One of the biggest complaints of large cities is the noise.
Police sirens, kids yelling, and the constant thrum of cars can be an overwhelming amount of sound for anyone.
Of course, these noises usually quiet down as the night descents, but sometimes the city can come a live with other noises.
What happens when those noises aren’t just annoying, but actively problematic.
That was the issue facing a Redditor and Original Poster (OP) when they came to the “Am I the A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for judgment. While the original username has been deleted, the query is still a valid one.
They asked:
“WIBTA if I record the audio of my neighbours having sex and play it back to them?”
OP got right to the inciting problem.
“My neighbours are often super loud, blasting music at 2am, yelling, blaring the TV.”
“I’ve gone round various times politely asking if they could be quieter.”
“We have concrete walls and carpet, so for sound to get through they really have to be loud, which they are.”
“They also periodically have loud sex, with the woman screeching.”
“It’s actually turning me off sex. I find them insufferable.”
She came up with a plan for retribution.
“As petty revenge, I’m considering recording them having sex and playing it back to them through the walls whenever they’re loud, instead of going round to politely request they stfu at 3am.”
“I feel they know I’m mild-mannered, and they’re taking advantage – that since I’m not a tough guy or something (I’m a young woman), they don’t care.”
“I’m in Australia, and I’m pretty sure that kind of recording is legal here.”
OP was left to wonder, though, if she was going too far.
“WIBTA?”
Having explained the issue, OP turned to Reddit for judgment.
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided: NTA
Some felt more direct measures were called for.
“NTA -“
“I’d just go round and interrupt them every time they are having sex” ~ lotty115
“‘Umm, excuse me, may I please borrow some sugar? I know it’s 3 in the morning, but since you were keeping me up with your ruckus, I thought I’d make a cake.'”
“‘Of course, then I realized I was out of sugar. Oh, thanks so much.”‘
“5 minutes later, after they start again”
“‘So sorry, I totally forgot I was out of milk, do you have any? Thank you.'”
“Just keep doing it all night until you have a cake” ~ leftiesrox
Some felt there were more reasonable options available.
“Just file a noise complaint, weirdo.”
“EDIT: They’re weird too, so ESH” ~ [deleted]
“ESH.”
“I have had those neighbors before, and have had the exact same revenge fantasy as you have.”
“That said, it’s only going to exacerbate the situation and not solve anything.”
“Sounds like you have tried talking to them to no avail, so probably next step is to talk to management.” ~ elizamouse
“ESH.”
“In my oppinion, starting the propper way would be to file noisecomplaints with your landlord and the police.”
“If this doesn’t do the trick you can start the petty revenge mode.”
“I think there are better and less legally gray ares to achieve this.”
“Go ring at theit door and mash the bloody button in, slide explicit notes into their mail (not sure if that could be considered illegal in some cases).”
“If you wanna make noise yourself talk to your otjer neighbours first and make sure they are fine with it.”
“You could also just play porn, hook up a bass or guitar to a big amp, play tunak tunak tun on repeat or sing horrible karaoke. stuff like that.” ~ SirDrystan
“ESH”
“Even if they’re being disruptive, recording their sex and blasting it back is juvenile and, tbh, kind of gross.”
“Escalate this situation with the people who have the authority to actually quash it.”
“It’s not your responsibility to get them to stop, and if your landlord or property manager doesn’t want to do their job then ride their ass until they do or escalate it above them.” ~ Tofon
Others were unsure of the legality involved.
“Isn’t it illegal to vocally record people without their consent?”
“I remember hearing this when being advised to get a dash cam that records audio as well, that you have to let the people know getting into your car that you’re recording the audio, or to just turn it off.” ~ darko2309
“NTA, that is”
“Pretty funny”
“3 AM? That would be illegal where im from.”
“If its legal i beg to you to upload it (of course without revealing their identity)” ~ Tzombikos
“NTA, but I don’t recommend recording your neighbors and then playing it back to them.”
“I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.”
