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To the OP - I would not waste my time with gimmicks to get them to stop, as they likely won't. I also wouldn't waste my time in court. I'd get a noise machine and some good ear plugs and count the days until you can leave.
I ordered a noise machine. Hopefully it will help me a lot.
With that time frame, grin and bear is the only strategy. IF you had more time, I'd follow this strategy.
First, remember to document everything. Make notes of encounters including time and date and what was said. Then:
1. Speak to the tenants in question and ask them politely to reduce the noise level. Be very civil.
2. If no effect, send them a letter or a note repeating the request politely. Copy the land lord. Be very civil.
3. If no effect, print out the relevant noise ordinance and call the law enforcement authority of your jurisdiction. Be very, very, very civil to the officers who respond. A little coffee and donut go a long way. Befriending officers and conveying the havoc the violations are wreaking on your life politely to the officers will enlist their sympathies. Doubly effective if you are a young female and the officers are fatherly men.
4. If no effect, repeat step 3 and ask other tenants who are affected similarly to do the same. More complaints, more legitimate the cause appears to the officers.
5. If no effect, repeat once more.
6. At this point you have two choices, you can take steps to launch a formal complaint by letter to the law enforcement for the lack of noise ordinance compliance and seek higher-up intervention OR present documentation of all that has happened and require the landlord to take action. If he does not, there may be remedies.
Remember at all times, keep calm, be civil and document everything. Do NOT under any circumstance retaliate. Retaliation inevitably leads to escalation and weakens your case in the eyes of the LE. Retaliation also makes it virtually impossible to settle the issue amicably. Polite indignation is the way to go.
With that time frame, grin and bear is the only strategy. IF you had more time, I'd follow this strategy.
First, remember to document everything. Make notes of encounters including time and date and what was said. Then:
1. Speak to the tenants in question and ask them politely to reduce the noise level. Be very civil.
2. If no effect, send them a letter or a note repeating the request politely. Copy the land lord. Be very civil.
3. If no effect, print out the relevant noise ordinance and call the law enforcement authority of your jurisdiction. Be very, very, very civil to the officers who respond. A little coffee and donut go a long way. Befriending officers and conveying the havoc the violations are wreaking on your life politely to the officers will enlist their sympathies. Doubly effective if you are a young female and the officers are fatherly men.
4. If no effect, repeat step 3 and ask other tenants who are affected similarly to do the same. More complaints, more legitimate the cause appears to the officers.
5. If no effect, repeat once more.
6. At this point you have two choices, you can take steps to launch a formal complaint by letter to the law enforcement for the lack of noise ordinance compliance and seek higher-up intervention OR present documentation of all that has happened and require the landlord to take action. If he does not, there may be remedies.
Remember at all times, keep calm, be civil and document everything. Do NOT under any circumstance retaliate. Retaliation inevitably leads to escalation and weakens your case in the eyes of the LE. Retaliation also makes it virtually impossible to settle the issue amicably. Polite indignation is the way to go.
Good luck to you.
That's all nice, but if the situation escalates to the point you're calling police and management, they'll know its YOU that's complaining. And, as far as I'm concerned, someone who lives in an apartment and plays loud music with BASS past a certain time after being requested NOT to is not a reasonable person, and not even worth talking to. Talk to management, then talk to police. Repeat as necessary. They are not the kind of people you want to confront unless we're talking about an apartment in a college town on a Friday night, which is your own fault for renting there, haha.
I have lived next to neighbors that play music so loud, that the pressure makes my ears hurt and the music can be heard in the elevator, down the hall, with the doors closed. Unacceptable at any time really. These people need to either rent a detached house or live some place where the rent is so cheap the people will put up with that sh*t.
I'm currently dealing with a neighbor that management flat out told me that they don't like to deal with and I "don't know who he is". Short of pulling a gun on this guy, the only way for him to stop playing music is for the police to come. Or until I have so many documented complaints the building fines him (if he owns the place) or removes him.
That's all nice, but if the situation escalates to the point you're calling police and management, they'll know its YOU that's complaining.
Of course, they'll know it's you. But how you complain does matter.
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And, as far as I'm concerned, someone who lives in an apartment and plays loud music with BASS past a certain time after being requested NOT to is not a reasonable person, and not even worth talking to. Talk to management, then talk to police. Repeat as necessary. They are not the kind of people you want to confront unless we're talking about an apartment in a college town on a Friday night, which is your own fault for renting there, haha.
No one should confront anybody. You leave confrontation to professionals who get paid to take the risk.
However, you should never assume whether someone is reasonable or not. The best option is always to be civil, make complaints known, document everything and so on.
Quote:
I'm currently dealing with a neighbor that management flat out told me that they don't like to deal with and I "don't know who he is". Short of pulling a gun on this guy, the only way for him to stop playing music is for the police to come. Or until I have so many documented complaints the building fines him (if he owns the place) or removes him.
First of all, "pulling a gun" is asinine in the extreme and will get you to jail promptly. While I happen to be a strong advocate for gun ownership rights, pulling a gun unless a deadly threat is present is always a bad idea of the highest order.
Second, if the alleged offender in question is an owner in a condo, that's a very different story. You can pursue action through the HOA and handle it differently (usually through multiple, geometrically rising fines at most HOAs -- that usually gets the attention).
This is a different case since it involves renters.
Last, one thing people should keep in mind is that, in life, sometimes you do not end up with ideal outcomes. You do the best thing possible under the circumstances. You try to follow the path of what can be done and, in the end, if the desired outcome is not achieved, then you either move and incur the penalty (and enjoy the stress free life in another, better location) or you grin and bear it and wait it out until the contract expires. Remember that the best revenge is living well.
