Ah, the joys of neighbors. A little background- our house is divided into an upstairs(EvilRoomie and I) and downstairs (Filthy McPothead and cronies) apartment only by a single flimsy glass door atop the main stairs. Handy when I was moving in, not so much when they moved in below us. A curtain was promptly installed in front of the locked door.
First the loud parties directly below EvilRoomie’s bedroom that had her floor vibrating. And the beer cans amongst the front yard afterward (did I mention we live on the main street next to townies that hardly need excuses to hate college students?). And the pirate flag that went up randomly on the porch. Fine. We can deal with it- this is a great apartment for the price, it’s worth the hassle.
Then winter break. Every single day of break, we learn just how intertwined the airflows are in the house because their… recreational activities… cause the entire house to reek of weed. At some point in this timeframe, the police are called for a noise complaint and the landlords decide their lease is non-renewable come June.
Now they have gone too far. We have no idea as to the state of cleanliness downstairs, but it cannot be good. How do we know this? It was those cockroaches that came into our apartment. Thinking it’s our fault initially, we spray roach poison in roach hiding spots and keep the kitchen spotless. They keep coming because they’re coming from downstairs and who has to deal with them? Me, because my roommate is afraid of roaches and when she sees one, will spray it to death and drop a paper towel on top of its corpse because she is afraid to touch it.
I’ve left a message with the landlords, who are already none too happy with these people, but this is going to be really old by June.
Unfortunately, if the infestation is large enough that they are invading your apartment, the roaches will probably stay until the house is tented and fumigated.
Obviously, recurriman is your downstairs neighbor The 27th Evil. He’s inviting you over to “chill out & smoke some weed.” Maybe you could plant a few roach bombs in his house while you’re there. Then when they go to Taco Bell later, just set them off. Voila, no more roach problem.[/sarcasm]
Welcome to Joe’s Apartment :eek:
When Filthy MacNasty leaves, get together with the landlord or apartment manager and bomb every room in the building. If there is an attic or cellar, bomb them too. Then go do something for a few hours. If that doesn’t get them all, then there is no choice but to call in a pro. Good luck.
Seriously though, have you spoken to your neighbors? Have you talked to them about this stuff, or have you just got madder and madder while nothing changes?
The idea of going down to have a beer or something with 'em and talking it out like rational adults just might yield you some progress.
Not knowing your location, the following is assuming weed is illegal in your area. If so, call the police on them the next time they’re smoking. It doesn’t matter what the lease says, as I’m pretty sure smoking pot was not in the contract. Normally, I don’t advocate ratting out some recreational smoking to the cops, as it’s petty. But these guys seem to be giving it a bad name. These people were probably slobs before smoking, so don’t assume that the weed is at fault here. But since they’re being stupid about it, I say teach them a lesson. Maybe call the health department about the bug infestation?
This would get some attention (maybe) but they would probably cite the landlord who seems to want them out too, but might be helpless until the lease runs out. It would be a case of punishing the wrong person.
Does the landlord have to put up with bugs, and a possible health risk, and drugs in property he may own? I would think the landlord can do better in this situation, regardless of what a lease says. Maybe he should be cited.
I’d say take it to the campus authorities. I’m not clear on what your situation is (if you’re staying in residence or renting an apartment or what) but if the building is college property, they should be able to do something about it.
No, the landlord should not have to put up with it. But, in today’s litigous world, he / she might risk getting sued on one pretense or another. It isn’t that far out. You can apparently sue MacDonalds for bring a glutton, sue children who bring you cookies, you know what I’m getting at. You can be totally in the right and still have some scumbag take it all in court these days. Maybe it is safer to just wait until the lease expires and then cheerfully say “get the hell out”.
That’s the problem with the world these days. The dirtbags somehow are always the ones who are protected.
Like Steve said, I don’t want to give the landlords trouble with the Health Department over what is essentially the tenants’ fault, landlords being sweet people and about 80 years old. Filthy and cronies have been told to clean up and start killing from their end, and if that doesn’t work, we’re bug bombing.
To clarify, it’s not built as apartments, but is a single family home converted to an upstairs and downstairs apartment in the sixties (at least that’s what I guess from the decor). Therefore, campus authorities have no jurisdiction.
Also, I have spoken to them about the pot smoke. They moved to the basement for five days, then went back to the living room. We had to light several scented candles just last night to get rid of the smell, in fact. The parties we don’t have to yell at them about- we have retirees living next door who are quite adamant about neighborhood peace and are first in line to do so.
Most leases I’ve had - both as tenant and landlord - have a clause about “illegal activities” being a valid reason to terminate the lease. Thus, if they’re smoking pot in the apartment and that activity is illegal in your location, this could be cause for the landlord to get them out of there before June.
Do they - the landlords - know what’s going on? They might be motivated to begin eviction on account of the roaches and mess and other potential damage, even if they don’t care too much about the smoking. Have you chekced your lease and had a word in their ear? This approach would also likely not get them in trouble with the Health Department.
The scene: It is 3:30 AM, and I am drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, there is a CRASH! and a shout! And a THUMP THUMP THUMP as feet ascend the stairwell! And then, the BANG BANG BANG of someone trying to break down the glass door! :eek: Heart pounding, I locate my bathrobe and go out into the hallway, opening the curtain to find a policeman.
He notes my attire and asks if this is a separate residence. I nod, give him the Apt.2 address and he apologizes for bothering me. Of course, roomie and I aren’t getting back to sleep after that, so we sit and listen to the commotion.
Filthy and FilthyGirlfriend are both arrested for drug possession, drug paraphernalia, and possession of stolen objects. All the while, he is wailing about how they are violating his civil liberties, and how he demands to see a search warrant, and he wants a lawyer, and he’ll sue them for false accusations… Too bad their drugs were out in the open at that point, because the police had them found within a minute. :smack:
The landlords are waiting to get the whole of the information from the police before proceeding, but this may have us free of Filthy and Cronies. At least we hope.
