Expert Advice When You Need It Most

What are my rights since my lease is clearly being violated

Asked over 3 years ago - Brooklyn, NY

I have been living in my apartment for 8 months and for 7 out of the 8 months I have been complaining to my landlord about the amounts of noise that is being made from the tenant above me and her 3 year old child. The child bangs his toys on the floor from approximately 6pm-1am each night, runs back and forth throughout the apartment all day long and nothing has been done. I spoke to my neighbor who has refused to cooperate with me and I wrote multiple letters to the landlord documenting the dates and times of the violations. My lease that I signed clearly states that I am to comfortably enjoy my apartment and I have not been able to do so. What are my rights since my lease is clearly being violated?

Flag

Save

Share with:

Attorney answers (1)

William Chuang

Reputation Level 9

Answered over 2 years ago. Real Estate Attorney in New York, NY.

Flag

I am not your lawyer, and I do not have all the facts of your case in front of me. Therefore, I cannot give you any legal advice. Nothing I write here should be construed as such.

The landlord probably would like to accommodate you but there appears to be no basis for him to evict the tenant above you. However, you may be able to sue the other tenant for creating a private nuisance. Obviously, it might be difficult to win such a case because the other tenant has a three-year old toddler, who is going to be a sympathetic defendant. To prove such a case, you might have to document or even record the instances of the excessive and continuous noise.

You can ask the tenant above you to get a rug or use other means to attenuate the noise. I am uncertain about the liability of the landlord because it does not appear that he took steps to breach the lease, nor was he negligent in renting an apartment to a family with a young child.

Mark as good answer

Add comment