Longing for the sound of silence
– I don’t mind paying the same rent for the same standard as long as I wouldn’t have to stand the noise, says one of the tenants Ergo has spoken to.
– For the first time ever, I wish they would be working on the construction site so you could hear the noise, says “Mulan” as we walk up the stairs to her apartment in Klostergatan 16.
The card reader in one of the building’s elevators has been broken for two months, but luckily Mulan lives on the first floor.
The workers seem to be on a break, but nobody could miss the fact that there is major construction work going on if they look out of Mulan’s window; Debris from half torn down buildings is scattered about the concrete rooftop and pools of mud made from the last days’ heavy rainfall are reflecting the morning sun. To top it off there is a metal fence placed right in front of Mulan’s window.
– It looks like someone dropped a bomb outside my window, Mulan says.
The view from "Mulan's" window. (Photo: Lina Svensk)
"I didn’t notice that clause specifically, because 'is not eligible for a rent reduction' seemed like the favourite phrase of the contract."
I snap a few photos and then we make our way down to the communal area on the ground floor, where we meet up with another student living in the building, “Karl”. Both Mulan and Karl moved to Uppsala in the middle of August. She is a fee-paying master student and Karl is an exchange student. As of recently, there is a notification on Uppsala University Housing Office’s (the housing agency providing the leases. Not a legal entity under Uppsala University, despite its name) website stating that there is construction work going on at Dragarbrunnsgatan next to Klostergatan 16, and that it may cause disturbances, but neither Mulan nor Karl were informed of this prior to signing their leases.
– It was never made clear explicitly, but in the tenant contract there was a clause stating that you will not receive any rent reduction if there is construction work going on. I didn’t notice that clause specifically, because “is not eligible for a rent reduction” seemed like the favourite phrase of the contract, Karl says.
Mulan didn’t take any notice of this specific clause either as she had no reason to believe construction work was going on.
"It’s not just the noise but vibrations as well"
Karl’s room is located on the opposite side from Mulan’s room, with a window towards Kungsgatan, and higher up in the building, so he says the noise from the construction site is “tolerable” for him. Mulan, however, has a front row seat to the on-going demolition.
– I was really excited to come to Uppsala, but when I entered the room I felt very disappointed actually. The first thing I noticed was the fence outside my window that made the room look like a prison and the second thing was that it was just really ugly. It was the opposite of my expectations about Nordic standards, Mulan says.
Her opinions on the room’s standards were nothing compared to the disturbance from the construction site though.
– It was horrible from the beginning but it got even worse as they started to tear down the small building on the terrace and started drilling the floor. And it’s not just the noise but vibrations as well, says Mulan.
She says that several tenants on her floor, with windows facing the construction site, have downloaded apps to measure the sound level.
– In my room it got as loud as 100 decibels when the window was open, Mulan says.
As a comparison, 100 decibels roughly equals the sound of a chainsaw. With the window closed, she says the sound gets as high as 80-85 decibels, which isn’t as bad, but still can damage your hearing if you are exposed to it for a long period of time. The Public Health Agency of Sweden recommends that the indoors volume doesn’t surpass 45 decibels.
The construction goes on between 7 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday. During this time Mulan says she can’t sit in her room and study if she wants to be able to work undisturbed.
– I once had a Zoom meeting with my study group early in the morning and didn’t have time to go to the library, so I had to join the meeting from my room. I stayed muted during the entire meeting and used the chat because the sound from the construction site was too loud, she says.
The noise, vibrations, long work hours, dust leaking into the room and lack of privacy (“I always have the curtains closed when I’m home”) combined make the living situation unbearable, Mulan Says. She only gets proper sleep during the weekends.
Mulan has joined a nation in the hopes of finding new accomodation for the next semester as she is staying in Uppsala for two years. Karl, however, is only here for one semester and has accepted that he will have to stay at Klostergatan for the duration of his stay.
– You have to give the Housing Office three months' notice, Mulan explains.
"The compensation is so insulting and I won't accept it"
In the middle of the interview, the construction workers come off their break and a muffled rumble starts echoing through the building.
– Here we go, says Mulan.
Many tenants have sent complaints to the Housing Office, but felt like they haven’t been heard, which is why some tenants decided to start a petition by the end of September. As of today, 50 tenants at Klostergatan 16 have signed the petition, urging the Housing Office to have a dialogue with the construction company to reduce the noise or work hours, and to refund part of their rents (the rent ranges from 5600-6400 SEK/month).
The same day that the petition was posted, Mulan wrote a letter to Uppsala University’s Vice-Chancellor’s office, asking if they can do anything about the situation. She got a response shortly after where they stated that they had spoken to the Housing Office, who in their turn had explained why they hadn’t informed their tenants of the construction work: “It is correct that at the start of the demolition, Housing Office did not inform about the start of the demolition, simply because the project had been postponed several times.” It also stated that they would have “the noise level in different areas in the building professionally evaluated as soon as possible.”
The sound outside Mulan's window:
Mulan, Karl and I walk back to Mulan’s room, having to raise our voices to hear each other through the rumble bouncing off the staircases and walls. As we open the window in Mulan’s room, the loud bangs and clamors from the different machines hit us as if we were standing in the middle of the work site (which, technically, we almost are). You don’t need to measure this sound professionally to realise that it would be impossible to concentrate on your studies or work in this environment, with or without an open window.
– On the upper floors it’s not at all as bad as this, but it’s still pretty loud. Considering we weren’t informed of the construction work prior to signing the lease and since certain assets, like the terrace, are not available to us, I think it’s reasonable that they should make reductions to the rent, says Karl.
For Mulan, a rent reduction would also be welcome, but more than that she just wishes to live in a somewhat quiet room.
– The ideal solution for me would be if they could offer me alternative accommodations. I don’t mind paying the same rent for the same standard as long as I wouldn’t have to stand the noise.
Later in the day, after I’ve left Klostergatan 16, Mulan sends me some pictures other students in the building sent to her, showing cracks in the walls which they claim appeared in the last few days.
“It’s hard to not relate it to the vibrations”, she writes.
A couple of days later, she tells me that they have received an email from the Housing Office stating that they can collect a small compensation from their office – a gift card of 400 SEK on Hemköp. A compensation she, personally, feels is an insult.
– Of course, I know it’s better than nothing! But out of principle I don’t want to accept it. Also, I’m getting tired of all this and kind of want to give up. I have wasted so much time on this and there seems to be no solution. The compensation is so insulting and I won't accept it, she says.
Ergo is awaiting a response from Uppsala University Housing Office.
What’s the construction for?
Uppsala Akademiförvaltning, the property owners of Klostergatan 16, are building a large cinema on the corner of Klostergatan and Dragarbrunnsgatan. The construction will be completed in 2024.
