The short answer
Every residential lease carries an implied promise, recognized in some form nationwide, called the right of quiet enjoyment — the basic idea that you're entitled to use and live in your home without unreasonable interference from others. The concept is even written directly into federal regulations covering public housing: every public housing lease must require tenants "to act... in a manner which will not disturb other residents' peaceful enjoyment of their accommodations" (24 C.F.R. § 966.4(f)(11)), and a serious or repeated violation of that obligation is itself grounds for the housing authority to terminate the disruptive tenant's lease (24 C.F.R. § 966.4(l)(2)(i)). If you rent from a private landlord, this specific regulation doesn't apply to your building, but the underlying idea shows up throughout state landlord-tenant law and most standard leases too.
Document before you complain
Keep a log: dates, times, how long it lasted, and what specifically you heard, whether it's music, stomping, shouting, or a dog barking for hours. A single loud party is a different problem than a pattern that repeats every week. If you can, note whether it happens at hours most people would consider unreasonable, like the middle of the night. This log is what turns "my neighbor is annoying" into a documented pattern your landlord, or eventually a court, can act on.
Talk to your neighbor first, if it feels safe
If you're comfortable doing so, a polite, direct conversation resolves a lot of noise complaints without ever involving your landlord — some people genuinely don't realize how much sound carries in their building. If that doesn't work, isn't safe, or you'd rather not, skip straight to your landlord; you're not required to confront a neighbor yourself.
Put your complaint to your landlord in writing
Send a written complaint describing the pattern you've documented, and ask specifically what your landlord intends to do. Most leases include a clause letting the landlord address tenants who disturb others, which gives your landlord real leverage: a warning, a formal notice, or in serious repeat cases, the start of an eviction process against the disruptive tenant. A written complaint also starts building the record you'd need if the problem doesn't improve and you consider further steps.
Local noise ordinances
A lot of cities and counties have their own noise ordinances, often with specific quiet hours, that apply regardless of what your lease says. If the noise is severe enough, calling your local non-emergency police line during an active violation can result in a citation to your neighbor directly, separate from whatever your landlord does. Check your specific city or county government's website for its actual noise rules rather than assuming a standard time or decibel limit applies everywhere.
A police response also creates its own record, separate from your personal log — a dispatch or incident number, even for a noise call that doesn't result in a citation, is worth writing down and can support a later complaint to your landlord if the pattern continues. Some cities also have a separate, non-police code enforcement line specifically for chronic noise complaints in rental housing, which can be a better fit than 911 or a non-emergency police line for a recurring problem that isn't happening at that exact moment.
If your landlord won't act
If you've documented the problem, reported it in writing, and your landlord still does nothing, you have a harder case to make than a typical repair dispute, since quiet-enjoyment claims are more fact-specific and vary more by state than something like a missing smoke detector. Depending on your state, options can include a formal habitability or nuisance complaint, and in extreme, prolonged cases, an argument that the unit has become unlivable. This is a good point to get your specific lease and situation reviewed rather than guessing at your options.
What this doesn't cover
Ordinary daily living sounds — footsteps, a normal conversation, a dog barking occasionally, kids playing during the day — generally aren't a legal problem, even if they're annoying, especially in older or less soundproofed buildings. The cases that get real traction are the ones with a clear pattern of unreasonable, repeated disruption, which is exactly why the documentation step matters more here than almost anywhere else in this list. Honestkey™ can review your lease's quiet-enjoyment and nuisance language, and the free noise complaint letter template gives you a starting point for putting your documented pattern in writing.