Is this harassment from my neighbor?

[sahrakc]

My 3 year old son and I moved into a condo about a month ago. The condo was recently "flipped" and now has hardwood floors and a tiled kitchen. Before we moved in, the condo was vacant for a few months. The neighbor directly above us has been downright nasty since move in. On the night we moved in, my boyfriend and my friend were outside on the patio at about 10:30 pm smoking a cigarette, having a normal conversation. She came out onto her patio and yelled at them telling them "it was late and they should just go to bed". Two weekends ago, we came home after going to lunch on a Saturday, and there was a note on our door about how I needed to have my child stop running, jumping or stomping, especially in the mornings, because it was waking her up (although she didn't leave her name or condo number on the note) I informed my landlords, and they contacted the HOA, just to make a note of the incident. This past weekend, we arrived home on Sunday after being gone most of the day, and there was another note on the door telling me to have my child stop playing in the mornings. So I went upstairs and confronted her about the notes, and she says she just doesn't understand why my child has to play in the mornings. She would like for him to be quiet until 10 am so she can sleep. And she said "if he really has that much energy in the mornings, take him to the park or something-or have him play video games." We live in Colorado, and it is about 30 degrees most mornings--so there is no way I am taking him to a park from 8 am when he wakes up until 10 am so she can sleep. My landlords and I called the police and filed a report, but the officer said that the notes are not harassment because she isn't threatening us---does anyone know if this is true? Also, what can I do about this? My child is 3 years old, and he is going to run and play during all waking hours, that is what children do! My landlords are on my side and very sympathetic about the situation. We are quiet people, I am a full time student, single mom, and have a full time job--we go to bed early, don't throw parties, etc....and my son is not loud, he is just a normal child! Ideas?

 

[mightymoose]

It is not something the police can help you with. The best solution here is to ignore her. If she has problems with you she can direct them to the landlord. Until the landlord complains about something, don't worry about it.

 

[Antigone]

I would continue to ignore this person. As long as your child isn't sceaming at the top of his lungs then you just allow him to be.

Disregard the notes and ignore her completely. If she confronts you, politely tell her to pound sand and return to what you were doing prior to her bothering you.

 

[sahrakc]

My landlords have already complained to both the police and to the HOA. I think they are more upset about the situation than we are. My son is definitely not screaming at the top of his lungs, he isn't screaming at all. He is merely playing with his toys and our kitten, like a normal child would do. We, being my landlords and I, have both politely told her to pound sand, all the while biting our tongues to not tell her what we really think. My landlords also have said that they are contacting their attorney, which I don't know that that is really necessary, but that is what they have chosen to do....

 

[mightymoose]

Well it sounds as if the landlord is on your side... so don't sweat it. Let her be an angry, evil person if that is what she wants to be.
Your landlord has the option to get her out of there if they think it is necessary.
SHe will likely get tired of complaining before too long.

 

[GeeksPie314]

I use to lease apartments in California and I don't know if this has any weight bearing in your situation, but there was a "reserved quiet" from 10pm-8am. If your neighbor is sleeping until 10 am and you, your child and guests are going about your daily activities without purposefully or intentionally trying to make noise, then you have nothing to worry about. It is not your fault that your neighbor wants to "sleep in" and you shouldn't have to tiptoe around your home to appease her. It seems that you are creating normal noise. And as you are in a downstairs apartment, it is not impossible, but is unlikely she can hear as much noise as she claims. The apartments I rented out had wood and a 6 inch slab of concrete, and an inch of carpet/padding ontop. It muffled most sounds from the downstair and upstair point of view. I dunno. Sounds like your neighbor is just grumpy and wants to cause trouble. I agree though. This isn't your responsibility to take care of. You've approached the neighbor and your landlord. Our company would have sent notices to the neighbor requesting to speak with them about their concerns and continued from there. I have also witnessed in our apartment community that if a tenant had a continual issue with another, if it was not resolved, one of the tenants could have moved apartments... etc, etc. (There's a whole bunch of technical info to that.) I don't know your exact situation except what you've described and it may be different with each state, county, Corporate or private owner of the apartment homes... but just wanted to offer my experience in this situation.

 

[jharris352]

Just grow a thicker skin. Leaving you notes is pretty tame and mild. You are ok. Ignore her.