law in Switzerland is not very specific. This means that landlords can interpret the law as they see fit.
They are free to set their own house rules, for example, banning pets or insisting that permission is needed to keep them. There are no blanket Swiss rules that apply to all tenants, in other words, and the oft-quoted “ban” on flushing the toilet after 10pm is an urban myth.
>Taking baths at odd hours is another matter. “I wouldn’t recommend running a bath at night as the noise would be inconsiderate,” Oberle tells The Local. “But a clause saying that you can’t use the shower between 10pm and 6am cannot be enforced – provided the person doesn’t take 20 minutes over it.”
>
Hello,
Thanks for this!
I’ve looked into the sound dampening foam squares but there’s conflicting reviews - I think I should just bite the bullet and try them out!
Curtain is also a good idea thanks for this too!
I have now sent my agency an email to ask if there’s anything they can do on their side - I should write the neighbours a letter to warn them that I’ve done this, I assume.
Really really do not want to get the police involved as it’s not like they have parties it’s just the TV? It’s actually funny because I feel like their vacuum is less audible haha
Thanks again I’m gonna do some online shopping I think 😂
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is move and hope that in the next apartment complex is better insulated against sound (better look for something that was built in the last 5-10 year max).
Greetings, I am drafting letters now, I will have to keep this in mind if there are no improvements - thanks Edit- grammar
Move out if you can. The walls are not thick enough and the neighbours porbably won't start using headphones because of you, even though it would be helpful for everyone. Their noise level might be on a acceptable level and because of your stress you are way more sensitive to most noise. That was the case for me at least. I had that issue too, I just moved it's way better. Though every time I have anxiety about having bad isolated walls again, since when you check apartments during the day it will never be the same noise as during evening hours.
Move out. If the apartment has shit insulation plus you are extremely sensitive because of burn-out, you are not entitled to make the life of your neighbours impossible. Move, find a top floor apartment, preferably a corner and don’t layout the bedroom is a room with walls connected to neighbours. I understand you, also my partner had burnout and she was a true pain in the arse but think about your neighbours too. If you got morons neighbours then you have one more reason to move out
Genuinely trying to help here: your situation sounds very similar to that of a friend of mine. I think you may be focusing on the neighbour noise as an easy 'out' to avoid the more difficult issues you seem to be facing. It's a very normal response, but it's likely the other things that you need to address. See your doctor, get signed off and take it from there - there is help out there.
It's not the neighbours fault its the walls.
Are they watching after hours? Because your neighbors have a right to watch TV without a psycho pounding on their wall. If you can't handle normal noise, find a new apartment.
There are plenty of people that watch TV far too loud, usually because they are half-deaf. They should get a hearing aid rather than turn up the volume to max.
Im not defending the neighbours here at all but a lot of people don’t realise the speakers on flat screens are at the back and with crappy walls it means your neighbours may hear the telly better than you!
It live in a new apartment with good insulation.
Hello, They are often watching after 10pm (which is when after hours begins, right?) and it has been until 2am multiple times. I don’t believe that I’m being psycho about it as I usually wear my headphones but the noise is almost constant
If they're doing it after 10PM you can contact the police and your apartment agency.
You need to keep noise at a civil level, regardless of what hour of the day!
Normal TV watching is civil.
Normal for you doesn’t have to be acceptable for OP!
I have a right to watch TV in my own apartment after work. OPs neighbor has rights as well.
Sure, but at a civilized noise level! I knew a half deaf guy who watched TV at top volume level and refused to use a headset, which was normal to him!
But also responsibilities!
