Actually, going at it from a slightly different angle, perhaps when it gets noisy, invite the mother down to your apartment for some coffee and cake - without the son, the idea being that she'll hear how it sounds from your place while he's being noisy upstairs.

(I realize there is language issue, perhaps tempting her at the door with some home-baked goodies while beckoning and gesturing for her to follow you back down will get the point across though.)

Although what's going on seems like a pretty typical teen angst situation, 16yo being snippy / argumentative with parents, sometimes playing to their sense of fair play and reasoning (yes, even teens are capable of this) rather than being "in their face" and confrontational will be of more help in resolving the situation. So, mother sees (hears) what it's like for you, mother can (hopefully) explain to son rather than yelling / arguing as well. The more you stress her, the more likely she is to stress him about it and the LESS likely it will be resolved.


Failing that idea, I'd also suggest to find someone who can interpret and convince them (mother and son) to come down to your place while there is the typical music and loudness going on upstairs. Hopefully, if the other stuff fails, having an impartial third party along may do the trick.

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The Joys of Opticianry

Or you could always beat the living daylights out of the wee shite.

Very "passive aggressive". Instead, if the sound is unreasonable (and the noice insultation of the floor is subpar) you can deposit your rent after setting your landlord a deadline to deal with the problem. See Art. 259g and Art. 259h CO.

Keep a log of the noise disturbances, and if you happen to have visitors (ask them to sign each entry - witnesses). If the noise is unreasonable you can get a rent deduction.

Get one of these:
http://www.bose.ch/CH/de/home-and-pe...15-headphones/

That is, if you don't want to leave anyway.

Oi, I think what you will hear back wont be as nice..

I am going to copyright this soon, it does work with our lovely Greek and intolerably noisy neighbor.

I would definitely have a word with that kid, the kids I deal with are very responsive, if you talk to them directly, show absolutely no fear, being quick and clear. To an alpha dog you gota be one to get somewhere. I would absolutely not move out of a place just because of some rude maladjusted noisy teen.

Sorry for you, BUT my pity goes with this teenager, who grows up HERE in Switzerland, speaks German with his friends and at school and cannot really talk with his mother about HIS world as she apparently still lives in HER world and of course does not understand what things for her son are all about. YOU can move out or do this and that. HE however has to cope with his difficult situation. That he reacts with a kind of multi-target-rebellion is clearly understandable.

Reminds me of my flat between 1992 and 2002, on the first floor. Right below me was the flat of an "aging" couple with hearing problems, but sideways below my place was a family with a teenager who loved "techno". I NEVER complained, but when I was at home and his "techno" became a bit tiring I started playing music myself, and he then reduced "his" volume. BUT, well remembering the times when the music of me and my mates at that age was far too loud for the "antiques" I abstained from causing him trouble. Many years later, I in the Shamrock, just by chance, met his father (now also domiciled elsewhere) and then the former teenager came in and greeted me like an old family friend ! The young man had clearly not forgotten who had in practice supported him Father and Son were NOT of Kosovo !! but real Swiss-German locals, and so had no problems of the kind mentioned above.

Back to the teenager-Kosovari.
Why not talk to him about HIS problems and HIS world ?
Why not talk with him about "integration" into CH society ?
Why not talk with him about computers etc ?
Why not talk with him about music ?

A "productive" approach may do wonders

Wollishofener's approach sounds good to me.

Remember this kid is probably not bad at all - I tend to place the blame on poor parenting. Just cos he doesn't respect his mother doesn't me he won't respect anyone else. Sometimes a direct approach without any pre-conceptions can reveal a decent kid who will listen - and often troubled teenagers acting out are secretly desperate for someone to set them some limits.

Still you have my sympathies for having to go through this hassle.

I am sure you know this, but they can make as much noise as they like from Monday to Saturday 6 am to 20:00 pm

I would move out. Things won't get any better will they? They might grudgingly acknowledge you deserve some P & Q but they will always be making some noise when you least want it.

No matter the time of day or night, there is 'reasonable' noise, and 'unreasonable' noise.

Got something to record the noise level? I'm sure there'd be an app to put on your computer/phone in order to measure & record the level of noise ...

From the sounds of it (ah ha ha! isn't my pun funny?) it almost seems like some of ya'll were never teens. My older sis and I had plenty of "stereo wars" when we were teens as did my younger siblings as they grew into that age. While we NEVER argued with my mother, that had far less to do with our thoughts / feelings about what we were told but rather had far more to do with the knowledge that my father would have beat the tar out of us for raising our voices to our mother.


