Can you drink alcohol on your balcony? Falls Church (Fairfax: apartment, renter)

[vademo]

Hi everyone-

I live in a 4 level buildings condominium. As anywhere else we have good neighbors and bad neighbors. We have a very loud ground level neighbor who drinks alcohol on her balcony and hangs out with her friends (do not live in our condominium) until late midnight. She always talks very loud and I can very easily hear the conversation in my bedroom (4th floor). It seems like it does not bother anyone else except me! I already warned her twice and always get the same result. This is my balcony and I can do whatever I want. I also brought it up to association meetings and we have very weak board. My question is that is it legal to drink alcohol on your balcony? Her balcony is at the ground level and it is even not fully surrounded with bars so she can enter or leave her building from her balcony. It has a public access and everyone can easily get in her balcony. Based on my understanding, in Virginia you are not allowed to drink alcohol or show alcohol bottle in public accessible locations. Is is it true? cannot she drink alcohol on her balcony? Can I call police to report it? Or please provide me some alternative ways to deal with this neighbor? I can get dirty but really do not want to create more problems.

[spencgr]

Just because her balcony is on the ground level and can literally be accessed by the public, it is not considered "public access". It is like saying everyone's back yards are "public access" because people can actually walk into them. It is private property, so that specific law does not apply here.

Focus on the noise, not the alcohol.

[Tardislass]

I don't know your condo rules but same buildings consider balconies limited common areas and can make certain rules about it.

What do the bylaws state?

[Carlingtonian]

Your balcony is part of your home. Just because someone can see what's going on there doesn't make it public; if that were true, you couldn't drink in your home with the curtains open. And restaurants couldn't serve alcohol to patrons seated outdoors.

What you do have a legitimate beef with is the noise. You've tried talking to her directly; next time, call the police.

[mdcrim]

I agree with Carlington- the issue isn't the alcohol on the balcony, it's the noise. Call the police for the noise violation.

[vademo]

Originally Posted by mdcrim

I agree with Carlington- the issue isn't the alcohol on the balcony, it's the noise. Call the police for the noise violation.

I believe the main issue is definitely the alcohol. She gets louder and louder with each drink!

[vademo]

Originally Posted by Tardislass

I don't know your condo rules but same buildings consider balconies limited common areas and can make certain rules about it.

What do the bylaws state?

Yes, balconies are the limited common areas and we are not allowed to make any changes. You cannot change balcony windows, cannot paint the bars or cannot install tiles. I think I will bring it up again to our next meeting. I really do not mind the saturday night but a constant noise during the week day is really annoying.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by vademo

I believe the main issue is definitely the alcohol. She gets louder and louder with each drink!

Maybe, but whatever is the cause of her inability to be quiet at late hours is her problem. That said, it won't help her cause any if the cops show up and find her drunk and loud.

[Bigfoot424]

As already mentioned. The noise can be your recourse but not the alcohol. She is violating no VA laws by drinking on HER balcony. But still, noise complaints are very real and you should do that route. The police will likely require you to go se the magistrate to swear out a warrant. (Actually a summons at first) But I'll wager you'll do what the vast majority of people do and you will not go see the magistrate. It will be their word against yours so taking neighbors as witnesses to court can help and recording from inside your home can help as well. Take notes on when you've asked them to quiet down and what the results were.

[robbobobbo]

City of Falls Church has noise ordinances, as does Fairfax County (in case you're in the "Falls Church" area of Ffx Co).

"It shall be unlawful for any person to yell, shout, talk loudly, whistle or sing on any public street or private property in the city at anytime, so as to cause a noise disturbance. This section shall not apply to any person who is participating in a duly permitted or licensed event or who has been duly authorized to engage in such conduct."

Obviously people do talk loudly at times in their homes and neighbors don't call the police on them for it, but there are also other FC laws against loud noise levels after 9 p.m. 7 days a week.

Like others said, the issue isn't the alcohol. True, that makes your neighbor and company louder, but it's the noise that's ultimately bothering you and the noise is what you wish to stop.

Whether she's a renter or owner, condo rules (and most leases) forbid excessive noise. My tenant's lease contains cause for lease termination for cases of "any nuisance, excessive noise, disturbance or conduct offensive to any other occupant of the building or neighborhood" and the condo docs also have rules against it.

If I were in your position, I'd first file a complaint with the condo board or association and they will follow up with the person. I've called the police in the past (as an apartment-dweller) on large, late-night parties that seemed out of control, but contacted management in cases of neighbors who frequently hosted guests for noisy late-night socializing.

And get a portable fan to create white noise and see if that helps block it out while you wait and hope that your reporting has an effect.