neighbors children drive us nuts 10 hours or more a day (apartments, lease)
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hi everyone,
i have a brief question for you to see if we are just off our rockers or this is a legitimate complaint because our landlord doesn't seem to think this is considered "excessive" enough to deem worth of even looking at.
apologies if links are forbidden here, but it is the only way to truly get my point across.
we have complained so many times now and quite frankly have never been taken seriously and have only ever been given excuses as to why nothing needs to be done about the noise level. we have presented more then enough evidence to them that this is not just normal noise...they just wont do anything
we have talked to the father who informed us "he can do anything he wants to from the hours of 6am to 9pm so get use to the running"
we really have no idea what we can ever do at this point since we are not being let out of our lease
HELP!
Sorry... Terms of Service do no permit posters with less than 10 posts to provide a link...
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 04-08-2012 at 07:59 PM..
I can only make assumptions since your links weren't allowed but if these children are making noise within the time limits proscribed in your jurisdiction and your LL doesn't want to get involved, there really is nothing much you can do except move. See if your lease has an early termination clause. If it doesn't, see if you can work out something with your LL to enable you to leave early without too much of a penalty. There are ways to get around this but it will entail moving. Good luck.
the thing is the laws here restrict the amount of people that can live in a 2 bedroom and these people are over that amount now. the landlord will not let us out we have talked to them already. when we explain that his wife (the one that showed us the house, which is a fourplex btw) never told us about the children when we specifically ASKED about children noise and smokers, he just tells us that doesn't sound like his wife and refuses to talk about it anymore. he also seems to love the line "they have grown into this place we cant do anything about them" which to me shows clear favoritism and a lack to of motivation to even hear us out properly....i wasn't aware you "grew into" apartments as much as you grew out of them.
as it turns out that the last tenants moved out for this very reason. when we asked why they moved out while viewing this place we where told they moved out because of a "family emergency" not because of noise levels....unless they where trying to be cleaver with us and make some ill advised pun on the matter. since then we have gone as far as to find them and ask why it was they moved and this was the answer. landlord would not take complaints seriously or respond to us so we left and told them to take us to court
the whole reason we moved here was to get away from noise and cigarette/pot smoke and because they specifically wanted "mature low noise adults who do not smoke"
well, not only do we now have to deal with pot smoke from the neighbor beside us we also have to deal with the sound of 3 small children running and yelling around a 2 bedroom apartment everyday.
it is in our lease that tenants will be evicted if caught smoking or disturbing other tenants with "excessive" amounts of noise. one of they excessive noises is outlined clearly as running inside.
when we confronted about the smoke we have been told "we will call him we told them they have to smoke it on their porch" which hasn't worked. the slaps on the wrist just stop them for that day. as far as i know it is against the law for out landlord to knowingly allow illegal activity on the premiss...and of course this also breaks the lease.
im more upset that we have essentially been duped into moving here after looking 5 months for a place and now that we have issues that where clearly known about, we get nothing but excuses and clear by law and lease breaches.
to give you an idea of how bad the nose is. we can hear them talk to one another word for word (because they yell across the house) and we live next to train tracks. it is clear that part of the problem here is this place is not properly soundproofed and is just drywall and brick. if WE (heaven forbid) do make any noise (normal noise mind you) they are the first people to bang on the walls as if our walking to the bathroom is totally destroying their day.
we are looking for new places (as we have been since the first week we moved in and told them this was unacceptable we have been treated this way and been given misinformation) but without being let out its pointless
so to lay it out in bullet points:
LL allowing more then legally described to live in the 2 bedroom below.
LL ignores complaints from other tenants about them (including the people beside us)
LL lied to us about why people have moved out when asked directly.
LL dismissed noise and children in the building when asked before moving in
LL allows pot smoking even after the 20th time its happened (lease described a no tolerance policy on drug us and smoking)
LL clearly in breach of his own lease and city by laws but wont allow us out.
Last edited by rego00123; 04-09-2012 at 11:35 AM..
Frankly I don't give a ***** that the laws say you can make whatever noise you want during X and X hours. I think it should be law that people can't make excessive noise PERIOD. You are supposed to be allowed reasonable enjoyment of your home, yes ?
We have a neighbor across the street that we have to endure. Summers are Hell, and winters arent much better. Everytime he opens his garage door I die a little inside. Seriously...I don't think he is capable of doing anything quietly...he tunes his drag car(s) and I can't even begin to describe how LOUD that is..he runs saws, all with his garage door wide open as if he's putting on a show. He doesn't even have the decency to close the door so his neighbors don't have to suffer. What's worse is he is PURE redneck and has the full support of his male redneck neighbors who come out and do the whole "whatcha building there Bob, how's that going ? Let's have a beer !" Thing.
