How do I get rid of my meth neighbor?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I moved into a rental home recently and discovered that the person in the unit next to mine is doing meth in his apartment. I think I am also dealing with the health effects of a small amount of fumes seeping into my apt. The neighbor also has loud parties inside and outside the building on occasion. I deeply resent this because I just moved in, am exhausted, and otherwise like my apt. very much. Before I moved in I became aware of a few “incidents” that seemed to signal to me and/or the landlord that he didn’t want anyone living in the apartment. These were minor but were intended as threats to me or the landlord.

The neighbors seem well aware of the situation and have complained to the landlord about both noise and drugs. One is scared and the other has given up. I have complained to the landlord about the noise problem but don’t want to discuss the drugs because I think she already knows about it and I don’t want to put myself in danger (e.g. incidents before I moved in). Sorry. No details of those forthcoming. Either I or my drug neighbor will have to leave. He doesn’t deal from the apt. so there is no traffic issue to document. He covers his tracks quite well, in fact. I also don’t know if the landlord, maintenance personnel and/or other tenants in the building are “In” on the drug part. I have my suspicions. If I can’t get my neighbors to complain with me on the noise issue (safer to make it noise than drugs) I will have to break my new lease.

How can I test my apt. to confirm the presence of small amounts of meth? How do I handle my landlord? Do I go for the peace and quiet enjoyment clause in the lease for eviction of the drug tenant or do I make up another reason for release from my lease and just get the hell out of there? I am very frightened because of the threats, even to the point of not pursuing the quiet enjoyment option. I am also scared that when I move the drug tenant may think I dropped a dime (which I have no intention of doing per safety) and come after/follow me. Help!

2

Since the OP is seeking advice, this is best suited to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

3

If your landlord is not interested in dealing with them, you either need police or an angle with local housing authorities to prompt your landlord to action. You could very well be looking at your landlords drug supplier. PD may be able to act on threats depending on the nature thereof. Make the noise complaints to PD, they won’t know its you, they can assume, but if its an apartment with 3-4 neighbors in earshot they have no meaningful proof.

If he tries anything stupid, 911. Good luck.

4

Start doing PCP. You’ll be able to rip him in half while ignoring the bullet wounds he’ll put into you

5

The only safe thing for you to do is get out. Give the landlord official written notice of his breaking the lease and pull out. Get as much evidence as you can to back you up. Landlords pretty much know what is going on. They just don’t let on to other tenants. As long as the rent comes in, they are good. I would not worry about the druggy thinking you told on him. He may think that regardless.

The other option is to take care of business yourself like “Burn Notice”, but you are not up to that. Nobody really is.

6

What is the problem here? Your neighbour is engaged in criminal behaviour so you should speak to the police. You will need something more than just an allegation. And if your employer does random drug tests, you need to speak to them.

7

I vote for get the hell out at all costs, let the landlord take you to court for the lease, who cares, just get out. I suppose you could shoot him but I advise against it.

8

Having been in the position of calling the police repeatedly about a drug dealing neighbor only to not only have nothing be done, but that neighbor be informed that I was making complaints and then retailiating against me… I say;

“Oh sure, the cops investigate and resolve EVERY complaint about someone using drugs” :rolleyes:
Honestly, if you’re worried about it. leave.

9

Echoing Chimera, often the cops do nothing but report your call to the drug dealer. Later in my case, found out the drug dealer and several of his near-by friends were police informants. Informants with decades long drug histories. Two were on parole and eventually went back where they came from. hello Angola prison.

10

Live with it or leave. Those are your only choices. The cops are not likely to do anything other than knock politely on the door and inquire, painting a huge retaliation target on you, your landlord won’t do anything. My husband lived across the hall from people either making very slow drug deals or turning very fast tricks for years - as long as no shots are fired, the police have bigger fish to fry.

11

Nobody has directly addressed this question:

The OP has a lease. Given the facts and evidence he’s told us about, how strong a case does he have to break his lease?

