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Laminate underlay noise in a flat

Updated: 23 October 2026

You can hear the neighbour, or you are about to become the noise, and a decibel on the bullet looks like the fix. Laminate underlay noise in a flat is a permission problem before it is a product problem. A printed 24 dB is not a lease, and it is not the impact test in Approved Document E. Read the lease or the tenancy before you compare thicknesses. The [underlay comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/underlay) is the five amazon.co.uk listings from 19 October 2026. This page barely ranks them. We used public UK guidance, not a sound test in a flat. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You can hear the neighbour, or you are about to become the noise, and a decibel on the bullet looks like the fix. Laminate underlay noise in a flat is a permission problem before it is a product problem.

Our top picks

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²

Best overall

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²
8.0/10about £19.88
View offer
AcuStick AcuStick Sonic Gold, 5 mm

Rank 2

AcuStick AcuStick Sonic Gold, 5 mm
7.4/10about £29.50
View offer
Grandismo Grandismo heating underlay, 10 m²

Alternative

Grandismo Grandismo heating underlay, 10 m²
7.0/10about £33.50
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The lease before the roll
  2. 2.What changes for the person underneath
  3. 3.62 dB is not 24 dB
  4. 4.If you are allowed to lay it

The lease before the roll

If the lease says the floors stay carpeted, laminate breaks that clause, and a rug on top does not repair it. The Leasehold Advisory Service states that position. Curo’s explainer uses the same kind of sentence: carpet means carpet. Leeds lists laminate as work that needs permission. One lease is not every lease. A 2020 tribunal on Tewin Water House varied a carpet covenant so wood or laminate could be laid with soundproofing to the standard then in force. That variation belongs to that building. It is not a waiver you can quote to a freeholder. Mount Green often refuses laminate above ground-floor flats. That is a housing policy, not a statute. Once you are allowed to buy a roll, thickness and moisture are on the laminate underlay buying guide.

What changes for the person underneath

Basingstoke’s note says that replacing carpet with a hard floor increases impact noise, and that the underlay is not carpet. Dundee’s leaflet adds the fitting: keep a floating layer, do not nail through the underlay, and talk to the neighbour before you start. A foam sheet can cut a little of the impact path. It does not stop voices or television. Harrow says that if the result becomes a statutory nuisance, a soft finish may have to go back, and mediation comes first.
FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²

Testsieger

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²
8.0/10about £19.88
View offer

62 dB is not 24 dB

Approved Document E sets figures for separating floors, measured in the building. Table 0.1a, for purpose-built dwellings, asks for at least 45 dB DnT,w + Ctr airborne and a maximum impact of 62 dB L'nT,w. For a material change of use the pair is 43 dB and 64 dB. On impact, lower is the better result, because the number is noise transmitted, not a reduction you collect. You cannot subtract a roll’s 24 dB from 62 dB and call the flat compliant. Section 3 of Approved Document E discusses a soft covering that is present when the floor is tested, under named ISO methods. That note is not a foam roll from a Saturday shop. Do not read Grandismo’s about 17 dB as a 17 dB soft-covering line. A pass, where one is required, is a test in the flat after the floor is laid.

If you are allowed to lay it

If a hard floor has been agreed, keep the layer floating. Dundee’s leaflet says you do not nail through the underlay, because a fixing gives impact a path. If a council note turns the sheet up the wall, do not mix that with the board maker’s 10 mm gap. The steps are on the how to lay laminate underlay page.

Common questions

Will 24 dB stop my neighbour hearing footsteps?
No. AcuStick’s listing prints sound absorption of 24 dB and does not name a test, a standard, or whether the figure is impact downstairs or noise in the same room. One review says noise downstairs dropped. Another says the floor still sounds like crisp packets. Grandismo’s about 17 dB is the same kind of line. A decibel on a roll is not a measurement in your building, and it is not a promise that footsteps will disappear.
Does Approved Document E apply to a roll I buy on a Saturday?
Document E applies to separating floors in dwellings, as a building regulation, not as a label on a retail roll. The purpose-built impact maximum in Table 0.1a is 62 dB L'nT,w, with airborne insulation of at least 45 dB DnT,w + Ctr. Change of use uses 64 dB and 43 dB. Those are site tests. Buying a sheet at the weekend does not put your flat through that test, and the sheet’s own bullet cannot be subtracted from 62.
What if my lease says carpet?
If the clause requires carpet, laminate does not comply, and a rug does not put the carpet back. Ask the freeholder for written consent that says what sound treatment they require, or leave the carpet. A tribunal variation of one building’s clause does not edit your lease.
I rent. Can the landlord make me take laminate up?
Yes, if the tenancy requires carpet or forbids a hard floor, the landlord can hold you to that term and ask for the floor to be reinstated. Council leaflets tell tenants to get permission before they change the covering. A resilient underlay is not a defence to a clause you have already signed. If the tenancy is silent, ask before you lift the carpet, and keep the answer.
Is a foam underlay as good as the carpet I removed?
No. Basingstoke and similar council notes say a resilient layer reduces some impact and does not equal the carpet it replaces. Carpet and its own underlay are a heavy soft finish. A 2 mm, 3 mm, or 5 mm foam is a floating sheet under a hard board. Chairs and heels still couple into the floor more readily than they did through a pile. If the lease wanted carpet, foam does not meet the clause.
Should the floor be nailed down to stop movement?
No. Nailing through the underlay pins the floating layer to the deck. Dundee’s leaflet says the layer stays floating. If the noise becomes a statutory nuisance, Harrow says a soft finish may have to go back, and mediation comes first.

Related pages

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Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. BSI, BS EN 16354:2018 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. EPLF underlay bulletin, December 2022 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Approved Document E (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. Quick-Step UK heating FAQ (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. Karndean UK glue-down guide (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. BEAMA floor-covering note (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Leasehold Advisory Service (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. EGGER how to lay underlay (GB) (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  9. Basingstoke laminate leaflet (retrieved 23 October 2026)