Neighbors from Hell scaring away my tenants

[Greg M.]

Hey all,

  So I need some advice on what to do regarding some terrible neighbors that live next to my 4 unit property.  Basically they are harassing my tenants by calling the police on them nearly every day for various completely made up reasons, such as drug use, shouting, disturbing the peace, public drunkenness etc.  These are all completely false claims as my property manager has interviewed other neighbors as well as talked to the police who have never seen any evidence of ANY of the reported offenses. It has gotten to the point where the police are apologizing to my tenants every time they are called out, but they have to respond regardless.  This is an ongoing thing with every tenant, in fact we have lost 3 tenants in the last 6 months because of it, they could not live with the stress and so we let them leave.

So my question is what is my recourse as the owner?  I realize my tenants could file restraining orders for being harassed, but none of them want that hassle when they can just leave, even if it is breaking their lease and we withhold their deposit.  My property manager has spoken with the owner of the neighbors building and he is just as bad as his tenants, who are his longtime friends who could do no wrong. 

What to do?

[Ned J.]

Tough spot....no way in hell would I let them help me pick the new tenants. Time for you to talk to a lawyer about getting a formal restraining order. If the police are being called out repeatedly and they are finding nothing, then the neighbors are making false calls and the police should have some recourse to force them to stop....you may just need to push them harder as they will take the easy road as long as you let it slide and don't make it a big deal.

Time to talk to a lawyer.......