Downstairs Tenant Complaining

[John Sanderson]

Hi Everyone,

I've got a tenant in an apartment building who has recently started complaining that the tenant above him is being extremely loud at all hours of the night (1, 2, 3 AM). He complained the upstairs tenant is stomping around, moving furniture, and having yelling matches with his girlfriend. I called the upstairs tenant to inform him that he needs to be quiet after 11 PM, and if he does get into an argument with his girlfriend, they need to take it outside or somewhere else.

After doing this twice, I asked the downstairs tenant to record the upstairs tenant's stomping and yelling, as the next step is to give him notice to comply with the rules of the building. The downstairs tenant told me he didn't want any legal trouble, just to have the upstairs tenant be quiet. I told him I'm not going to put up with someone breaking the rules, so if I'm going to serve a notice, I need some type of evidence, rather than just "he said, she said".

Fast forward to 2 nights ago, the upstairs tenant was apparently being loud, the downstairs tenant went up and they argued for a time and I received texts from both tenants, with the door frame eventually being damaged. I called both tenants to get their sides of the story, both telling me opposite stories. The downstairs tenant then told me that he couldn't record the upstairs tenant being loud, as his phone wouldn't be able to pick it up.

My thinking here is that the downstairs tenant just doesn't like the upstairs tenant and wants him out, as any cell-phone today would be able to pick up loud stomping or a screaming match if it's keeping my downstairs tenants awake.

So, short story long, I examined the damage to the door frame and concluded it was caused by the downstairs tenant pounding on the door and am planning on sending him a bill for the damage. Are there any other suggestions as to what I should do in this situation? I think it's reasonable to require evidence if I'm planning on possibly kicking someone out for non-compliance. If I rambled a bit or you need more information, let me know and I'll provide it ASAP.

Thanks Everyone

[Marcia Maynard]

We once had two neighboring tenants in a side-by-side duplex who didn't get along. We made appointments with each of them separately, reviewed the terms of the rental agreement, and told them they needed to work out a solution between the two of them and if they didn't .... one, the other, or both would need to leave. We told them we were prepared to terminate the rental agreements for both sides if their bickering and disrespect for one another continued.

We also took the opportunity to inspect both units and note anything in need of maintenance or repair. We attended to all maintenance items. We put a little more effort in sprucing up the landscaping too, which had us physically on the property a little more than usual. This allowed us the opportunity to observe how the tenants interacted. It also gave the tenants more pride in living there and they started sprucing up their own units. 

We interacted with both families in a open, honest, friendly manner and demonstrated respectful communication, which I think was important for the children to see. It was mostly the hot-headed stubborn fathers who had escalated the problem in the first place. All simmered down and the tenancy continued peacefully from then on. Eventually the tenant who had been there first, moved out-of-town for other reasons. The remaining tenant is still there and has been since 2003.

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For your situation, if I were managing these units, I would approach it in much the same way as I did with our tenants. They need to learn how to get along as neighbors, or choose a different type of housing.

I would make a site visit to see for myself what is going on, meet with both parties, discuss the terms of the rental agreement, re-establish our expectations, and do an inspection of both units. From our experience, when a tenant is breaking one term of a rental agreement, they are likely breaking more rules too. I would explore what I could to determine the root cause of the problem.

I would not ask the downstairs tenant to record the noise disturbance or collect evidence for me. I would however let both parties know which terms of the rental agreement either may be violating, as well as the city noise ordinance. I would let them know that if either party feels threatened by the other they should call 911.

I would explore the possibility that the floor/ceiling that separates the units may need more sound proofing as well. As for the door frame damage, I would get it repaired as soon as possible and charge the party who did the damage. Notices to Comply (or the equivalent for your jurisdiction) may be in order.... upstairs tenant for noise, downstairs tenant for damaging property. Keep good documentation and check-in on the tenants weekly until this is resolved. 

The key is in setting clear expectations regarding multi-family property living, treating all parties fairly and respectfully, and following through with enforcement of the terms of the rental agreement.