Neighbors have party every night from 11pm-3am (Alexandria, Fairfax: apartments, lease)

[LoveAlbuquerque]

They get up at 2pm and have parties all night long. I cannot sleep. Other neighbors have complaints as well and many people interrupt their parties at night by knocking at their door and asked them to be quiet.

However, they don't change. The landlord asked them to be quiet at 10pm but they would not listen. Even police officers cannot make them stop partying. Evicting them may take a while because it's a legal process for the landlord.

My landlord did give me an option of moving to another apartment in the community. However, there are noise issues associated with these other apartments as well (although not as bad as my current neighbors). Also the floors are made of wood and walls are paper thin in this garden-style. You are vulnerable to any inconsiderate neighbor.

I want to terminate my lease and move out. However, my landlord asks me to pay a penalty close to $2000 plus two months notice (my landlord cut the penalty down from the lease terms for me in consideration of this situation). Now 1.5 months remain and I feel miserable.

If my landlord can find a tenant for my apartment during the remaining 1.5 months, he will issue me a refund for the rent I pay for the 1.5 months although there is no guarantee. However, I must pay a penalty close to $2000.

It seems that the sooner I move out, the more I'll pay to my landlord. However, the longer I wait here, the more I will suffer. What are my options?

[boyd888]

Ear plugs and / or deal with it for 1.5 more months? If the police are aware there really isn't much more you can do and evicting them will take longer than 1.5 months.

[chariega]

Welcome to the world of apartment/condo living. You could try to find someone to take over your lease, but when you move, you may still have issues with other noisy neighbors.


It would take longer than 1.5 months to evict them though.

[Carlingtonian]

I don't know what jurisdiction you live in, but isn't there a noise ordinance of some kind, which the police CAN enforce? If there is no such law, that's very odd.

I would NOT trust the landlord to refund you any money out of the goodness of his heart. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist.

If you are truly at the end of your rope--i.e., you're getting no sleep, your work is suffering, you're despondent, and earplugs don't work--then I think you should notify the landlord via certified letter of your intent to break the lease, based on his failure to enforce the rules of the complex. Then you will have to sue in small-claims court to get your deposit back.

But I agree that if you can suffer through 6 weeks, that's a lot easier.

[LoveAlbuquerque]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I don't know what jurisdiction you live in, but isn't there a noise ordinance of some kind, which the police CAN enforce? If there is no such law, that's very odd.

This is in Alexandria, VA.

[mayita]

I used to live in Alexandria and the police is very good with noise complaints.

[Carlingtonian]

To the OP (Albuquerque): Are you in Alexandria City or in Fairfax County Alexandria?

[marie5v]

When I lived in Alexandria (the fairfax county one), the police responded to party at night complaints pretty well. They'd tell the neighbors that they were getting a warning, and if they had to come back that same night then they got a fine. It worked well. They even made the partiers on the deck and patio go back inside the house. However, in Alexandria city we never could get police to do anything about anything. I remember once a car was parked illegally in front of our apartment with it's car alarm going off for 48 hours. Not kidding. 48 hours of car alarm. The police said we'd just have to wait until its battery died. It was in a tow-away zone.

[newvadad]

Noise ordinances are pretty clear. Police don't like wasting their time with nonsense and they will arrest people if they don't comply. Keep calling them and put your landlord on notice too. I'd be looking into placing pressure on the landlord too. They need to enforce the rules in the lease/contract and if they fail, you should have additional legal recourse.

[LoveAlbuquerque]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

To the OP (Albuquerque): Are you in Alexandria City or in Fairfax County Alexandria?

Good question - I live in Alexandria. But the police offices who respond to noise issues are Fairfax County Police Department for my community.