I have to apologize for the lateness this latest installment in the Rent Check Series. Like everyone, I too have other responsibilities in addition to this site. Hopefully I can stay up to date now.
What do about other Noisy Tenants?
If you read the papers in London you have certainly read about noisy and obnoxious tenants bothering homeowners. But what do you do if you are the tenant and the noisy tenant is the one next to you, above you or below you?
1. If you don't know the tenant, talk to your Superintendent and make sure you know exactly which unit the noise is coming from and what time of day it is coming from. They may ask for a complaint in writing.
2. It's a bad idea to confront another tenant if you don't know them. You have no idea how they will react. If you do choose to knock on their door and ask them to tone it down make sure you bring someone with you as a witness as the "noisemaking tenant" can turn the tables on you and accuse you of bothering them by making a complaing to the superintendent. Don't laugh. This is one of the most common types of problems that supers deal with.
3. If the loud music, stomping on the floor, screaming kids etc. continue DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Include the time of the problems and exactly what is happening. Give a sealed copy of the letter to the super and ask that it be sent to the Property Management Company. This should cause the Landlord to send a letter to the noisemaking tenant or have a chat with them.
4. In the worst case, you can call the Police in London and ask them to enforce the City of London Noise by-law. Reserve this action for the worst cases that go deep into the night. Police are not amused when they are called out for minor calls that are best handled by the methods above.
5. If your sanity is at stake. You can file a T2 application at the Landlord Tenant Board for a hearing at 150 Dufferin so the offending Tenant will have to explain themselves. Google "Landlord Tenant Board" and download the proper form. File it at 150 Dufferin on the 4th Floor. They will schedule a hearing. This is the very last resort. If this does not settle the problem you may have to move to save your sanity.
6. Whatever you do, do not take the matter into your own hands, yell or scream at the offending tenant, bang on your ceiling or wall or do anything similar to get them to quiet down. It may land you in trouble with the Police, your Landlord or the Landlord Tenant Board. I once sat through a 4 hour hearing at the LTB where a Landlord tried to evict a tenant for banging on her ceiling for the offending tenant to be quiet. It wasn't pretty.
Good luck, Keep Cool, Keep Sane. Take a walk, Take a drive, Go for a coffee. Just things through before you do anything.
