Downstairs Neighbor Is Tormenting Us.

Location: Texas

Hi everyone,
My girlfriend and I are dealing with a very stressful situation with our downstairs neighbor and our apartment management, and we’re trying to figure out what our options are.

We live in Texas in a top-floor apartment unit (moved into this specific unit in May 2025, after previously living in another unit in the same building). It’s just the two of us and our two cats. My girlfriend works from home, and I’m usually gone most of the day for work. We also travel fairly often and are away for extended periods at times.
Before this year, we never had any issues with any neighbors. In fact, we never heard anything from anyone around us at all. The building is also concrete, so sound transfer is generally minimal.

In February of this year, my girlfriend was home alone when someone knocked on our door. When she opened it, no one was there, but there was a handwritten letter left on our doorstep.

The letter was from our downstairs neighbor and was clearly written in a very unstable tone. It claimed we were making noise at all hours of the night (we usually sleep around 9–10 pm), running loud machines constantly (possibly referring to normal use of vacuum/washing machine), and constantly stomping and running. None of this reflects our behavior. We’re very normal, quiet tenants and have no reason to be doing any of those things.
Because my girlfriend was alone and we wanted to document everything, we immediately took the letter to apartment management. Management reacted strongly, saying the letter was unacceptable and had a threatening tone, and that they would send a “peace officer” immediately. That officer came the same day, spoke with us briefly, and basically asked if we were doing anything unusual. They ultimately agreed that normal apartment living sounds are to be expected and said it was surprising the neighbor claimed to hear anything at all.

We didn’t hear much for a few months after that.
Then around early June, we started noticing loud banging coming from below (the downstairs neighbor’s ceiling). It was intermittent at first, but aggressive when it happened. We initially thought it might be construction or something external. However, it continued into the evenings, then into the next day, and has now been happening multiple times per day for the past month. It often seems to happen immediately when we walk to the bathroom, kitchen, or move around at all. It feels very targeted and deliberate at this point.

We again contacted management. They told us that the same neighbor has been making daily complaints against us, including claims that we are making excessive noise, throwing water onto his balcony, and throwing “yellow chemicals” onto his balcony. None of this is true. We barely use our balcony, and we certainly aren’t throwing anything onto his.
Management said they are aware of the ongoing issue and have repeatedly stated over the past ~2 weeks that they will “take care of it,” but nothing has changed. The banging/ceiling hits from below are still happening daily, sometimes multiple times a day, and occasionally at night.
We’ve tried to reduce noise even further (walking on eggshells, tip-toeing in our own apartment), but it hasn’t helped. The situation is now affecting our daily comfort and mental stress levels.
At this point, we’re wondering if there is any legal action we can take against the neighbor for harassment or creating a hostile living situation, or if there is any recourse against the apartment management for failing to resolve a known ongoing issue. We’re mostly trying to understand what options we actually have in Texas before this escalates further or continues indefinitely.