“That being said, that recording could be illegal depending on various factors (even if it isn’t, playing it back to them might escalate this crappy situation to the extent that your neighbors might decide to sue you.”
“(Even weak lawsuits can be expensive and time-consuming for the party being sued.)”
“Therefore, why not contact the property owner, landlord, or neighborhood association instead?”
“These groups might be in a better position to deal with the problem (they might evict them, withhold their security deposit, or fine them.)”
“Keep a log of dates/times when their noise level interfered with the quiet enjoyment of your living space. Seek solutions, not vengeance.” ~ roguelikewow
Commenters feared unforeseen consequences.
“NTA 😂😂 Genius…”
“Although I see this playing out in a few different ways:”
“1) you play it, they think you’re a pervert and file a complaint against you.”
“2) you play it, they love it/ obvious exhibitionists and raise the stakes–making your life that much worse.”
“3) you play it, they ask you to join and you fall on love with them” ~ maeyonaise
A few responses were undecided.
“I’m riding the border of ESH and NAH.”
“I find it a little weird on your part that you want to record them having sex.”
“Like, playing it back to them would just come across as creepy.”
“They hear themselves when they have sex, and now you have a copy to listen to whenever you want?”
“If someone played a recording of me and my SO having sex, I would just be really creeped out by that person, and whatever it is they do in their alone time…”
“It wouldn’t stop me from having sex with my SO though.”
“I don’t know.”
“There isn’t a lot you can do here honestly.”
“I’d say complain to the landlord, invest in some earplugs, or move. They definitely aren’t going to stop doing what they regularly do, though, just because you’ve recorded it.” ~ rorschaqued
While some had caveats.
“NTA”
“Conditions:”
“You play it for them, then tell them why you recorded it and plan on deleting it”
“You dont play it for anyone else”
“You play it for them in the context of ‘this is what it sounds like in my house’ and not a weird vaguely threatening way (not saying thats what you planned just saying make sure you present it right)”
“I would be shocked if that was illegal, considering the recording was taken from your home…”
“But one could argue that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own home…but one could argue that they dont have it in your home which is where their noise is being pushed.”
“If this was the first time it would maybe be different but youve talked to them a few times already.” ~ lilyraine-jackson
Some shared personal stories.
“I had a problem with noise from upstairs neighbors before in 2 different apartments.”
“The 1st time my friend & I were subletting some of our other friends apartment in the college during the summer & it was a pain in the a*s because we had to be at work at 8am M-F & the noise kept us up – request to cease were not complied with.”
“One weekend my roommate & I got back from a show & were talking about how much fun it looked like the band was having even in the small venue & how we wished we could get paid to do that instead of the boring data extraction -“
“Then the upstairs noise started.”
“We looked at each other, one of us looked over at the guitars & amps we had, & the plan was sealed.”
“We put the amps pointing UP on top of the kitchen island & turned them up LOUD.”
“I actually used to have a cassette recording of this.”
“We jammed the hell out – it was not bad, but obviously no one was buying tickets to hear amateur bass & rhythm guitarists freestyle at 4 am.”
“The session ended with the only lyrics of the entire thing: HEY! HEY! (My dumbass thought my roommate was about to start singing for a second so I switched back to chords before realizing he had stopped playing).”
“WHAT’S BURNING?”
“’Oh SH*T! My Hot dogs!’ & then the tape ended with a click.”
“The upstairs neighbors were NEVER noisy again.”
“2nd time I did it solo & didn’t burn food, but same thing – no more noise from upstairs.” ~ 7Moisturefarmer
“ESH.”
“I actually have had someone audio record me having sex to complain about having to hear it, it was somebody living with the person I was sleeping with.”
“And knowing that such a recording existed & was shared around, devastated me.”
“I know your neighbours are being a**holes but this isn’t the answer.”
“Make a formal complaint to whoever you can, if you don’t have the same landlord/letting agency, make an official noise complaint.” ~ jeddlines
We are all entitled to our peace and quiet.
But making some accommodations for others is what makes a big city interesting!