tenant to tenant harassment ?

Question

I have a tenant who is harassing another.  banging on walls, yelling, just a ton of immature crap.  What can I as the Land Lord legally do about this?

Account Closed · Answer

@Mel Hayes have the complaining tenant call the police. Also, if there's any way that you can go lurk around the unit and hear it for yourself, then you can begin the process to get rid of the offender.  You can give them a written warning to knock it off.  If it continues, then give them a cure or quit.

If the complaining tenant is one you've had for a while and you believe them, it would be nice to keep them and just get rid of the offender.  I had to kick out a couple tenants for noise.  As a resident manager, it was easy for me to lurk around when necessary LOL.  And, we had M2M agreements, so I'd give a couple warnings, then just give them 30 days notice.  And I'd tell the good tenants I was working on getting rid of the problem, so the good ones didn't move out.

Jeff B. · Answer

When I had this happen, I told everyone,

• things were just fine between all other tenants and now that you moved-in there's a problem. I don't care what the issue is or who said what to whom,  Tenants with seniority win all debates.

I collected written statements from them all (aka all units at this address) in prep for eviction.  I then used the Cash for Keys approach to bail out.

Account Closed · Answer

This article from the LA housing authority says you can evict him for disturbing other tenants:

http://hcidla.lacity.org/system/files_force/docume...

It's a PDF file.

So, I'd encourage the good tenant to start calling the cops every time he disturbs them, then you have police records.  And you giving him notices to knock it off.  You may be able to create enough of a case to kick him out for his behavior.

Good luck.  What a pain.  Rent control for private landlords is so wrong in my opinion.  It's forced government housing, forcing private citizens to privately fund it.  I can't even believe it's legal.  If the govt wants more low-income housing, then they should build govt housing units.  At least the taxes for something like that would be across the board, and not just imposed upon a small percentage of land owners.  I think it's just scandalous.

Account Closed · Answer

@Mel Hayes Oh what a pain!  I wonder if you could get the good tenant to somehow record them going crazy.  Because, they can then file charges for harassment, I believe.  Then, maybe you can get them out for criminal behavior?

Maybe it's time to go on the offense with this guy.  I wonder if there are any lawyers who specialize in helping landlords in your situation get rid of these types of tenants.

Mel Hayes · Answer

Sue K. Yes, I totally agree with the rent control laws.  I thought about selling the property and getting something in a non-rent controlled area.

Mel Hayes · Answer

Sue K. That's pretty much the situation Sue.  I need to get rid of this damn person.  I'm in L.A under rent control and it's extremely difficult to evict.  The offender has been a pain in my back for years.  They call the housing authority once a month just to bring them out, demanding things that have no right too (i.e It's hot and we need a ceiling fan).  They are a PROBLEM tenant by all means.  They recently called the housing department and they have turned one of the rooms into a bedroom.  The housing department told me I have the right to give them a notice to comply to remove the bed from the living room.  I'm sure they will fight it.  I may be able to get them out on that.

Nicole A. · Answer

Do you know for a fact that the harassing is as bad as it is? Basically, if you're just hearing one side of the story, you dont' know if there is exaggeration. At the same time, you do not need to be dragged into tenant's personal issues because you are just the landlord, not some sort of mediator, life coach, or police.

You could send a stern letter to ALL tenants (even the ones saying they're being harassed) reminding them about the right to quiet enjoyment. See if that helps.

tenant to tenant harassment ?

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