12

You have suspicions and allegations concerning a neighbor you strongly suspect is invloved with drugs who you admit covers his tracks quite well such that no details are forthcoming, but you haven’t told us anything that would warrant police involvement or that would hold up in court so far. To my knowledge, no tests exist for use in your own apartment that will show “small amounts of meth” to demonstrate that your next door neighbor is using recreational drugs. Since you understandably don’t want to get involved any further and can’t show anything more than suspicion that your neighbor is involved with drugs, your best bet is to move. If your neighbor is making noise such that you can get out of the lease, so much the better.

13

Hi, everyone. My first post here since I just joined.

I am a former landlord and I have in fact been in gunfights with drug dealers. They are a scourge and a plague, and it is entirely possible that your LL is both aware of what is going on and afraid to address the issue.

Alternatively, your LL is aware and doesn’t care.

You have no good route available to you. Depending on the state you are in, you may or may not be able to easily break your lease for this reason, and if the LL sues you, it will cost you in the future when you try to rent.

I would suggest that you start by writing the LL a courteously worded letter stating that there are issues and detailing what those issues are. Use no pejoratives, exaggerate nothing, call no names. Merely state the facts as you know the facts, and specify your inferences where you are inferring. Tell the landlord that the situation must be addressed within a reasonable time or you will consider that you are unable to quietly enjoy your residence and will be forced to move.

When you send this letter, send a copy to your lawyer (you have one, right?) and be sure to put the line “cc: Joe Shyster, Bendover Cheetum & Howe attorneys” on the bottom of the letter that you send to your LL.

Whenever there is a loud party, call the police with a noise complaint. You have to do this; you must establish that there is a pattern of behavior here and you have attempted to address it through proper channels first.

Certainly speak to your employer, if you believe you may be getting exposed to meth without your approval and if your employer checks for such things.

Tweekers (meth addicts) can be very dangerous. If this individual experiences meth psychosis, anything at all can happen. I suggest you take that possibility into account at all times.

I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you are capable of. For myself, in your situation, I would carry a gun at all times irrespective of what local laws might say about that. To put it simply, I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6. But then, I would shoot. I don’t advocate you doing something like that unless you are positive that you would be willing to shoot.

This is a difficult situation and potentially a dangerous one. Hard to tell. Proceed methodically and purposefully, and document everything.

Good luck.

14

Can I be the voice of reason?

You believe your neighbor is smoking(vaporizing is what is really going on) methamphetamine is that correct? And you are concerned that you are somehow also ingesting it?

I think your fears are outrageously overblown, meth is dosed in mg amounts so there is no way your neighbor is vaporizing enough meth to not only pass through the walls and into the air in your own apartment. Thats crazy.

15

That is a ludicrous assumption. What percentage of the population just “has a lawyer”? This is like when OPs ask about work problems and someone posts “talk to your union”.

That said, if the OP is going to take any action that involves a dispute over the rental contract, obtaining the services of a lawyer would be a wise first step.

16

Do you live in Florida?

17

This is true. Now, if they were** manufacturing** meth, that would be a different story. There are some nasty chemical byproducts in that process, some of which are airborne.

18

And oftentimes there is a pro-bono group that specializes in rental issues, because many people who rent, and live next to meth addicts, don’t budget for a retainer for an attorney - they would, but its a lower priority than rent, food, gas for the car, and if they are really flush, health insurance.

19

Definition: *Irony

the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
2.
Literature.
a.
a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.
b.
(especially in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., especially as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.*

It’s always fun to see who gets it, and who doesn’t.

20

This is key. There was a local group when I was in IL that was willing to look over my lease. There were some sketchy bits that I had overlooked (“tenant is always responsible for replacing windows, no matter what,” and “tenant must pay to have carpet cleaned when vacating or pay a fee,”) that I pitched a fit about and had amended before I signed. Definitely worth a look.