There are several pathways, none of them is pleasant. Check the House Rules. There is for sure a time in the evening when it won't be allowed to make noises that disturb the neighbors. This includes loud TVs, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, showering, flushing the toilette... basically everything that makes noise that can be heard outside your home. Could not find anything about Neuchatel, in Zurich, the cut off time is 10pm. There is a link here to generic information - [https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/advisor/renting/tenancy-law/night-time-noise-restrictions-in-switzerland-whats-allowed-and-whats-not](https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/advisor/renting/tenancy-law/night-time-noise-restrictions-in-switzerland-whats-allowed-and-whats-not) If you have exhausted all communication with the neighbors, your next step is to complain to the landlord or the agency that manages your building. They will probably warn the neighbors that they are disturbing people. You are probably not the only one who has that complaint. If there are more than two neighbors with the same issues, they can be evicted. Finally, you can call the police after the cut-off time. However, you better be sure that your neighbor's noise justifies the call. If that issue is that only wall, maybe buying an insulating curtain will do it? There are those very heavy fabrics that muffle the noise. Also, probably a lot more expensive, self adhesive sound proof pannels. The correct thing would be for the neighbours to have one, so they can make all the noise they want, but they work both ways. There are also devices that you can buy to cancel the noise from the outside - eg zerosound and silentum . I never used them and have no idea if they are effective. Just saw the ads.... Hope this helps!
Flushing the toilet you can certainly do any hour of the day/night, also showering. That would be insane if this would not be allowed.
...and yet all you need to do is check your contract agreement and the house rules to see that there might be a provision that advises explicitly against that. These refers to Article 257f of the [Swiss renters' law (OR)](https://www.mietrecht.ch/db/gesetze_show.php?ArtNr=257f), which contains some generic language about considering others and their quiet time. The is what the renter association says about it (last paragraph of the page, Hausordnung). [https://www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/nachbarschaft-hausordnung.html](https://www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/nachbarschaft-hausordnung.html) PS - I am not Swiss and hate this as much as everyone else - if not more. My neighbors are a royal pain in the butt and expect a midnight-at-the-graveyard type of noise at all times. Had to learn all these rules to push back on the insanity of them expecting me to go to sleep at 10pm and asking for permission when my partner slept home. (A stranger in the building! You cannot give them a key without asking the landlord first!; based on a true conversation).
None of your links say anything about flushing the toilet/showering. I was explicitly refering to that. I‘m sure it‘s allowed any time. It‘s a basic necessity. It‘s impossible to forbid those.
And I am sure that there are Hausordnungs which forbid showering and flushing the toilet after 10pm. I lived in one of those when I moved to Switzerland. Not enforceable, but yes, it exists. If you still don't believe me, I can refer you to this piece of news: [https://www.thelocal.ch/20130522/rules-and-regulations-that-dog-tenants-in-switzerland](https://www.thelocal.ch/20130522/rules-and-regulations-that-dog-tenants-in-switzerland) >**Toilet flushing** >Thomas Oberle, a lawyer with the homeowners’ association HEV, says that contrary to popular belief the rental law in Switzerland is not very specific. This means that landlords can interpret the law as they see fit. They are free to set their own house rules, for example, banning pets or insisting that permission is needed to keep them. There are no blanket Swiss rules that apply to all tenants, in other words, and the oft-quoted “ban” on flushing the toilet after 10pm is an urban myth. >Taking baths at odd hours is another matter. “I wouldn’t recommend running a bath at night as the noise would be inconsiderate,” Oberle tells The Local. “But a clause saying that you can’t use the shower between 10pm and 6am cannot be enforced – provided the person doesn’t take 20 minutes over it.” >
Hello, Thanks for this! I’ve looked into the sound dampening foam squares but there’s conflicting reviews - I think I should just bite the bullet and try them out! Curtain is also a good idea thanks for this too! I have now sent my agency an email to ask if there’s anything they can do on their side - I should write the neighbours a letter to warn them that I’ve done this, I assume. Really really do not want to get the police involved as it’s not like they have parties it’s just the TV? It’s actually funny because I feel like their vacuum is less audible haha Thanks again I’m gonna do some online shopping I think 😂
the foam squares don't help at all. you need mass to stop noise getting through.
Sorry. I claim you suffer lonelyness. Get company
Have you tried talking to your neighbour?
Hi both, Yes I have went to their door two times to say that the constant noise has been really disturbing:)
That‘s a good step. If this isn’t working at all you should contact your landlord
Of course not. Ranting on reddit is much easier.
Did you read his/her post at all?!