In many apartments, you can hear every footstep from the floor above, especially if the flooring is hard. While you can’t change your neighbour’s floor, you can do a few things at your level—and gently encourage them too.
Inside your own home, use area rugs and runners in corridors, living areas and bedrooms. They absorb impact and soften the sound of your own steps and furniture movement.
Put felt pads or rubber caps under chair and table legs. This reduces scraping noises that travel through slabs.
If you live on an upper floor, avoid walking in hard shoes or heels indoors, especially at night or early morning. Soft indoor footwear is kinder to both your feet and your neighbours’ ears.
For serious issues, some people add underlay and new flooring layers that dampen sound, but that’s a bigger project.
Most of the time, a mix of soft surfaces and considerate habits goes a long way.