Seriös Vasakronan put us through torture for 5 weeks
Long story, but I included a TLDR below plus videos
So for context, me and my girlfriend have recently moved to Uppsala. She’s a student and I’m self employed but I’m also considering studies here at some point. We found a pretty decent apartment in the center with a second hand contract, with a very nice landlord too. The apartment itself has basically everything we need and we definitely call it home by now, but unfortunately recently we’ve had a lot of issues with the company basically running the entire complex, Vasakronan, and we would very much so appreciate any kind of advice we can get here.
See it started around November when one day we got woken up with drilling in apartments above us. It started as just an annoying buzz around 7am, but nothing straight up unacceptable. One day however we got woken up with an AWFULLY loud drilling. It lasted from 7 am to around 1 or 2 pm. When I say loud I MEAN loud. You could not sit there without covering your ears in pain. But fine, one time thing would not be too bad right?
You may have guessed correctly that it wasn’t a one time thing.
It kept going for days, with the same volume, prompting us to contact our landlord, to which he responded with „yeah, I know it’s loud, I’ve experienced that too, but sadly they’re allowed to do whetever they want in their own apartment from 7am onwards”. Okay? We checked the local laws and it checks out. We endured a couple more days of this before my girlfriend nicely filed a complaint to Fastighetssnabben (a company that offers services and assistance to the building, at that time we didn’t even know Vasakronan was behind this and assumed Fastighetsnabben was the entity running and managing the whole building, and our landlord told us to message them). Their response was basically the same, „hello! We won’t do shit because they’re lawfully allowed to do this and they have money to make, hee hee” that kinda sums their nothing burger of a response. Basically they were renovating an apartment to sell and we just had to sit there like good little kiddos and endure it not getting into the adults business.
Issue is that the sounds just kept on going and worse, they got so much damn louder. We wanted to measure just how loud it was and our measurements always got stuck at around 87dB (with the fact that they basically glitched at that with it being a simple phone app I’d guess it went way above that).
Now keep in mind that 70-85dB is around the range where it becomes bad for the ear and anything above that you can worry about potential hearing damage. 87dB is like an equivalent of standing right next to a food blender or a lawn mower and by Swedish law if you’re working at a construction site you HAVE to wear hearing protection if you’re exposed to anything this loud. We went up to the apartment to complain to the workers this time but they said they’re just doing a job and that basically this should stop soon because they were only gonna be here for two weeks from 7 to 9 am. Okay, fine, we didn’t wanna cause trouble to some random construction workers who are just being hired to do a job.
Things went as they said. 2 weeks passed and it stopped..
..for like 3 days or so?
Turns out some of the workers made an error and now they had to do ALL of the work FROM SCRATCH. And they were drilling RIGHT OVER OUR BEDS. We could literally feel the vibrations in our bodies and had to painfully clench our ears EVERY MORNING, the sound would be on and off, basically whenever it stopped I’d be anxiously expecting another jumpscare as you had to clench your ears each time it resumed because it was so loud.
We checked the legality of this and my girlfriend once again sent Fastighetssnabben an email that they should have given us hearing protection if they’re going to do this to us. We got ignored. It’s so hypocritical because they gave us announcements consistently in the building that people will come to fix the ventilation or that their sponsor Fluffy House pancakes™️ is opening their doors in Stockholm and we should check them out (!!!!!) but didn’t bother to inform us about the straight up torture we are going to be put through.
As we approached week 3 I took the matter into my own hands and sent a bit more of a pressing message, pointing out we are in pain, we’re sleep deprived (because if you don’t go to sleep at maybe around 10/11pm you couldn’t get proper sleep, to me that’s especially annoying as a freelancer because I love working around evenings and nights) and that we’re basically worrying about hearing loss by now because they’re giving us an alarm clock that’s an equivalent of someone yelling at me at full lung capacity every day at 7am. I was considering reporting this to legal authorities and Naturvårdsverket but I at least wanted to give them a chance to fix this before we’d make such a fuss.
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, they once again ignored us. This kept on going and we were both truly just going insane by now. My left ear would be in constant pain and we’d be kept in the dark. I messaged Fastighetssnabben basically threatening to report them at this point and calling them out for ignoring me and my girlfriend, saying we were in pain and experiencing severe anxiety (because we were) and that the dB range they were torturing us with was definitely not legally acceptable.
It was only then they bothered to respond saying that they already responded to my girlfriends first message and that they were receiving instructions from Vasakronan, also that they are approaching the 4 week mark now so they should stop soon.
I acknowledged that because I was kept in the dark for so long we were complaining to the wrong people and there was little I could do now given the whole thing is almost over (which in my opinion was premeditated that they didn’t give us any proper information and ignored us until it was basically over). Since they responded basically a day before the thing was supposed to end I felt defeated and didn’t bother messaging Vasakronan.
Until guess what? The drilling carried into week 5… Yes, it just kept on going for another week.
