'It seems like such a silly little thing' - mother begs for help after five years of no sleep (From Enfield Independent)

Habiba Hrida begs for help after five years of sleeplessness caused by ill-fitting doors

11:10am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News By Hermione Wright

A single mother claims she is living in a “nightmare” after being kept awake for five years by noise from her neighbours' doors.

Habiba Hrida, who lives in a terraced house in Gilbert Street in Freezywater, has complained to her neighbours' housing authority L&Q repeatedly about noise from the poorly fitting doors but claims her concerns are not being taken seriously.

Ms Hrida, who has two teenage children, often has to sleep in her conservatory to escape the disturbance from next door –which she believes could be resolved if warped doors are replaced by the housing association.

The 39-year-old said: “It seems like such a silly little thing but it is very distressing and I can’t believe that L&Q isn’t willing to do anything after five years.

“They have been taking no responsibility whatsoever that this is disturbing my life and my children’s school life.

“It is the mental and emotional side – I feel like this is what my life has become.”

She said she has been forced to call the police because of the nightly banging, and after being subjected to years of the "nightmare situation", she has had to seek counselling.

The playground assistant at Chesterfield Primary School has fitted soundproof wallpaper and thick floor underlay in a bid to drown out the allegedly relentless banging, but to no avail.

Although she has spoken to her neighbours about the problem, she believes it is something for the housing authority to fix as she does not think they are intentionally closing the doors loudly.

Instead, she claims it is a problem with the doors of the property.

She said her oldest daughter is trying to revise for her GCSEs, but her studies are not helped through lack of sleep.

Although she would like to “just up and move”, she said she is restricted due to her and her children’s job and school commitments. 

Assistant Director of L&Q, John Joannou, said: “Whenever a maintenance issue is reported to us we make every effort to resolve it as quickly as possible .

“Mrs Hrinda first made a complaint regarding the doors in 2009 and since then we have investigated the issue a number of times and thoroughly liaised with our tenants to find the cause of the reported noise.”

“All the doors are in good order and we have taken measures to limit the noise they make when being closed. ”

“Throughout we have liaised closely with Mrs Hrinda’s landlord and other local agencies and can confirm that our residents’ daily activities in their house do not cause any unusual noise nuisance.”