One of the few downsides to apartment living is that you have to deal with bad neighbors.  Sure it’s easy to get along well with nice neighbors who do not cause any disturbance in the building, but in non-remote living, there are no guarantees you will end up with all pleasant neighbors.

If your neighbors are causing trouble for you, here’s what you can do to deal with the situation:

Talk to your neighbor- without being antagonistic, approach your neighbor and talk with him/her.  It’s possible your neighbor just isn’t aware that they are being annoying.  Treat the conversation as a friendly chat and not a confrontation.   Try to work out a solution with your neighbor that you can both live with.  For example, if your neighbors like to play loud music at certain hours of the day or night and you really need that time to rest, ask the neighbor if he or she can turn the music down or play loud music at some other time of the day.

Talk to your landlord- if you think the situation requires more than just a friendly chat with your neighbor take up your concerns with the landlord.  You can also do this if you already talked to your neighbor about your concerns and the neighbor has completely ignored your requests.  The landlord may be able to appeal to the other tenant.  Or if your neighbor is really causing a disturbance to the peace and safety of the other tenants, the landlord may be able to issue stern warnings to your neighbor.  It is also possible that the landlord may be able to resolve the issue without dealing with the neighbor.  Does your apartment have paper-thin walls, and are your neighbors are really noisy? Maybe the landlord can add reinforcements to sound-proof your wall.

Help yourself- instead of complaining, think of ways you can help yourself to lessen your annoyance with the neighbor. Move your bed to the farthest side of the apartment, use earplugs when reading or resting, try to avoid common areas and try to think of creative ways you can avoid having any problems with your neighbor.

Report your neighbor to the police- you should only take this measure if you think your neighbor is conducting illegal activities in his or her apartment.  If you think a visit by the police can straighten out the situation and not cause more troubles for you, take this step.

Move to a different apartment- if the situation is becoming unbearable and your landlord’s actions have little to no effect,  just move to another apartment in the building. Your landlord will appreciate your loyalty and might be willing to something out.