A fed-up tenant has shared the note they left their upstairs neighbours, begging them to tone down the ‘running, stomping and wrestling matches’ that disrupt her day and night.

The note, posted on Redditdescribed how everyday life in the flat below had become unbearable, with cups and plates ‘shaking violently in the cupboards’ every time the neighbours moved around.

‘Dear upstairs neighbours,’ the message began.

‘I’m sorry to leave this note. Could you please keep the noise down. The running and stomping upstairs or what sounds like jumping. Our cups and plates have been shaking violently in our cupboards with the thuds and running.’

She explained that they often worked late and slept in, only to be woken between midnight and 2am by thuds echoing across the ceiling.

Even watching TV with the volume turned up or wearing headphones hadn’t helped.

‘The loud and sudden thuds have been stressing our cat out recently,’ she added.

The frustrated tenant revealed she had previously spoken to the neighbour directly after fearing someone had been hurt from the sound of a fall, but nothing had changed.

When they raised the issue with their landlord, they were told simply that the upstairs neighbour ‘watches her grandkids a lot’.

For the poster, the constant noise – especially during weekends – has made sleep nearly impossible.

‘It’s been an every weekend thing of running and thuds and crashes,’ she wrote.

‘Woke up to it this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep from it.’

The lengthy note divided opinion online.

Some argued that while the wording was polite, detailed letters are rarely effective when it comes to noisy neighbours.

‘Notes don’t accomplish anything and oftentimes make the situations worse,’ one person wrote.

‘You’re better off getting all that evidence you collected and turning it into your office management.’

‘Saying that the noise is stressing out your cat may be TMI. Keep it simple,’ another said.

Others felt the message was entirely reasonable.

‘If I were to get this letter, I’d be mortified and do what I could to rectify the situation. You were super polite, explained your issue, and asked nicely.’

Some suggested more formal avenues, such as reporting noise complaints to the police, requesting a lease violation through the landlord, or even breaking the lease altogether if the noise continued.

In Australia, noise complaints are taken seriously, with local councils and police both able to step in if a situation becomes unlivable.

Most states and territories enforce ‘quiet hours’ at night – often between 10pm and 7am – and excessive or ongoing disturbances can result in fines or formal warnings.

Tenants are usually advised to first try speaking directly with neighbours, but if that fails, the next step is to report it to the landlord or strata manager.

If the problem continues, residents can lodge a complaint with their local council or contact police if the noise is extreme or happening during restricted hours.

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I couldn’t handle the ‘violent‘ noise coming from my upstairs neighbours so I left them this note. Am I in the wrong?