Living in a block of flats in Bucharest can be a totally new, sometimes adrenaline - filled experience. There are a few rules to help you navigate the dos and don'ts of living in one of the Communist era blocks in Bucharest.

You probably know these blocks – huge, ten floors, spreading across multiple entrances. Most of the time cheaper, and definitely more frequently found than houses in Bucharest. If you live in a smaller block of flats, you might be among the lucky ones, but beware, some of the tips below might still apply.

Almost from the moment you move in, neighbors will know you're a foreigner – the news will spread. Some will like you form the start just because of that, others might not, and somehow will have the tendency to blame things on you. Keep that in mind, as when a nosy neighbor is upset with you, he or she can become annoying and disturb your peaceful life. Learn who the block administrator is, and who is the head of the block dwellers' association, you will want to be nice to these two people. If you rent, get these pieces of information from your landlord.

Find out where you pay your monthly maintenance fees 'intretinere' and try to pay it on time. People who live in Bucharest block of flats have to pay something called 'intretinere', which includes heating, running water, cleaning services for common areas, the salaries of people who work for the association (including for the person who cashes in the 'intretinere').

This is not a fixed amount, it varies from flat to flat, with the size of the apartment and the number of people living there, and seasonally – higher during winter months because of the heating. Every month, the administrator will display a list of these costs per apartment. Make sure you pay it on time, and that at least you don't allow several months of due 'intretinere' to pile up. Most administrators create a 'shame list', highlighting who has not paid their monthly dues, so 'friendly' and nosy neighbors might remind you from time to time.

Let the administration know how many people live in your flat. This is even a bigger issue for some neighbors than not paying the intretinere on time. The number of people who live in your flat affects the amounts you pay on a monthly basis for heating and water, if you do not have meters for these services inside the apartments.

The more people you have living with you without being registered, the more neighbors who do not have meters for water and heating will believe they pay for you (it sounds complicated, we know; it goes like this: those who do not have water and heating meters split the block bill for these services, depending on how many people live in their apartment; if two people live in your place, and you declare only one, you will pay less, so the others will be upset). To avoid this, have your landlord, or if you own the place, do the needed steps yourself to instal meters for water and heating.

Once you have these meters installed, the race is on to submit the reading every month to the admin. This is how they calculate your monthly costs, depending on the water and heating readings you gave them. In some blocks, the admin performs regular checks to see if the actual numbers are in line with what you submitted, so if the admin knocks on your door asking to read the 'apometre' (these are the water meters), let them in.

You have to submit these numbers at every end of the month – and find out in your block to whom you need to give them, otherwise you will pay sometimes a bigger monthly amount, as if you did not have meters. Best thing is to keep a sheet with all the meter readings of every month, besides filling in the new readings for the admin every month.

Watch out for the noise. This works both ways – you could be annoyed by the noise others make, and they could be annoyed with your loud music, for example. Fights about the level of noise are frequent in blocks of flats, as some of them have so called 'thin walls' and you can hear a lot of the household noises, at day and night – and they are likely to hear your noises too. As a general rule, refrain from making noise daily between 12 (noon) and 4 in the afternoon, and expect the same from your neighbors.

Don't be amazed if someone comes to your door the first time the sound level in your place is up, asking you to turn it down. This is how you get to know your neighbors. And this enables you to do the same! Joke aside, when you know you will have to make some noise, it is better to let the neighbors know about it (if you renovate your place, for example), and apologize for it beforehand. Make sure you go to all the apartments connected to yours, meaning to the upstairs and downstairs neighbor as well. This way they will refrain from complaining once you start tearing down your walls. If you throw a party, better to invite them too. Most of them will not attend, but inviting them lowers the chances of them calling the police on you for making noise (which sometimes happens).

Ah, if you hear somebody banging on heating pipes while you're listening to music, it's one of your neighbors, signalling you to turn it down! Sometimes they do this, before or instead of coming to your door.

Speaking of tearing down walls, make sure you don't start doing that until you have all needed approvals. You will need one from the City Hall, and the owner of the place will have to submit papers to get it, and one from the association of flat owners in your block. Only then you can make changes to your place, and only the changes which have been approved by the experts (you risk tearing down a support wall in the building, and risk getting a fine if one of the neighbors turns informant)

Beware of old neighbors who like to spy. A lot of old people live in blocks of flats in Bucharest, and their favorite past time is watching who comes in and out of the neighbors' apartments. (They're usually the main source for TV news when something happens to someone in a block of flats – they seem to know everything about the person, and then some).

This is not something likely to bother you, in general, as they tend to stay quiet, indulging their little spy game. But if you do something wrong, like have more people living in your place and not declare it, at least you know how the information eventually made it to the admin. Yes, most old people in your blocks are probably lifelong friends with the admin, who tends to be of old age too.

In most blocks of flats, people greet each other when they meet, either in the elevator, or while walking up or down the stairs. You don't have to know them to say 'hello' and 'have a good day', you just assume they're neighbors, and want to be nice to them. Learn a few phrases in Romanian for situations like these. If they continue the conversation, which sometimes happens, smile, nod, and eventually they will figure out you must be the foreigner they had heard about.

Make a 'block friend'. The general rule is to be friendly and polite, you will integrate better this way. It is also important you try to make a friend in your block of flats, you don't have to be best friends, but rather friends in need, helping each other with different things. It is important to have someone keep an eye on your place and call you if something bad happens while you are away (you don't have to give them the key to your apartment, just ask them to watch out for burglaries, water leakage, gas leakage, things which get noticed fast if they happen).

You would of course do the same for them when they're away. Or you can give your number to the admin (even better if you're friends with the admin, this might prevent them from chasing you when payments are not made on time), so they can call you in case something happens and you're away.

Elevators. This should have been mentioned first, as in general this will be the first thing you will use when first arriving in a block of flats. Elevators in Bucharest blocks come in several types, most of them are quite old, even if in some blocks have been renovated, and you can sometimes feel insecure in them. In general, they are secure, but it is better to play it safe.

If you don't feel safe in the elevator, take the stairs, and ask the block's admin to call the elevator company to check up on it. When using the elevator, make sure you have the phone number of the respective elevator company, as sometimes they can get stuck in between floors (for example this will happen during a power outage), so you will need to call someone to unlock you.

If you don't know the number, call 112, tell them what happened and your address, and they will guide you on what to do. The other option is to make noise in the elevator, until a neighbor hears it, and calls the elevator company (this is when your 'block friend' would come in handy). These however happen rarely, but it is better to be prepared.

editor@romania-insider.com