My question is in regards to a previous post titled: Noisy Neighbors
In that forum someone said,
"I moved into a house that was made into two apartments, and I am on the bottom floor. I hear every single footstep on the floor above me. It doesn't help that 4 people live up there on different schedules so the noise is never ending-late at night past 1:00 and earlier then 5:00am. I hear conversations, thudding, and it's driving me crazy. Is there a Massachusetts law related to adequate noise insulation in rental units?" ---Coleen
My question is... Is there a law protecting the the tenants upstairs from harassment from Coleen?
I am struggling with a similar situation, but in my case I am the one "creating" the noise. The gentleman who lives below me is threatening to sue me for violating his "quiet enjoyment" rights. I live in a condo complex that is over 100 years old, and the entire place has hardwood floors. My neighbor downstairs complains that he can hear both me and my dog walking around at all hours of the night. I am extremely cautious to walk around without shoes, and to try to quiet my dog from getting excited and running around, however, I work at a news television station and I don't even get off of work until almost midnight. He insists that I knowingly make the noise and am violating his rights to live below me. He also insisted that he can have me evicted over the issue. During my research into the issue I have found that the person below must contact the landlord, and it is up to the landlord to issue an eviction, and not only that but that if there is anyone to be sued it would be my landlord correct? Also, the gentleman below owns his unit, whereas I am in a lease, and his claim is that he has a larger stake in the issue because I am devalueing his property.
I plan on filing harassment charges with the local poilice department because he is constantly calling me on my cell phone, as well as leaving nasty notes tacked onto my door. None of my other neighbors have ever complained of my noise, and one is even encouraging me to get a lawyer.
What should I do?
Editor's Response
I honestly do not know the answer to this question (I have not done the research). However, As I told the other reader, my suspicion is that a person who buys or rents a downstairs unit must do so with the knowledge that he or she will hear noise from above. As long as your noise is 'normal' and not intended to offend the owner of the downstairs unit, I think he needs to learn to live with it . . . or move.
I think you should protect your own rights by contacting the landlord and the police and discussing the situation. Find out if the police are willing to chat with him. Hopefully, that might end it. If not, then you should file a complaint with the police.
In this case, the landlord does not have leverage over a fellow owner, but you have a right to quiet enjoyment of your unit. If the problem continues even after the police get involved, you might want to talk to the landlord about letting you out of your lease so you can find other accommodations (assuming, of course, that you would prefer to avoid an ongoing confrontation with what sounds like a 'difficult' person). If you really want to stay and you think you can work with the man downstairs, ask the landlord to install carpet with a good thick pad. Good luck.