Noise & Neighbour Conflicts
Community Situation Noise Complaint / Rules EnforcementA Toddler's Footsteps, a Flooring Demand, and a Neighbour on the Board
A young family faced a costly flooring and underpad replacement demand over normal footstep noise, with the added complication that the complaining neighbour also sits on the board.
- Complaint
- Stomping and running noise from a young child
- Flooring
- Original flooring, never altered by the family
- Demand
- Replace flooring and install new underpads
- Complication
- The complainant also sits on the board
A family with a young child received repeated complaints from the unit below about stomping and running noise. The family had never changed the original flooring. Management told them to replace their flooring and install new underpads, even though the family had already added carpets and other mitigation on their own. The family said they were willing to comply but could not afford the work on short notice.
One detail matters as a general pattern, not as an accusation: the neighbour who filed the complaint also sits on the board. That alone does not mean anything improper happened. It does mean this is exactly the kind of situation where a corporation's conflict-of-interest process matters, regardless of how the noise question itself is resolved.
Documents an owner in this situation should gather
- The written complaints received and management's written flooring/underpad demand
- Any specific written flooring or underlayment rule the corporation is enforcing, not just a verbal request
- Any acoustic or sound test results referenced in the demand
- Cost estimates for the required compliance work
Questions to ask management or the board
- 1Is there a written flooring or underlayment rule, and what specific acoustic standard is it based on?
- 2Is a phased timeline or cost-sharing arrangement available given the financial hardship?
- 3What is the corporation's process for handling a complaint fairly when the complainant is also a director?
- 4Has the corporation independently verified the noise level, or is the demand based solely on the complaint?
Facing something like this?
Read the plain-language guidance for this exact situation, or run your own documents through the Free Notice Decoder.
Read the full guides
Curated and maintained by Alexander Baraz, Condo Owner Advocate.
This is a Community Situation: a real situation shared publicly by a condo owner, most often in an Ontario Facebook community group. It is an illustrative community case. It is not a Condo Owner Advocate client, not COA casework, not a testimonial, and not legal advice.