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Updated over 6 years ago, 05/18/2018

User Stats

59
Posts
10
Votes
Gunnar F.
  • Dallas, TX
10
Votes |
59
Posts

Neighbor Purportedly Suing Me for Tenant's Barking Dog/Parties

Gunnar F.
  • Dallas, TX
Posted

The neighbor who lives next to my rental home has threatened to sue me because he alleges my tenant has not responded adequately to his requests that she quiet or remove her barking dog. He also complains that she holds loud parties at night.

Pure color commentary: He also seeks to shame me for “maximizing the value of my property” by not evicting such an inconsiderate tenant on the basis that the dog was not registered on the lease. He also asserts that I am unethical as I “aggressively seek out tenants with loud barking dogs” (perhaps 2 of my 5 tenants in a dozen years have had barking dogs). In essence, he blames me personally for depriving him of quiet enjoyment of his property and forcing him to sleep in the kitchen with fans and air filtration devices on full blast so that he can block out the noise.

He previously asked me to furnish my tenant’s personal data so he could investigate and possibly sue her, which I declined to do. That was some two months ago. Other than to request that my tenant communicate with him to mend fences I have stayed out of the matter. 

I was unaware that the situation had supposedly persisted until now. The neighbor appears to have evidence of some barking and party noise on video to attempt to substantiate his claims.

Normally, aggrieved residents could call Animal Control or the Police to deal with noise issues. (Indeed, this neighbor previously did call Animal Control and had another tenant’s dog temporarily removed based on similar facts several years ago.) But this time he seems to want me to handle the issue directly by evicting the tenant, at the cost of some 6 months of rent (the house cannot be re-rented easily as it is under contract to be sold on an indefinite time frame).

I posed a related question before but the lawsuit dimension has brought the matter into sharper focus. 

Would appreciate any advice as to whether the neighbor has any remote basis for bringing a lawsuit against me as the landlord? 

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