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My roommate and I moved into our rented condo a few months ago. Since day 1 our next door neighbors (head of HOA) gave us trouble. As we were walking back and forth from our car to our front door to bring things up at approximately 10:15pm, they wrote us a letter stating our building has quiet hours after 10 (was not stated in our lease). A few weeks after we moved in, HOA left us a note on the door we had to sign, with general rules of common decency, along with quiet hours after 10. My roommate and I are not loud people and didn't think that would be an issue. A few weeks after that we came home from the bars, didn't talk, just walked from the steps into our front door, and got a note from them again saying we were walking too loud and complained about a few other random complaints. A few other occurrences happened since then, where we would come home from the bars at about 2am and either walk straight to our front door or whisper if we had friends and had to explain to them not to talk. We have never gotten any other letters from them, just a few nasty comments through their window to us. I got home today to an eviction letter form our property manager (whom has never spoke to us about any complaints), saying we violated the lease on about 5 specific dates when we were walking in late. I know we signed the letter about quiet hours, but we were more than reasonably quiet. I don't see how they can expect us to be a prisoner in our house, being accused of breaking the lease for simply coming home. Is this legal? I feel as though 'quiet' is a contentious term, and neither of us can prove nor deny the level of noise we were making. Do we have a case to fight this?
Some HOAs are more powerful than others, but if you are renting and not following the rules, chances are the eviction is legal. Whether or not they have proof and can get a judge to agree is questionable.
That said...
- Common sense tells you it is inconsiderate to move at 10:15 pm. Even if you were done with large items and down to boxes. Even if you were trying to be as quiet as possible. By going back and forth repeatedly, noise is made, it is annoying for neighbors, and people likely were trying to sleep so they could work in the morning. This is a condo, so I assume people are sharing walls, if not ceilings/floors with you as well.
- If you are coming home from the bar, I'm doubting you are as quiet as you think you are. (Remember- you share walls- it isn't just the walking to and from the door.) The thing about renting a condo versus an apartment is that many of these people OWN their condo. They can't just up and move because some young people moved in next door and are coming and going at all hours of the night. Do you have to stay home all the time? No. But people are going to be more vocal about complaints because that is the home they own. In an apartment, you rent knowing the likelihood of some loud younger people keeping late hours being near enough to disturb you is high. That is not as common in a condo because people are neighbors for long periods of time. They are more invested in the community and they try to be more respectful of each other.
It doesn't sound like a place that you would want to stay. I suggest that you contact your landlord and negotiate to leave, so that you don't actually get evicted. Be sure to get it in writing that the lease is being ended by mutual consent and that you are not responsible for paying the balance of the lease.
Most leases include a provision about following all rules and laws and you violated that provision. The day I get a letter from an HOA is the same day I issue a 10 day cure notice to any tenant for any reason. HOAs aren't something a property owner can afford to mess around with.
Most leases include a provision about following all rules and laws and you violated that provision.
I agree with the bolded.
So the next time you rent a property that is within an HOA/COA, the LL should provide you with a copy of the covenants and restrictions before or at lease signing. You should review those to ensure you're okay with following those rules.
The complaint about you moving in at 10:15pm is legitimate. I know you're attempting to be quiet when coming/going after quiet hours but could you be letting the door close hard? Even if you're resuming normal volume and walking around late at night/early morning inside the condo, this could cause noise complaints from neighbors with shared walls.
Unless you're using the the wrong term, your LL should have provided you with a warning to "cure or quit" or notice to vacate prior to starting the eviction process which is different than requiring you to vacate. Talk to your LL and work out a solution before it escalates to an eviction. An eviction is a legal process that goes on your record, and is a deal breaker for most LLs so you want to avoid that at all costs.
It doesn't sound like a place that you would want to stay. I suggest that you contact your landlord and negotiate to leave, so that you don't actually get evicted. Be sure to get it in writing that the lease is being ended by mutual consent and that you are not responsible for paying the balance of the lease.
I agree. My suspicion is that the neighbor and/or HOA want to keep renters out of their building. Expect the hassles to continue.
I agree. My suspicion is that the neighbor and/or HOA want to keep renters out of their building. Expect the hassles to continue.
These sorts of things happen ALL THE TIME even in subdivisions of detached single family home where the residents active in the HOA do not like renters. There are probably ways to make a case that there is some kind "discrimination" going on in these situations BUT when they get the tenant to SIGN something that says that they agree to "quiet hours" and that includes things related to starting up a car parked in a common area (which does make noise...) or other time based restrictions it is unlikely that an judge will say these things are unreasonable...
My gut says that IF this was a situation where there was somebody that actually worked overnight hours as a cop or nurse the HOA bully would not have acted the same way but the OP has to accept that there are jerks out there who do not want neighbors that make any noise, especially if that noise is related to coming back from the bars or other "fun" things.
I sympathize OP. I received complaints letters for flushing the toilet after 10 pm and for the fact the newspaper I received on weekends "landed too loudly" on the floor mat at 6:00 a.m. I was quiet and considerate overall but nuts trumped all.
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Bingo!
