For the last 4 weeks, a good friend of mine has been renting a very plush ground floor apartment in Marbella. within one of the most renowned luxury developments on the Costa del Sol. On first impressions, it seems that he has the lot – 24 hour security, walking distance to plenty of amenities, stunning landscaped gardens, and an apartment that is as luxurious as it is spacious.

After just a month, he is seriously thinking of cancelling his 11 month rental contract with the landlord and the letting agent. The reason? He hasn´t had a decent night´s sleep since he moved in. Let me explain.

The problem is not the apartment in Marbella or the urbanisation, or indeed the specification or the location.

The problem is the guy upstairs. My friend´s neighbour on the first floor insists on wearing hard-soled shoes while walking around his apartment. Sounds innocent enough?

Consider this - the guy keeps very odd hours, going out for the evening at midnight and often returning at 4am. Coupled with this, the neighbour insists on wearing a pair of shoes even to go to the loo during the night/early morning, and each time he does, my friend reckons it sounds like “somebody tap-dancing on my brain”. Maybe that´s a bit extreme, but it´s the unnatural sounds like furniture being scraped along the floor or someone walking across a room above in stilettos that can wake you with a jolt and send you into a seriously bad mood.

So, while my friend is heading for a stand-off with the guy upstairs, or heading for casualty if he carries on complaining (apparently his neighbour is “ very well connected”!) how can this sort of thing be avoided?

Read the follow-up articles for our advice on how best to cope with communal living.