Apartment Building Living – 5 Things Not to Do

Apartment building living has some advantages and disadvantages. It is what many people call home. When you live in a building, there is no shovelling snow or watering the grass. We have rules to follow, just like the Landlord. When you have neighbours attached at almost every wall, respect is required.

Apartment Living

Apartment Building Living – 5 Things Not to Do

Loud Music/TV’s

Everyone likes to listen to music, some like it loud and some don’t. Same goes for watching TV. We play music and watch TV but we don’t have it loud enough to disturb people next door or even 3 floors away. We have respect for our neighbours even if they don’t have respect for others. At one time we had people below us who would have parties a few times a week. The music would be loud and the singing was even louder. If I have to turn the volumes on my devices up to hear things, then yours is way too loud.

Most people have the misconception that you can play your music loud until 11 pm at night. This is not true. The Noise Bylaw provides standards for noise and applies to all properties in Toronto. The bylaw prohibits noise at any time that is likely to disturb others.

Apartment Building Living

Tossing Stuff off the Balcony

I like to sit on my balcony and enjoy my view and taking care of the plants daily. When you’re sitting or standing on your balcony and things start flying by or barely missing you where you sit, it isn’t enjoyable. Each floor has a garbage room and if the bags are too big, there are big bins on the outside of the building. Don’t be lazy and throw your crap off the balconies or leave it in the halls for the cleaners to pick up.

Jumping on Floors

Ok, this is a tough one when you have kids. I try my best to keep my daughter from running or jumping on the floor. If you are an adult, perhaps think about what you are doing and how it may affect your neighbours. Take the person above me, they jump rope all the time. Not just in the evening, early morning and late at night. Skip outside or pick a reasonable time. Since my daughter knows the little girls below us from school, my husband asked if they could hear our daughter jumping around or any noise at all. Apparently, my daughter’s jumping can’t be heard, although I try my best to make sure she isn’t overly noisy.

Laundry 

Doing laundry in a building isn’t always easy. There is a limited number of washers and dryers for a building with 23 floors and close to 1000 people. When 1 person takes up all 7 washing machines at one time, everyone else has to wait. If we waited to use the machines in our building we would never have clean laundry. We go to the laundromat that has true double and triple loaders and we are done in no time.

Apartment Building Living

Elevators

Everyone is waiting for an elevator, don’t walk in the lobby door and jump in front of people who have been waiting longer. If you get on the elevator first and head to the back corner, please be getting off last so everyone doesn’t have to exit just so you can get off.  Oh, yes, there is a reason they have a limit on how many people should be on it at any given time. A sign that says 14-15 people does not mean 20 or more. The elevators are old and it’s a long way down.

When apartment building living is your way of living, have respect and manners to those around you. We all pay rent, you don’t have any more privileges than your neighbour,

For more stories on Apartment living check out Tenants, Know Your Rights or Apartment Living.

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