When we lived in NC, we had a neighbor who had a dog, a Rottweiler. Their back yard was fenced, but was at a lower elevation. That dog would sit in that back yard and stare at our houses for any signs of movement. Light goes on - screaming loud barking. Walk into my kitchen, even with the blinds closed, screaming barking dog (guess he saw my shadow on the blinds). This went on and on and on. I called the cops several times, and all they would do is hang a warning on their door. They'd leave the dog outside over night, and sometimes they'd leave that rotten animal out for days. It....was maddening! Then, when I had finally had enough (was getting ready to sell my house and knew this was going to be a problem), I pulled the county noise ordinance regulations, which stated that a fine of $250 could be issued per violation. Dog was out...I called the cops...and as usual they came by. But this time, I was mad at the cop. He said "I'll go knock on their door and give them a warning". At this point, I said "you can give them all the warnings you want. You've been giving them warnings for the past year. Fact of the matter is that you represent no authority whatsoever to these people. They obviosuly couldn't care less what you warn them of. 10 minutes after you're gone, the dog is back outside harrassing all of us. You and that badge represent no more authority to them, and they show you and your little warning sticker no more respect than they do us. They're simply laughing at you when you come over. That's not my opinion, that's fact, proven by all the times we've all called you to complain, with nothing being done". Once I called his law enforcement influence into question, it's like a light bulb came on and he got mad. He said "well, then we'll just see how funny their wallet thinks I am..."
The first $250 fine, with a required court date and visit by the county humane society to investigate animal abuse if the fine wasn't paid on time = the dog issue was fixed.
Being nice is fine and dandy, when you're dealing with nice people who don't realize they're making a mistake. Throwing parties to 3am nearly every night, isn't being nice, and since they keep doing it after they've been asked and warned not to... clearly points to someone not willing to either enforce the law, or too chicken too. I'd ask your landlord one simple question -who's money do you want? Money from those who aren't tearing up your property that you know won't cost you a boat load to fix once they move out....or money from those who are tearing up your property because they know you're too intimidated to kick them out for breaking the law. Because violating the noise ordinance of what ever county/city you live in....is breaking the law.
I'm 39 years old. I had fun in my 20's (not too much fun though).... I've never seen any situation where partying to 3am on a regular basis was made up of entirely "legal" activities. Granted, maybe not in the apartment unit itself...but I'd almost bet something that shouldn't be there, is. It ain't your enemies that get you into trouble...it's your friends. And friends like that, who are raising cane at 3am, sound like trouble to me!
First of all, "pulling a gun" is asinine in the extreme and will get you to jail promptly. While I happen to be a strong advocate for gun ownership rights, pulling a gun unless a deadly threat is present is always a bad idea of the highest order.
Haha, I would never, ever pull a gun over this. Sorry, just trying to make a point that some people will never do what is asked of them, including lowering music until they have no other choice.
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Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta
Last, one thing people should keep in mind is that, in life, sometimes you do not end up with ideal outcomes. You do the best thing possible under the circumstances. You try to follow the path of what can be done and, in the end, if the desired outcome is not achieved, then you either move and incur the penalty (and enjoy the stress free life in another, better location) or you grin and bear it and wait it out until the contract expires. Remember that the best revenge is living well.
Ha, I have been grinning and bearing it. Nothing like working 8 hours, coming home to study for 4 hours with bass pounding till 3am even after asking him to lower it and complaining to management. Me and my significant other aren't in a position to move either (not financially, but time constraints), let alone spend the time looking for another place. And why should we? A normal and reasonable person doesn't act like this. Honestly, eff this guy. Eff this partying till 3am BS. I will do everything in my power to make his life more tedious than my with more complaints to management and the police.
Well, I guess I've held one piece of higher ground. I haven't taken a sub-woofer I have stored at my parents from when I lived in a detached house. I like the idea of a 8am subwoofer wake up call.
After watching the Olympic closing event last night, I was reminded of a song that I think would be PERFECT for your neighbor to hear through the subwoofer, on repeat over and over and over again..... "Well, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, hey hey hey! If you wanna be my lover, you gotta be my friends....." Spice Girls... Works at a camp in Cuba, and is sure to drive them insane!
Honestly, eff this guy. Eff this partying till 3am BS. I will do everything in my power to make his life more tedious than my with more complaints to management and the police.
Well, I guess I've held one piece of higher ground. I haven't taken a sub-woofer I have stored at my parents from when I lived in a detached house. I like the idea of a 8am subwoofer wake up call.
Nice to be an adult, eh?
You know what's going to be really fun? You retaliate and create noise and officers show up and fine you!
And then all your other neighbors retaliate against you and turn up the music on you at 6 AM.
Then my location is in Fairfax County. Which city is this location then? I need a city name besides county name. Correct?
In Virginia, by law, cities are separate and distinct municipalities from counties. An incorporated city in Virginia is never part of a county. A city can be surrounded by a county but it will not be part of the same governmental structure.
For instance, there is no Arlington City in Arlington County. It's all just Arlington County. There is a City of Fairfax but it is not part of Fairfax County; it has its own town hall, zoning and business licensing and own General District Court services, and pays Fairfax County's government for use of the Circuit Court and police services.
Does that help?
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Befriending officers and conveying the havoc the violations are wreaking on your life politely to the officers will enlist their sympathies. Doubly effective if you are a young female and the officers are fatherly men. 
