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kainalu

Noisy tenants and their demon seeds

kainalu
15 years ago

I think the saying "kids are noisy" is B.S. How much noise is two much? I live above a girl that has two kids that bang on the walls, bang on the closet doors and throw balls at peoples windows. I've been nice about it, but enough is enough. The mom is in the apartment and doesn't say a word to them, it just keeps on going. There are other kids in the building and they aren't doing the things these kids are. About two weeks ago I reached my breaking point. I went down and told the mom to read her lease that I and everyone in the building has the right of quite enjoyment, she laughed and said he dad was a lawyer and he would file against me. This sunday she left a note on my mail box telling me she was going to file a lawsuit against me and that her kids were allowed to make noise. I decided not to respond, I'm not going to deal with someone that thinks that she can suit people just for the hell of it. She also had one of her friends call me caliming to be with the county sheriff's office calling about a noise complaint that I had filed. Well I didn't file any complaint and If I did it would be with the town that I live in and not the county. I didn't think he was a cop so I called the county and found out there was no officer with that name on the force and that I should talk to my towns police because this is something they would have to deal with. So I did! I went in and the police officer listened to the voice mail and called the guy. The guy told him he was just doing a favor for a friend and was given bad information from his friend. My lease is up at the end of april 09 and I don't know how much more I can take and I've already talked to my landlord and he said he would take care of it, but they went right back to throwing the ball at the windows and banging on the walls, this time its louder. From were the live they can see if the landlord is pulling up and unfortunatly what is under them is the storage room. I've had people over and they've heard the noise too and can't understand why the mother isn't doing anything. Our apartments are less than 500 sqft so she's either the stupidest person in the world or she's allowing it to happen. Her kids swear at people and their only 8yrs old and 12 years old.

Today I wrote my landlord a letter with a copy of the letter she wrote me. Sometimes I work till 2am and get woken up to kids beating on the wall at 5am, thats when I called the landlord, 5am. Hey I figured if I have to hear it at 5am so will he. All of the other tenants in the building are nice their not rude and their kids don't make that kind of noise and when I do hear the other kids its nothing like the kids down stairs, it doesn't even come close. I pay my rent on time if not before, I'm not loud and I keep my place clean and i don't have three cats that spray, which "no pets" is on all of our leases. The girl below me decided after she moved in that she was going to pick up stray cats and keep them and she bought a bird that screams its head off from 5:30am till after midnight.

I know that a couple of the other tenants called about the bird and have told him about the kids. how much can a person take? My cup runnith over.

Comments (13)

  • moonshadow
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As a landlord, the way I see it your landlord already had enough to evict her for breaking her lease due to allowing animals in and noise complaints from multiple other tenants. I view that silly phone call as harassment on the tenant's part (good for you for going to the police!). But since she didn't make the call directly, it might be hard to pin her to that one without a report/charge/conviction. Have you considered video taping all the noise and mailing a copy of the tape to your landlord? Keep documenting and filing complaints and if you can, get others to do the same. It's not worth it to the landlord to lose several tenants over a single inconsiderate tenant. No doubt he's not pleased about the potential damage that might be (or he has seen) done by balls bouncing against windows, etc.

    I would also doubt her daddy's a lawyer, so wouldn't worry about a flighty law suit. A bluff in all likelihood. I had a tenant that was breaking her lease 20 ways from Sunday and about to be evicted when she threatened me with her father 'the real estate lawyer'. I called her on it and immediately said "Why don't you give me your father's name and office phone number so my attorney can contact your dad?". She declined and never brought it up again. ;)

    Also, there is a chance eviction proceedings are in the works if your landlord said he's taking care of it. Or (and what I would do) he might have sent her written warning first as additional measure to cover himself. Then if recorded complaints continue he's at least got it on record he warned her to stop disturbing others and she didn't comply. In my state it takes 30-45 days to complete eviction (supposed to be 30 but cases are backlogged). So unless tenant leaves voluntarily they are in until process is complete, judgment is issued and Sheriff comes to escort them out. So there is a possibility those wheels are in motion in court (which wouldn't be public record till the judgment was issued by the court).

  • marys1000
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would see what the actual ordinances are by law in your town re quiet time.
    Usually there's a time - say 11:00 pm to 6:00 am. There may also be a clause that discusses how loud, in decibels or "reasonable" noise.
    Legal quiet time is probably the only time you would be able to get her to try to control her kids. Kids and child rearing are basically untouchable in our society, especially to someone who doesn't have kids of their own. If the kids are making significant, sustained noise outside of quiet time - call the cops. Any other time it is probably up to the landlord. Continue to complain, in writing or emails so you can keep a record. When is her lease up?
    As for the bird - sounds like maybe she leaves for work early so has to uncover his cage or leave him covered all day which would be sort of cruel. If someone is home and leaves later maybe they could uncover him a little later in the morning. I think she could cover him a little earlier than midnight. Ask and see what she says.

