A frustrated TikToker is offering a piece of advice for new renters: Don’t move into a downstairs apartment.
Kayla (@th3y3nvy._kaylaaa) recently issued the warning in a TikTok that’s been viewed 85,700 times following a negative experience of her own.
“If they got upstairs and downstairs, please choose upstairs,” she says in the clip, “because these motherf*ckers upstairs is really pissing me off. They be walking hard as f*ck. Feet be sounding hard as f*ck, crusty as f*ck. Like, motherf*cker, you stomping so hard. It’s like they stomping over my f*cking room.”
And it isn’t just the walking. She notes that she can hear them fighting and screaming throughout the day, giving her far too intimate of a glimpse into the lives of strangers.
“Everything they f*cking do, I f*cking hear it, and it’s so f*cking annoying,” Kayla continues. “I woke up the other morning—8 o’clock sharp—to the f*cking bed screeching. B*tch, I’m trying to f*cking sleep.”
Noisy neighbors are a common frustration among renters
Anyone who has lived in an apartment building with neighbors above them can likely relate to Kayla’s irritation. And first-time renters may not think to take possible noise contamination into consideration when looking for a place to live, resulting in an unpleasant situation that makes itself known rather quickly after move-in.
“No fr why are you always in the same room as I am??” one user commented on the TikTok.
“I made a complaint so good, you would think the unit above me vacant now,” another said of her own experience renting.
“That happened to me and I got my rent reduced by $200,” admitted a third. “I wasn’t playing with them. If I gotta wear earplugs, you gotta reduce my rent.”
There are steps that can be taken to reduce how much noise you hear from other apartments. However, many of them are easier to execute when the problem is with a downstairs unit or a next-door neighbor, as they involve adding layers between the units, such as rugs or tapestries on the wall.
@th3y3nvy._kaylaaa Man i shouldve moved upstairs 🤦🏾♀️😂😂😂
♬ original sound – Kaylaaa💕
Apartment issues are more complex than downstairs vs. upstairs
Sometimes, the majority of your noise issues as a renter really will be solved by simply living on the top floor. But it’s likely things will be more complicated than that.
Several viewers of Kayla’s video shared their own experiences living on a top floor and still hearing everything happening in the units next to them or even downstairs. As one commenter pointed out, this can have more to do with cheap construction, which leaves renters dealing with thin walls.
“The buildings be cheaply made though,” they wrote. “I be tipping but it still feels like I’m walking hard. And when the ppl downstairs close the door, all my stuff be shaking.”
And even if that’s not the case, upstairs living can come with its own set of unique challenges.
“I can’t live upstairs cuz I can tolerate noise but having to worry about being the person not making noise would drive me nuts,” wrote one user, while another said, “I chose down so i won’t struggling bringing in groceries.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kayla via email.
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