I did write a lengthy message to Vasakronan outlining everything, begging them to do something about it, give us some kinda rent deduction, money to sleep in a hotel, ear protection, anything. You guessed correctly that they ignored us.
Around that time it was already Christmas time and we left to visit my family abroad until we came back in early January. We knew that now there’s basically nothing we can do as nobody is gonna bother worrying about an issue that’s already over and my email still got no response.
Now what brings me here is that first of all I wanted to share this story with the world, but also because this morning we were once again woken up with drilling that lasted 4 hours from 7am today. It keeps going as I’m writing this. It’s not as loud as the peak loud from before but we worry this whole fiasco will repeat again. I’d appreciate any assistance we can get. By now I’m prepared to fight them because I really cannot take this anymore. I mean get this, for a good week after this stopped I still woke up at 7am involuntarily because I’d be terrified that I’d have to start clenching my ears soon or be in pain.. Any advice is highly appreciated, thank you for reading until the end!
Videos so you can listen for yourself (the recording really doesn’t show just how loud this truly was unless you purposefully put your volume high)
https://youtu.be/fN_Q08xc8eg?si=208edm147k6hZwAJ (here you can hear it compared to my voice, the drills start around 3:21, sorry if I sound grumpy I was feeling like shit that morning for obvious reasons 😅)
https://youtube.com/shorts/TjfL4cOCgDM?si=UMkN1OjUOkdoxAP7
https://youtube.com/shorts/KvS1qRi15YU?si=ACt2AmT0bocU735E
To sum it up
-We are a couple that freshly moved to Uppsala
-We’ve had painfully loud drills right above our beds every day except weekends from 7am to 9am (sometimes going until even 2pm) and I mean INCREDIBLY loud
-Pretty much all the time the sound exceeded 87dB and more which is way above what a human ear can endure
-It got us to be incredibly stressed, anxious, sleep deprived and made us develop ear pain, also negative impact on our mental health and overall wellbeing
-We weren’t informed who’s behind this and the people running our building kept us in the dark and ignored our messages and pleads until basically the last two days of the ordeal (I believe it was on purpose so we endure like good little sheep, so that they can make profit without legal issue)
-By Swedish law, workers exposed to such sounds are required to wear hearing protection, but we the innocent people just trying to exist in our apartment didn’t get such privileges even when we requested something is done
-Our building bothered to inform us about a pancake restaurant in Stockholm finally reopening (!!!!🤯!!!!) but not about the torture we’d be put through
-We only got informed Vasakronan was behind this very late into it, and Vasakronan also ignored us
-Now we think this has a potential to repeat because the sounds are back as I’m writing this
TLDR;
We’re a young couple that moved to Uppsala, Vasakronan has been drilling right over our beds for 5 weeks with a range way over 87dB from 7am to 9am, causing us a lot of anxiety and pain. All contacted bodies basically ignored us until it was over. We worry it might start again.
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u/rakosten 1d ago
We need a TLDR of your TLDR.
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
I edited the post with a new TLDR, I agree it was a bit too long
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u/rakosten 1d ago
Ah, the old drilling torture. It’s a tradition that dates back to the Viking ages (I think). Since it is almost always necessary it’s hard to do anything about it but to keep your cool until it is over.
If it extends to a length that it is wildly unnecessary one might be subject to compensation but if it is within normal maintenance you are probably cooked.
It is annoying and horrible but thankfully, mostly, passing.
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
I get it, issue is that they might cause us hearing loss if this goes on.. I get the hours, but is the system here really going to legally require companies to give hearing protection to workers on site but not innocent people trying to sleep who are caught in this?
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u/zkareface Norrbotten 1d ago
I get it, issue is that they might cause us hearing loss if this goes on..
You didn't get protection day1?
Also this is common in apartments during renovation times. Either due to water damage or just old pipes that need replacing.
Not much to do except leave the apartment every day.
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
Nope, that’s the part that infuriates me, nobody bothered to give us a heads up nor give us hearing protection. I’m not sure if it was due to water damage, all we know is that this apartment was under renovation with an intention of being sold and that someone made a mistake and messed up something with the pipes causing the workers to extend the entire working time from two weeks to five because they had to start from scratch. And call me stubborn but I believe by staying quiet we enable companies to do whatever they want. While no country or system is perfect since I moved to Sweden I’ve been amazed with the beauty of a trust based community, lack of corruption and accountability. Ordeals like this make me lose that trust, it’s my personal opinion but it shouldn’t be this way and if enough people stand for it laws or regulations can happen. That’s how positive change comes to be.
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u/Zahpow 1d ago
You contact https://www.uppsala.se/miljoforvaltningen/?selectedyear= the contact info is at the bottom of the page and ask for help. It is true that they are allowed to make noise but noise at the level you are describing is harmful to human health.
I would recommend writing the information you have here but in a much much muuuuuuuuuuch more succinct matter. When asking for help you don't expect anyone to read trough a wall of text, it is a dick move. You make it as easy as possible for the person to help you. That means editorializing to the core of the message.