  • inertx
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Call the child services. Suggest that there's a mom who's not supervising their children adequately.

  • lucy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh do NOT do that (calling about the children)!! Inertx, you have just (re)confirmed that you are a $)(*#) !!! Don't you have anything else to do but look for ways to hurt people? Get a life!

  • neesie
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really feel for you! I also don't believe she is married to a lawyer. Her foolish antics with the "friend" prove that she's just a game player.

    I know what you're going through with the bird. Even though someone suggested something about covering and uncovering him that is not likely to work.

    We had five people in our family when we had a large cockatoo who started his daily 'screaming' around 5:00 am. We did cover him each night and he would shred the towel little by little and it didn't matter whether the cover was on or not. We were in for some noise at the break of dawn! I am an early riser, but not that early. And with our schedules there was not a lot of time when the house was unoccupied. He got a lot of attention during the day and it simply wasn't enough. I can't believe it took me two years to find him another home but that's what happened.

    As for their three spraying cats....that's enough to get them their walking papers.

    Hang in there!

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Whats wrong with calling social services? If she is raising them to be unsociable monsters they and society are better off if they are taken from her.

  • lucy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Because from the tone of his note I'll bet anything what he'd say would immediately bring out the heavy hitters who'd snatch the kids first, ask questions later. That's not the way to deal with problems, especially if you don't even know there is one.

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Typically social services will send someone out to investigate and draw their own conclusions unless its a gravely serious complaint (Like child sexual abuse) and the draw their own conclusions. If they do not think that the children need to be taken away they will not take them away.

  • lucy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And the name of your fantasy world is...?

  • tearosekate
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow. Pretending to be a cop or having someone pretend to be a cop is a crime that can be punished with jail. If I were the landlord I would document everything and get her thrown out. I might document everything yourself so you can perhaps show it to your landlord and let him know he has to do his job or he's facing the wrong side of a lawsuit too.

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure of a name for this cosmos, but its one where I personally know several social workers and have discussed in depth how the system works.

  • kainalu
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the all of the advice but its still the same accept their not throwing balls at the window and the other tenants told the LL that our leases say "no pets" and thebird noise is really bad and he made he get rid of the bird. The girls accross the hall from her said they still hear that bird screaming and its probably because it was so loud. I did tell the landlord about the fake call I received and his responce was that I shouldn't call the police because "it would make people mad" and I told him I didn't call the police until her friend called me and he had no responce to that. I just came back from vacation and I wish I could go back. Now when I leave someone yell's out the window "whore" and calls me the "B" word and so I decided to record it on my cell and you can hear it, but the landlord told everyone that if they have complaints to put them in writing. I also have been documenting everything dates, times, type of sound and I've even started recording the banging. But I guess it doesn't matter. I started looking for another place to live and I will again let him know (for the last time) and I know it will continue. If I have to move because of it I will file against her, her father (he's on the lease) and the landlord because I have spoken to a couple different lawyers and let them listen to what I have and they both said I have a case. It stinks that I have to go through with this but I have to. I won't call family services, she'll have enough bad karma coming her way, plus it must really suck being her, she brought this on herself.
    I was told by one of the other tenants that the landlord had a problem with a different tenant and her three kids but he evicted them for not paying rent and after they were gone when he went in to the apartment it had holes in the walls and the carpet was trashed and whats funny is the girl below me looks like the girl he had to evict. After hearing all of that banging I would have to guess they hae some damage also, you would think the landlord would be reacting better, but he's not and I really thought he was GOOD LANDLORD UNTIL ALL OF THIS.

  • moonshadow
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm sorry you're still suffering through this.

    However this comment: "the landlord told everyone that if they have complaints to put them in writing" leads me to believe the LL is probably doing his best to build an eviction case against them, otherwise he wouldn't have asked for other tenants to write down the issues. If they are paying on time and got rid of the bird (supposedly) he's got no easy way to take them to court for eviction (but were I him, I'd sure be inspecting that place). So I'm guessing that's why he's looking for backup documentation from multiple other tenants - it only strengthens his case in court. Sometimes, depending on the reason (such as when it's not for non-payment of rent, but rather harassing others or disturbing their quiet enjoyment), it takes some good documentation to have a judge extricate someone from their home. I know it seems like nothing is being done, but as I mentioned above, the wheels could be in motion and other tenants typically aren't privy to that kind of information. So keep documenting, have others document, and keep a steady flow of papers to him. Seriously, if enough tenants complain it would be ludicrous for him to lose multiple good tenants over one bad one.

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