[MargaretR]

For flat dwellers the use of headphones should be a condition of the tenancy - also carpets with thick underlay, as opposed to that 'trendy' artificial floorboard stuff.

Landlords could reduce the tenant turnover rate if they took sound nuisance more seriously by sound insulating communal stairwells. The bare brick and concrete look amplifies any sound. There are such things as rubber flooring and acoustic wall tiles which would absorb sound in those areas.

PS I have a neighbour who talks to himself, loudly, and stomps up and down the stairwell in boots at all hours of the night. When his door slams, my bed shakes.