# My Renter's Complaint--documenting? Noise as a leasebreaker? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027 "2009-09-22T00:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/1 "2009-09-22T00:16:55Z")
The people upstairs make endless noise, often at 11:30 or 2 AM. I have repeatedly left polite notes. I have called the courtesy officer (upstairs idiots don’t anser the door for him) I have called the office. No result. **I get no sleep!** My Father may soon be buying a condo. If so, he will rent it to me for $300/month! If this noise problem persists, am I being denied the full use of my apartment–ie–I can’t sleep there? Can I legally break the lease? Suggestions on documenting. BTW–it took them a full month to properly fix the toilet (separate issue). ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/2 "2009-09-22T00:59:03Z")
You may be able to get a free or minimal cost legal consultation through a legal aid type organization. Try googling for landlord tenant law or tenants rights (bring copies of your lease and any other docs from your LL with you to the appt). If you want to research this on your own, read the language of your lease and any house rules or similar documents. Your state landlord tenant law statutes will also be available for free online. There are some resources here (assuming that your apt is in Tennessee) [http://www.hud.gov/local/tn/renting/tenantrights.cfm](http://www.hud.gov/local/tn/renting/tenantrights.cfm) Have you met the noisy neighbors? This is going to sound totally corny, but it actually worked for me in a similar situation the past. Try taking them some baked goods (homemade if possible) and then take the opportunity to re-introduce yourself and explain your situation. I have to leave for work/school by 7 AM or whatever, so I would really appreciate it if you would keep the noise down after 11. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/3 "2009-09-22T01:07:16Z")
As a landlord, and going by laws in WV, whether you can get out of your lease would depend, at least partly, on whether your building _has_ a noise ordinance. We have one in our lease, under “quiet enjoyment of property”. In addition, due to a couple of troublemakers, I have recently implemented “Quiet Hours” from 9PM to 6AM. Anyone making excessive noise during those hours is subject to eviction. Do you know your landlord/building manager at all? If you do, you might try talking to them about the new opportunity that may come up with your father. If you pay your rent in full and on time, the idea of losing a good tenant may be enough to make them step up to the plate and _do_ something. Oh, and FTR, I freakin’ _hate_ landlords that will not try to resolve tenant’s problems. Obviously, we have no magic wand we can just wave to make the trouble go away (I wish!), but, IMHO, owning rental property is like having kids: if you don’t want to be troubled to at least _try_ to do it right, don’t do it at all! ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/4 "2009-09-22T16:52:43Z")
The legalities of rent and lease are governed by local, state and perhaps other governments. Then there are those other things where neighborhoods have some regulatory rights which may or may not be permitted by local and state laws and regulations. Very complicated. Get help. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/5 "2009-09-22T17:15:23Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I have repeatedly left polite notes. > I have called the courtesy officer (upstairs idiots don’t anser the door for him) > I have called the office. No result. If your city, county, state has a noise ordinance, read it and when they break it, call the police. Not whatever reserve sheriff gets free rent for being available to call, the real police. It matters what kind of noise too. Occasionally walking around loudly? Blasting the stereo for hours after 10 pm? You’ll have better luck with classifying the latter as a disturbance. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/6 "2009-09-22T17:20:17Z")
In California, the landlord can be on the hook for this kind of thing. Check your local laws. Send letters to your landlord via certified mail documenting your complaints, asking for what you want, and confirming verbal communications. Keep a journal. Get everything in writing. Get the police involved if it’s really noisy. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/7 "2009-09-22T17:29:25Z")
Rather than the manager or police knocking on that person’s door and alerting them (allowing them to pretend they’re not home, or whatever) have them come to your door instead, where you can let them in and hear the level of noise that you are dealing with first-hand. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/8 "2009-09-22T17:59:44Z")
Read your lease! If it says you have a right to the quiet enjoyment of your property, then I’d say you could break your lease if you’re denied that right. You have a paper trail, having called the cops, etc. Heck, shoot some video of your neighbors making the house shake. I can’t imagine the landlord trying to pursue you in court when you have what looks like a pretty winnable case. And as an aside, as a landlord myself, I can’t imagine many circumstances where I would pursue a tenant for breaking a lease. It seems like a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/9 "2009-09-22T21:39:31Z")
Little sleep last night. Contacted manager, & she promised to notify the guy in writing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/10 "2009-09-22T21:46:35Z")
Did you know that the crazy broad upstairs was doing aerobics? At 11:30\*\* PM\*\*!? ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/11 "2009-09-22T21:53:33Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Read your lease! If it says you have a right to the quiet enjoyment of your property, then I’d say you could break your lease if you’re denied that right. You have a paper trail, having called the cops, etc. Heck, shoot some video of your neighbors making the house shake. > > I can’t imagine the landlord trying to pursue you in court when you have what looks like a pretty winnable case. And as an aside, as a landlord myself, I can’t imagine many circumstances where I would pursue a tenant for breaking a lease. It seems like a waste of time. I can’t imagine a circumstance where the landlord would not first be given an opportunity to cure or correct the situation, as well as the upstairs tenant. Constructive evictions are often complicated and expensive, and quite often I have seen the tenant lose. It’s a matter for a lawyer to handle, not a do-it-yourself kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/12 "2009-09-23T03:56:50Z")
Documentation means to record every instance: [ul] [li]The date/time when an incident occurred and a narrative of the incident.[/li][li]The date/time when you took some sort of action as a result of the incident, and a narrative of what action you took.[/li][li]The date/time when you contacted the landlord, and a narrative of what you said, they said, etc.[/li][li]Hmmm, what else am I missing here?[/li][/ul] Keep your documentation in a bound volume. Spiral notebooks are great. The more detail you record, as it happens, the better for you. If you have a digital/tape recorder to record things, check your state laws first. [Or you could end up like this guy](http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/150820). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/13 "2009-09-23T04:00:51Z")
You might get some credible neighbors as witnesses. ---
**Author:** ![Iridescent\_Orb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@Iridescent\_Orb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iridescent_Orb)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/14 "2009-09-23T07:01:11Z")
People are often confused about the term “quiet enjoyment”. This may be useful… [http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/leaseclause\_quiet.html](http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/leaseclause_quiet.html) IANAL - I just freeload off their sites. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/15 "2009-09-24T22:22:42Z")
You may be better off just moving. Let the landlord come after you for breaking the lease if he wants, but I gotta think it’d be alot easier for him to just rent it to some other poor unwitting soul than to initiate legal proceedings against you & try to collect, especially if you’ve complained (& documented) about a situation that wasn’t adequately addressed. He may even be happy to get rid of someone who complains about even reasonable things. You might lose your security deposit, but if you can’t sleep it may be a worthwhile tradeoff. Dealing with problem neighbors can be a real trial. Sometimes the reasonable approach just makes things worse. If you’re dealing with someone doing something weird to begin with, like blasting a stereo late at night, their worldview about what’s reasonable is probably very different from yours. Yes, you have rights as a tenant, but enforcing them legally can be tedious, frustrating and time consuming. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/16 "2009-09-24T23:16:54Z")
Last night–sweet silence. Perhaps severe words from the manager helped. Also, an off-duty Dogpatch Cop has been hired for part-time night patrol. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-renters-complaint-documenting-noise-as-a-leasebreaker/511027/17 "2009-09-25T11:03:43Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Last night–sweet silence. > > Perhaps severe words from the manager helped. > > Also, an off-duty Dogpatch Cop has been hired for part-time night patrol. Here’s hoping the new silence lasts. And lasts. And lasts. Looking for a new place and moving _sucks_. It’d be nice if you didn’t have to do it.