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Since my divorce 4 years ago I've been living in these great apartment with wonderful neighbors. Two months ago this middle age couple(no kids) moved in below me and have been a nightmare since. First they have a very large dog that they allow to bark inside their apartment at all hours. Plus from the time they get home till the time they go to bed(after midnight some nights) they are banging doors,moving furniture, hammering etc.
Now it gets even better. About two weeks after they moved in I found a note taped to my door from them saying I walk to loud and can I vacuum when they are not home as it disturbs them. I was like WTF. I'm a single woman who goes to bed at 10pm every night how much noise can I make. Plus no one has ever complained about me before. Next week I vacuumed at my normal time 1pm on Sat and when I stopped they were banging on my door which I did not answer. After this I knew they were going to be a problem so I called my landlord and filled her in. She said they were being ridicules BUT stated they have been complaining about me saying I'm moving furniture all night (so not true). We ended it with she would call them to see what was going on.
Well since I complained their noise only got worse and its obvious they are doing it on purpose now. I need to have my tv,fan and white noise machine going to drown out most of their noise. BUT now they have started something new. At random times thruout the day AND night they will slam the bedroom door(which is right under my bedroom) with such force it rattles my windows, has pull picture frames off my wall and shakes my WHOLE apartment. If this happens when I'm sleeping it will wake me up with such a start my heart jumps into my chest. Everything else they do I can tolerate but this. Since I never know when they are going to do it I'm always on edge waiting.
Can anyone one offer advice with dealing with these MOD CUT?
The first thing to do is put your complaints in writing to your landlady. You might also suggest to her that she come over one day (or evening, whenever the noise is bad) and spend some time in your apartment to experience it first hand. If there are other residents of the building, find out if any of them have had problems with the general noise or with the dog barking. If you have a camcorder with a date and time stamp (or can borrow/rent one) you might record the noise. If your leases contain a noise clause then your landlady will need ammunition to enforce it.
I feel for you. This is not an unusual situation by any means and is very difficult to deal with effectively, particularly when dealing with antagonistic people. Hopefully your landlady will be willing and able to deal with it, otherwise your only recourse may be to leave. Good luck!
I have already talked to my landlord about this issue and it only got worse. Plus its really going to come down to my word against theirs. I had thought of recording them or having my landlord over BUT most of the really bad(reportable) noise is random and I never know when they are going to do it so that makes it hard to tape. Also their front window is right by my only door so it would be hard if not impossible for my landlord to sneak in without them seeing her.
I checked my lease and there is no mention of "quiet times". Weird I know. As far as other neighbors go I'm the only one that "shares" a wall or should say floor with the *******s. The appartments next to them are empty. So they could set off a bomb and it would only bother me.
Don't know what to do as they have made it their past time to harrass me. I have thought of giving them a taste of their own medicine but I don't know what I could do to make noise without getting me evicted....
For your own protection you need to put the complaints/concerns in writing to the LL. Or you can always follow up a verbal discussion with a confirming email. If the situation escalates, you need to have written proof of the problem in case it comes to the point where you have to move and there's an argument about breaking your lease with worst case scenario that you end up in court over it. Hopefully it won't come to that but it's always wise to do things the right (legal) way so that you don't end up kicking yourself later. This is the same sort of reasoning applied to tenants taking dated "before" and "after" photos of the rental unit. You may never need them but ..
Not all leases contain noise clauses. Maybe hope that the adjacent apartments are soon occupied so that someone else can be disrupted.
Don't even think about retaliating, for all the obvious reasons. Don't have any contact with them, just keep your LL appraised of what's going on, keep a log. If there is continued and consistent noise any time after 10PM, call the police department and then get a copy of the report. Again, good luck.
What kind of breed is the dog? Is the dog approved to live there and some Counties/States have nuisance laws and dog barking is incl. in that if your LL is not actively responding.
It doesn' look like an easy issue to resolve with people who are just annoying...I wish you good luck and it is very sad.
I am sorry this is happening to you, OP. Unfortunately, your neighbors are experienced at what they are doing. First, they pre-emptively issued a written warning TO YOU about your noise because they know their own noise is unacceptable. Next, the banging on your door was an aggressive action on their part - that was done to send a message to you. And then they complained to the LandLord ABOUT YOU before you did - a sly move on their part.
This is a battle not worth fighting on your own. Those downstairs neighbors will escalate the current problems and start new ones that are even worse (they know they can annoy you now). You've got better things to focus your attention on. Start looking now for a new place to live in case you need to get out of there fast. Your peace of mind is worth it.
Put your complaints in writing to the manager. Do not engage with your neighbors, that's not your job or their's...all complaints should be ran thru the manager.
As for the dog, I'm sure there's something about nuisance barking and having a dog bark for hours is considered a nuisance Call the local police dept and ask them what you can do..maybe Animal Control will get involved ( in my city, AC will get involved in dog complaints and fines can be given) We too are in a dog friendly complex, but they wont' tolerate a dog barking all day long.
If a slamming an interior door is knocking things off your wall, you must live in either an old woodframe building, or a cheaply built one.
And if you really think a single family home is any quieter, I've got news for ya...those neighbors aren't goverened by a landlord or lease (unless they're renters of course) so getting those noise problems handled are bit tricky and usually involve the police.
Last edited by Kim in FL; 12-27-2012 at 06:02 AM..
Reason: brain is in a fog :)
I agree with Sky-blue these people know what they are doing. By making random loud nosies at diffrent times its hard to tape them as I never know when they are going to do it. Even the dog barks just long enough to wake me up. They even seem to know what room I'm in as when I'm in my bedroom thats where the dog will bark/doors slam ect. If I'm in the living room trying to relax/watch tv thats where the dog will bark/doors slam. They know what they are doing and now I feel its like a game to them.
As far as the dog goes it looks like a pitbull or at least a pitbull mix. My lease handbook states all dogs MUST BE under 20lbs which I know the dog is over.
I've decided I need to try and get out or at the very least move to anouther building. Problem is I just signed my lease and have 10 months to go. Can anyone help me or give me advice on how to go about this? I do plan on bringing up the dog over 20lbs but not sure if that will do any good.
Problem is I just signed my lease and have 10 months to go. Can anyone help me or give me advice on how to go about this? I do plan on bringing up the dog over 20lbs but not sure if that will do any good.
Try and get away from the emotional details and read the suggested advice. You CAN break your lease but it makes it infinitely easier if you do things the right (legal) way. All was explained earlier.
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