I moved from my last apartment due to noisy neighbors upstairs from me (surround sound tv, stereo blasting, all night long loud weekend parties and 3 guys on different schedules stomping around). I was very specific with my landlord when I viewed my current apartment that I had a great deal of trouble with previous loud upstairs neighbors and was specifically looking for a quiet apartment. He guaranteed me that the building was quiet (and my apartment) and that he doesnt tolerate loud bothersome tenants. This is an older apartment building which I also chose because the construction is more substantial than in newer buildings (like my previous apartment).
After I moved in I found out from other tenants that the previous tenants in my apartment were always complaining about the people upstairs and the noise that a family of 4 (1 toddler, 1 baby) were making in a small 1 bedroom apartment. Frankly they were rather loud with stomping around but that was due mostly to their toddler and I could deal with it because it wasnt compounded by a loud stereo or tv. I realized my landlord knew about this continual problem when he knocked on my door and appologized for all the noise upstairs and he just wanted to let me know that the upstairs tenants would be moving in a few months and he promised he would get a new tenant that was "quiet as a mouse."
Hardly. In October a guy moved in who stomps around like a rhino at all hours (particularly at 6:30 am), practices his electric guitar so it sounds like he's playing in my apartment, and has a tendency to blast the stereo and tv. A week after he moved in I had to pound on his door to ask him to lower the volume on his stereo as it was blasting so loud you could hear it in the hallway 2 floors away. I complained to the landlord about the need for carpeting and quiet from the guy above. The landlord said he spoke to the tenant but cant force him to do much and that it would be helpful for him (the landlord) to take a stronger stand if other tenants complained. Or I could keep a log of the noise and seek mediation to help work out the problem. Basically I feel like I have been lied to by my landlord and get a new excuse every time I complain.
The area rugs he put down havent helped much with the stomping (I have never heard anyone walk back and forth so much), and I still get serenaded with his guitar and stereo (less loud but I can still hear it thru my ceiling. I have left a note for the upstairs tenant asking him to be considerate of others with his stereo. But my apartment is still so noisy because of him that I cant stand being home. I am losing sleep because of all the stomping around in the morning--I swear the guy upstairs sleeps with boots on.
I feel that I was deceived by the landlord about this apartment and the building in general. The landlord said we have locked doors with buzzers for security--they dont work most of the time and because there are a few doctors offices on the first floor the side door is kept unlocked all day. The "super who he has worked with for the past 15 years" is a young guy who hasnt been here that long and doesnt fix anything--he mostly takes care of the trash and cleans the hallways. The landlord has ignored my requests to fix things in my apartment that dont harm his building (he did come right away when I had a gas leak, but has ignored requests to fix the door intercom and buzzer, outlets that dont work, a wire that prevents the oven door from closing fully).
If I had known the truth about this building I never would have rented an apartment here.
Help! What exactly are my rights concerning the quiet enjoyment of the premises and do I have any legal rights about being deceived about this building? Is there anything I can do to help make this apartment more liveable??
After I moved in I found out from other tenants that the previous tenants in my apartment were always complaining about the people upstairs and the noise that a family of 4 (1 toddler, 1 baby) were making in a small 1 bedroom apartment. Frankly they were rather loud with stomping around but that was due mostly to their toddler and I could deal with it because it wasnt compounded by a loud stereo or tv. I realized my landlord knew about this continual problem when he knocked on my door and appologized for all the noise upstairs and he just wanted to let me know that the upstairs tenants would be moving in a few months and he promised he would get a new tenant that was "quiet as a mouse."
Hardly. In October a guy moved in who stomps around like a rhino at all hours (particularly at 6:30 am), practices his electric guitar so it sounds like he's playing in my apartment, and has a tendency to blast the stereo and tv. A week after he moved in I had to pound on his door to ask him to lower the volume on his stereo as it was blasting so loud you could hear it in the hallway 2 floors away. I complained to the landlord about the need for carpeting and quiet from the guy above. The landlord said he spoke to the tenant but cant force him to do much and that it would be helpful for him (the landlord) to take a stronger stand if other tenants complained. Or I could keep a log of the noise and seek mediation to help work out the problem. Basically I feel like I have been lied to by my landlord and get a new excuse every time I complain.
The area rugs he put down havent helped much with the stomping (I have never heard anyone walk back and forth so much), and I still get serenaded with his guitar and stereo (less loud but I can still hear it thru my ceiling. I have left a note for the upstairs tenant asking him to be considerate of others with his stereo. But my apartment is still so noisy because of him that I cant stand being home. I am losing sleep because of all the stomping around in the morning--I swear the guy upstairs sleeps with boots on.
I feel that I was deceived by the landlord about this apartment and the building in general. The landlord said we have locked doors with buzzers for security--they dont work most of the time and because there are a few doctors offices on the first floor the side door is kept unlocked all day. The "super who he has worked with for the past 15 years" is a young guy who hasnt been here that long and doesnt fix anything--he mostly takes care of the trash and cleans the hallways. The landlord has ignored my requests to fix things in my apartment that dont harm his building (he did come right away when I had a gas leak, but has ignored requests to fix the door intercom and buzzer, outlets that dont work, a wire that prevents the oven door from closing fully).
If I had known the truth about this building I never would have rented an apartment here.
Help! What exactly are my rights concerning the quiet enjoyment of the premises and do I have any legal rights about being deceived about this building? Is there anything I can do to help make this apartment more liveable??
