2 days after we moved in, our next door neighbor complained via a note on the door saying that they could hear our footsteps all the time, so we started tiptoeing as much as possible. Then a few days later, the neighbor sent a video recording to the property manager. You can hear some muffled talking and a clearly audible burst of laughter, he said it was recorded at midnight. I didn't know where in the apartment we were at the time of recording, but I closed the bathroom window just in case the sound was going through there as the couch is only a few steps away from the bathroom and we often leave the bathroom door open to help it dry. We apologized and explained that my boyfriend has Zoom meetings with colleagues in different time zones, so he is active at night. He has since kept all his meetings in the spare bedroom farthest from the shared wall. Then a week later, we were heading out at about 5pm and started singing while we were putting our shoes on. We received a banging on the wall. We figured we were loud because we were near the door, which opens into the kitchen, so we have since stopped talking in the kitchen area. We didn't have anymore complaints until a few months later (a week ago). We were watching TV at 3pm and we belly laughed, this time the neighbor banged aggressively on the wall. He banged 3 times, stopped for a few seconds, then banged 3 more times. We stopped immediately and went to take a nap.

Later that day, the property manager informed us that the neighbor had asked for our emergency contact (my cousin) and that he had given them her number. I asked the property manager what is going on. He said the neighbor complains that we talk and laugh too loud and we need to improve our behavior. So for the past week, we've been talking only in the bedroom as it doesn't have a shared wall and we only stay in the living room to watch TV.

I always thought we talked and laughed normal, although there are the occasional belly laughs that come with living with a partner. I've been measuring ourselves with the decibel app on the phone, I know it's not super accurate and maybe it doesn't mean much because noise is still annoying sometimes regardless of decibel. I've been measuring only our active moments, like watching TV, talking in the bedroom, during my boyfriend's Zoom calls, the phone is placed in the kitchen by the shared wall (the whole apartment is 50sqm and kitchen and living room are open floor plan). The LAeq is about 41-45dBA when we're in the bedroom and 50-55dBA when we're in the living room.

We'll try our best to talk low and laugh quietly in the bedroom at night as the contract states quiet time is after 11pm. But is there a certain amount and/or type of sound that's reasonable and expected in apartments because we can hear their muffled talking everyday but assume it's normal? What else should I do to help them live in more peace?