Being forced (through lack of finances) to live around noisy people DOES suck. Especially if you are noise sensitive and have PTSD as I do. When he is revving that drag car I literally hate his guts and wish the thing would explode in his face. Overreaction ? Maybe...but that's how LOUD noise affects people like me.
Well obviously your landlord and his wife aren't going to cooperate so moving is going to be the only option and this is where the wording of your lease comes into play. Is there anything in your lease which addresses smoking? What does your lease specifically say about noise? If the terms of your lease are being broken you have to prove it, and if your LL isn't upholding the terms of the lease then you can break it without penalty. One thing you can do right now while you're deciding what to do is to put everything in writing to your LL if you haven't done so already. If you call him to complain about something which he can come and verify immediately (such as the smoking, noise issues) then follow that up in writing to confirm, etc.
Read your state's landlord tenant laws if you haven't already done so. If they're not linked in the first "sticky" at the top of this forum page then google, "(your state) landlord tenant laws" to find them.
What your lease specifically says about these issues and what your state laws say in turn are very important. Hope that helps for a start.
our lease has a (their wording) no tolerance smoking clause
their noise is "ANYTHING the interferes with the enjoyment of you living space" it doesn not specify children anything about children, just "ANYTHING"
we have to file complaint with the city here before we attempt to break a lease, which we have. unfortunately they appear to NEVER get back to anyone. we filed the 2nd week of being here and it was apparent that LL's where not going to do anything. we have been stuck here fro 2 months since. its been so bad that on the weekends we stay in a local hotel to have any sanity we have left stay with us
we are not even noie sensitive people. i mean we live right next to busy train tracks and we do not mind hearing the odd bang or loud voice...but 10 hours a day of non stop BANG BANG BANG BANG and screaming at the top of your lungs along with wafting pot smoke filling our living room at any hour is where we have to draw a line. that is beyond normal
we are just baffled at this point as to why they specifically worded their ad for this place drawing people in that do not want to put up with this kind of behavior and noise when it is clear they allow it regardless...why waste peoples time and money?!?
OH! i should ad that our LL will not even reply to us anymore. if we want something done WE have to go to his house where he cannot avoid us. to be honest makes me an my wife really uneasy, like he may be setting us up for something if this does come to legal actions, but what are we suppose to do if they will never respond?
Last edited by rego00123; 04-09-2012 at 11:58 AM..
Reason: typing on a mobil device, many omitions and spelling errors
It sounds as though your lease is pretty clear. You need to document everything. Get a videocam so you can record the noise, enlist the help of friends, fellow tenants, family, anyone who'll agree to testify on the noise and the smoke. Chase down the city officials to whom you sent the formal complaint, find out where your letter is and whose desk it's sitting on - always be mind numbingly polite but follow up and find out even if you have to call every single day. Keep your hotel bills. Keep calling your LL. Call the local PD when the pot smoke starts wafting through your place. You need to start being seriously proactive to get yourself out of that situation as soon as possible.
Last but certainly not least, speak to an attorney who specializes in landlord tenant issues. Many will offer an initial free consultation. Otherwise, go to your nearest Legal Aid office and see what advice they can give you. Good luck.
ill be honest and say we have up until now tried to be nice. being the new people in the building and not wanting to disturb the family, really wanting to avoid anything legal or have it come to cops being called etc but, i find it hard to be a nice person anymore...there is no reason people do not know they are causing a disturbance. being ignored and lied to has only escalated my anger levels towards this place and the people living in it.
we really do not even care about child noise, we can take the odd hour of running and banging around. we understand they are kids and they have endless energy they need to get out. its when it starts at 6am and continues all the way until 9pm (literally non stop, im not being an overly picky person about the noise)
we also literally just found out the women is pregnant again. so child number 4 is on the way making it 6 people to a 2 bedroom.
as far as documentation im not even sure i can get my LL to cooperate in having statements signed since he wont even answer my calls. we have been keeping a book of times that the noise has exceeded normal levels along with taking recording of those times to go along with.
as far as they pot smoke, its unfortunately going to have to come to cops being called. those people are (as i type) smoking up right beside my front door like its an everyday casual thing....at least its outside this time right?......lol
as far as pot goes i dont have a bad view of people that use it or am a super drug nazi when it comes down to it. its not my cup of tea but i dont judge them for it. i just dont want it in my apartment.
im about ready to move into the hotel full time until we can actually find a place, this one alone took us 5 months of waiting and searching.
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