Moving out because of the noise of a teen seems pretty extreme, after all, part of the problem is that the OP works from home, this is a fairly "new" fad within recent years, to have soooo many people working from home. Why should people LIVING in their home have to cater to those who are WORKING in their living environment?

So, you can't work because of a noisy teen, perhaps rather than moving where you LIVE, you should move where you WORK. If you were working someplace away from home, you'd not be there to hear what really is fairly normal teen behavior in the first place.


All the same, if you don't have any choice but to work from home, there are a number of ways to peaceably work it out, without either of you having to move. (I am firm in the idea that you can resolve many situations with the shared "breaking of bread" - or in this case, a nice tasty cake.)

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The Joys of Opticianry

very very poor justification for anti-social behaviour - though to be honest the apartment construction in CH is piss poor - well apartments themselves are just glorified rat-cages so what should we expect

persistently noisy people (teenagers specially) should be shot in public - anyone who has been a victim of these 'cherubs' knows exactly what I am saying

what a hypocrite - you're telling people to talk to others when you did nothing of the sort in your situation! - all you did was take 'revenge' or the retaliation route and you never even complained.

My experience with persistent noise makers is that you will either enter a noise war (or worse) or you will leave - landlords and agencies are notoriously useless at resolving these things - the police are only slightly better

One piece of advice to all readers never live under a French family with young children - rude, arrogant, noisy...

I think there are laws about sound levels which apply to daytime as well as night.

i agree on the moving out - sadly persistent noise makers are notoriously stubborn and predictably unreasonable. I have only heard of 2 occasions from friends 'solving' noisy neighbour problems - the first was to retaliate the neighbours noise by playing the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan at full volume with speakers against the wall - hahahaha - overkill but it worked; the second was they paid a visit to the neighbour and threatened to beat them up! Draw your own conclusions...

it sounds like you have been on the receiving end of these charming people too

Justification? I don't think it is "okay" but I also think that it really should be the business of the family, not the neighbor who is working from home.

I guess we were just lucky, living in the areas where I have, that by the time we were old enough to be doing such things (not every day, but often enough that it is memorable) when I was a kid, we lived in a house rather than apartments. The only ones who were unduly affected were members of my own family.

Then again, military brats are notorious for some "push back" - that sort of family lifestyle, uprooting every few years, living in unfamiliar places, one of the parents often away for weeks or months at a time, having to "constantly" make new friends tends to be conducive to that. A lot (if not exactly) like what the teen is going through in the OP, come to think of it!


Still and all, working from home is what has "made" it a problem for the OP. If it weren't for trying to focus on work, it probably would be less of an issue, if work was done elsewhere, it certainly would be less of an issue.

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The Joys of Opticianry

At the risk of sounding harsh and selfish, why should I, if I was in the OP's position try to strike up a rapport and "understand" the teenager?

I am not a social worker. I am not a counsellor. I just want peace and quiet in order to work. Slamming doors, shouting at your mum (utterly unacceptable in my books!!) and playing loud music is not a get-out-of-jail-free card just because you arent adjusting to your environment (and we're guessing here Wolli!). in fact, all these are anti social behaviour especially when you are living in a building with X number of other people.

Yes, we were all teenagers once. We learnt lessons on what is anti social behaviour, and not to do it - we learn to be respectful of our elders and our environment around us. And if his mum is not doing a good job of keeping a rein on him, someone's got to step in. No?

PS PegA: some of us work from home because we are freelancers. The possibility of working at your workplace isnt feasible sometimes

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Remember when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown, BUT it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and b****-slap the mother-f***er upside the head.

Indeed there is - certainly for iPhones - and the biggest infringers in these parts are the religious fundamentalists - and I mean bell-towers not minarets

Thank you everyone for your responses. I feel better just reading these.
I saw the kid again this morning and invited him over to my flat - he was outside but his stereo was blaring. He scowled at me but agreed that his music is too loud. His mother got in on the story and tried to explain to me in half German that her son is good boy and isn't doing anything wrong.

The kid told her to shut up.

But it is quiet today.

My landlord came over for another problem (yep, mice in the walls) and he said he knows a Kosovan translator if I have any problems! I told him if I have to resort to a translator then he will be the one footing the bill.

He's quiet too.

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A valuable but incomplete strand of thought...

Thats what good boys say to there mother,in kosovaFight Fire with Fire ,a CD from the"Anne Murray "9 decibel 5 am will do the trick