I and two other women rent an apartment in a suburban apartment building in Massachusetts on a year lease. Two of us are 21 and the third is 23. We all work full time and are students, either full or part-time. We do not deal with the landlord directly, but with two men whose real estate company manages the property.
We were told when we applied that we probably wouldn't be able to get the apartment because we were so young, so we probably didn't have good enough credit. When the credit check went through (I know I at least have stellar credit) the manager said "We don't want any wild partying or drinking. Everyone else in the apartment is families or working people." We said we were working people too, and that it wouldn't be a problem, knowing that we are not loud and do not party.
About two months into the lease, the manager called and said there had been noise complaints against us and that if there were any further complaints we would be evicted. We were shocked and asked about the dates and times of these complaints and what linked them to us. They were unable to provide dates and times, and at least one of the noise complaints was in the hallway of the apartment, not occurring in our unit. I told them we were very sorry if we had caused any excess noise, but I didn't think we had, and if we were going to be evicted I would at least like a substantiated reason why. Nonetheless, we were especially careful after that to speak and move quietly because we really like the apartment and do not want to cause problems.
About two months later, I called the manager again to ask if we could add a tenant because one of the women's fiance was moving here across the country, and it would be convenient if he could live with us. He said it was out of his hands and he could ask, but he didn't think so. He added that we are already a problem with noise with just the three of us, and adding someone would make it worse. I said I hadn't realized that there had been any further problems with noise. He said he gets about four complaints a week about our apartment, and that obviously we are partying and drinking all the time. He added that several nights before the building fire alarms had been activated and he believed it was us, and that also an ambulance had been called to our apartment in March for a drug overdose.
Our fire alarm in our unit did not go off that night, so I asked him to check it, and the fire department when I called them said that there was no apparent reason for the activation. Furthermore, we called the ambulance because one of the tenants accidentally overdosed on her doctor-prescribed sleeping pills. I explained this all to him, and he told me I was lying. About the fire alarm, he said "Yeah, right, it's a problem with the alarm, not with you." I also asked why he hadn't notified us of the apparently over 30 noise complaints he had gotten since he had last threatened to evict us and asked to know when they had occurred. He said, word for word, "What do you think I am, your babysitter? I'm not going to come calling to tell you to quiet down every time you're being noisy. That's not my job." I said that I thought we had the right to know if we were doing something for which he was going to evict us, because as far as we could tell, we had been good tenants, and if there was a problem, we wanted to solve it. He said "If it were up to me, I would have evicted you a long time ago, but unfortunately, it's out of my hands. You say you don't know what the problem is, but it's all your drinking and parties. Stop doing that and there won't be a problem."
I don't understand what's going on here. I feel like the way he is talking to me is bordering on discrimination based on age and gender and that, looking back, there were signs of it from the start. Beyond total unprofessionalism, is he allowed to talk to me like that? Can the landlord evict us prior to the end of our lease based on unverified complaints, and if they can, will they need to have dates and times when the complaints occurred? Also is it an unreasonable thing to ask that we be notified if there is a noise complaint about us and given the date and time when we were supposedly being noisy? I feel like it's not, but this is my first apartment, so I don't know how a lot of this works. I honestly don't think we are being noisy. We don't throw parties, we don't listen to music, we hardly ever drink, we don't do drugs, we don't watch movies late at night. I have no idea what to do from here.
Thank You.
We were told when we applied that we probably wouldn't be able to get the apartment because we were so young, so we probably didn't have good enough credit. When the credit check went through (I know I at least have stellar credit) the manager said "We don't want any wild partying or drinking. Everyone else in the apartment is families or working people." We said we were working people too, and that it wouldn't be a problem, knowing that we are not loud and do not party.
About two months into the lease, the manager called and said there had been noise complaints against us and that if there were any further complaints we would be evicted. We were shocked and asked about the dates and times of these complaints and what linked them to us. They were unable to provide dates and times, and at least one of the noise complaints was in the hallway of the apartment, not occurring in our unit. I told them we were very sorry if we had caused any excess noise, but I didn't think we had, and if we were going to be evicted I would at least like a substantiated reason why. Nonetheless, we were especially careful after that to speak and move quietly because we really like the apartment and do not want to cause problems.
About two months later, I called the manager again to ask if we could add a tenant because one of the women's fiance was moving here across the country, and it would be convenient if he could live with us. He said it was out of his hands and he could ask, but he didn't think so. He added that we are already a problem with noise with just the three of us, and adding someone would make it worse. I said I hadn't realized that there had been any further problems with noise. He said he gets about four complaints a week about our apartment, and that obviously we are partying and drinking all the time. He added that several nights before the building fire alarms had been activated and he believed it was us, and that also an ambulance had been called to our apartment in March for a drug overdose.
Our fire alarm in our unit did not go off that night, so I asked him to check it, and the fire department when I called them said that there was no apparent reason for the activation. Furthermore, we called the ambulance because one of the tenants accidentally overdosed on her doctor-prescribed sleeping pills. I explained this all to him, and he told me I was lying. About the fire alarm, he said "Yeah, right, it's a problem with the alarm, not with you." I also asked why he hadn't notified us of the apparently over 30 noise complaints he had gotten since he had last threatened to evict us and asked to know when they had occurred. He said, word for word, "What do you think I am, your babysitter? I'm not going to come calling to tell you to quiet down every time you're being noisy. That's not my job." I said that I thought we had the right to know if we were doing something for which he was going to evict us, because as far as we could tell, we had been good tenants, and if there was a problem, we wanted to solve it. He said "If it were up to me, I would have evicted you a long time ago, but unfortunately, it's out of my hands. You say you don't know what the problem is, but it's all your drinking and parties. Stop doing that and there won't be a problem."
I don't understand what's going on here. I feel like the way he is talking to me is bordering on discrimination based on age and gender and that, looking back, there were signs of it from the start. Beyond total unprofessionalism, is he allowed to talk to me like that? Can the landlord evict us prior to the end of our lease based on unverified complaints, and if they can, will they need to have dates and times when the complaints occurred? Also is it an unreasonable thing to ask that we be notified if there is a noise complaint about us and given the date and time when we were supposedly being noisy? I feel like it's not, but this is my first apartment, so I don't know how a lot of this works. I honestly don't think we are being noisy. We don't throw parties, we don't listen to music, we hardly ever drink, we don't do drugs, we don't watch movies late at night. I have no idea what to do from here.
Thank You.
