“Hard Flooring Bothers Downstairs Neighbor” – News-Press
Q: I recently had new flooring installed in my condominium unit. The board president approached me, saying that they have reports from owners of the units below mine complaining they can now hear my family’s footsteps throughout the day. However, I think it is normal to hear footsteps in a condominium, given how close we all live to each other. I am not convinced that soundproofing is necessary. Is the board president overreacting about this? (J.D., via e-mail)
A: Disputes involving the transmission of noise are common in condominiums. Many sets of older condominium documents I have reviewed were written to require wall to wall carpet in all portions of the unit except areas where carpeting is not appropriate, such as kitchens and bathrooms.
Over the past couple of decades, various types of hard flooring (tile, wood, and various synthetic products) have become an alternative to carpet desired by many homeowners, including condominium dwellers. However, the noise from foot traffic, moving chairs, and other noises associated with day-to-day living often result in complaints from the owner living below.
While some associations still require carpeting throughout most of the unit, the modern trend is to permit hard flooring alternatives subject to an approval process by the association, which usually requires proof of the installation of some type of sound deadening barrier beneath the flooring. There are a number of products used in the flooring industry that are specifically designed for this purpose.
Sound Transmission Class (“STC”) indicates how well a building partition wall, ceiling, floor, or door blocks airborne sound. For example, while normal speech is clearly understood through a partition rated at ST35, at ST50, loud speech may be faintly audible but not understood and at 60+, may not be heard at all. Impact Insulation Class (“IIC”) rates a floor/ceiling assemblies’ ability to block structure-borne impact sound. As with STCs, the higher the IIC value of a floor/ceiling, the better its ability to control impact sound transmission. An acceptable IIC rating is typically 50 or more.
Most multifamily projects must meet the acoustic requirements of the International Building Code (“IBC”), Section 1207 of the IBC, for airborne sound ratings of wall and floor/ceiling assemblies, requires a minimum laboratory-derived rating of 50-STC (45-FSTC if field tested). For impact noise at floor/ceiling assemblies, the minimum laboratory rating is 50-IIC (45-FIIC if field tested).
The Florida Building Code requires that dwelling units have an IIC class of not less than 50. Although 50 is the minimum code, I have been told that many underlayment products on the market currently have IIC/STC ratings in the 70’s. Correct installation is also required.
Florida courts have consistently recognized that condominium living necessarily entails certain restrictions on individual freedoms that would not exist in separately owned properties. In a landmark 1975 appellate court decision, the court established an often quoted principle of condominium living: “inherent in the condominium concept is the principle that to promote the health, happiness, and peace of mind of the majority of the unit owners since they are living in such close proximity and using facilities in common, each unit owner must give up a certain degree of freedom of choice which he might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned property. Condominium unit owners comprise a little democratic sub society of necessity more restrictive as it pertains to use of condominium property that may be existent outside the condominium organization.”
Florida courts have distinguished between reasonable noise from ordinary living activities and unreasonable noise that constitutes a nuisance or violates condominium regulations. In a 1977 Florida appeals court case where the “upstairs” owner had flooring installed without proper soundproofing, the court found that the complaining owner had the right to a judicial determination of whether the noise caused by uninsulated flooring violated the condominium documents and interfered with the downstairs neighbor’s contractual rights.
You should learn what your condominium documents say on this topic and are likely well advised to work with the board president to resolve the concerns that have been expressed.
Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. Send questions to Joe Adams by e-mail to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.