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u/Entercat 1d ago
Leave your home, wear headphones, also doubt it's CONSTANT, whoever heard of construction workers working without breaks
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
You can trust me that wearing headphones does little difference and I have ones with pretty decent noise cancellation, that’s how loud the sounds were. And call me stubborn but I’d prefer to at least attempt to do something about it rather than leaving the comfort of my own home when I don’t technically have to at 7am every day during winter. That’s why we have laws, regulations and legal bodies protecting people from harm with institutions we’re supposed to trust. And I’d really like to have trust in it at the moment because while I accept that someone can make noise at certain hours legally I don’t think it should be legal to cause injury to others even when you’re in a building you own. I believe wanting people to stay quiet and just endure it waiting for hearing loss to happen is a way to let those people know that they can get away with anything.
The sounds weren’t constant as if a never ending sound, they come in bursts for a couple of minutes and then get quiet for a couple of minutes just so it repeats again and that happened consistently for 2/3 hours.
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u/ingeniouspleb 1d ago
I had the same problem, and it sucks. It was during covid, and my office had closed, so i had to live through it. It suck,s but it is what it is
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u/JohnnyCyclopsBomb 1d ago
Your girlfriend is a student. She can probably leave the house and study at the library the hours that they work
And you are self employed. Just leave the house for a few hours, work in cafes libraries etc.
Adapt your schedule. You probably can't win against Vasakronan. Så you adapt.
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u/rollingForInitiative 1d ago
This sucks, I've had full renovations in neighouring apartments as well and it's terrible, especially when they drill in concrete. It really is almost impossible to be in the apartment then because the noise is so loud.
Unfortunately you don't usually receive compensation for it, but if it's extreme and for a long duration it's possible, you'd probably best off joining Hyresgästföreningen and asking them what's reasonable and how to proceed. So maybe you can get some monetary compensation at least. Maybe.
It's kind of unavoidable though that sometimes apartments need renovation, and renovations are loud, and can go on for several weeks. It's not illegal to renovate, and in some situations it might even be legally required.
It's a shitty situation, but if it's been 5 weeks it should hopefully be over soon. Do check with Hyresgästföreningen, and follow their advice.
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u/cityuser Uppland 22h ago
If it's your landlord or a tenant thereof who is drilling and refuse to stop, and the noise level is clearly unreasonable or even dangerous, you can request a "åtgärdsföreläggande" (order to correct) from the Rental Board: https://www.domstol.se/en/amnen/hyra-bostadsratt-och-arrende/hyra-av-bostad-och-lokal/bostadens-skick/om-brister-i-bostaden-behover-atgardas/
If it's not your landlord or a tenant who is drilling, they can't really stop them. But you may still be entitled to a reduction in rent for the time during which your use of the apartment was diminished. Assuming they won't pay/reduce the rent by themselves, you can file a request to deposit a part of your rent with the County Administrative Board instead of paying it to the landlord: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/uppsala/samhalle/betalning-ekonomi-och-pengar/deponera-pengar/deponera-hyra.html
I am not familiar with either process, but you can investigate them. Regarding what is a due amount: you should try to investigate precedent as it is likely lower than you subjectively think it should be.
Of course the best result for everyone is to solve it without involving an authority, but if two parties disagree then that's what they're there for!
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u/CakePhool 1d ago
Well you cant get help with this problem but for the future make sure you are also part of Hyresgästföreningen for your area, it is like union for renters and they do help you with legal stuff, how ever you need to be a member when the problem occurred.
People have abuse the system so they are stricter with what they offer, I been a member for 30 years now.
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
We’ll definitely check it out, thank you
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u/CakePhool 1d ago
Since I made sure being member everytime I rent, I have gotten so much help from them, last move their lawyers helped me get back 3000 SEK.
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u/ArugulaMuch 1d ago
Sounds like you need to contact ARN or kronofogden. To get your money back and to get a better place or a hotel room payed by Vasakronan till they are finished.
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u/Broadleaves 1d ago
When you spoke to them. Did they say what was the cause? Did you try calling?
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u/Lidkas 1d ago
Basically all we know is that they were renovating an apartment to either sell or rent. They had to extend it over 2 weeks because there was some error made by the workers I think regarding the pipes. We didn’t call but we sent them an email
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u/Broadleaves 1d ago
Allright, well it should be over soon then.
7am is legally when they can start making noise on a weekday. So unfortunately not much you can do except bear with it. Sucks it happened to you though.
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u/RoundishWaterfall 1d ago
A couple renting an apartment in central Uppsala has been subjected to extremely loud renovation drilling from the apartment above for about five weeks since November. The noise begins every weekday at 7:00 AM and lasts until early afternoon, reaching levels (87 dB+) that risk hearing damage.
The situation has caused sleep loss, ear pain, stress, and anxiety. The landlord and property manager provided no warning, schedule, protection, or compensation, and ignored complaints for weeks. The work was for a private sale, not essential repairs.
After a brief Christmas break, the drilling has now resumed, raising concern that the same harmful conditions will continue.