Noise by-laws and the consequences for making noise
A very common problem is with tenants making noise in apartment buildings. The noise can be loud talking, arguments, stereos, blasting music, party noise, televisions too loud, gaming systems and the games on them making war noises, crying babies, barking dogs, walking like an elephant on the floor, and all other kinds of noise arising from tenants and their guests living their lives. What are the rules about dealing with noise?
There is a very large red-herring that always interrupts this analysis. That red-herring (i.e. something that does not actually mean anything but seems like it might), is the noise by-law passed by a city, town, or township where the rental unit is located.
Tenant's who make noise will, when confronted, will often say that they quiet down at 10 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. as the by-law requires. The implication is that until the time set out in the by-law they can play the music as loud as they want or have as many people shouting and carrying on as they wish. So long as they comply with the by-law they feel that what they are doing is legal.
Certainly, if a municipal by-law requires a quiet period after a certain hour or prohibits certain activities before a certain hour then the impression is that noise before or after the time in the by-law is legally permissible. For the purposes of landlord and tenant law this is absolutely 100% false.
The Residential Tenancies Act controls noise and all behaviour of other tenants 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That control is set out in section 64 (among others) of the Residential Tenancies Act. In that section tenants are prohibited from substantially interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by other tenants and the landlord. Loud noise that at any time of the day substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by any other tenant is prohibited. This is the case regardless of what the noise by-law says.
The key to the RTA requirement lies in the words "substantial" and "reasonable". There is no noise bylaw and no RTA requirement that imposes absolute quiet in any residential complex. This does not mean that some tenants will not be disturbed. For example--a blender at 1:00 a.m. being used to make a breakfast for a tenant on shift work might very well be quite annoying to a neighbour who can hear this blender. Does this blender noise contravene a by-law or the RTA? Very likely not. While the noise is undoubtedly bothering neighbours, the use of the blender at that time and for that purpose is "objectively" reasonable. The problem is not actually the use of the blender at that time, the problem is likely that the walls are too thin, not sound insulated, or the rental unit is very old or it wasn't originally constructed for multiple-family occupation. This problem, then, becomes the reality of communal tenant living in that building. I know of a great many buildings in this region (Ottawa), where neighbours are fully aware of the intimate habits and daily routines of their immediate neighbours. They know these things not because they're snooping but simply because the noise carries and you can hear everything just walking down the hallway or while sitting on your living room couch. Perhaps the more startling revelation is when tenants realize that if they can hear the neighbours then the neighbours can hear them too.
Back to the blender example. If a neighbour decides to be anti-social and starts turning on a blender, or two blenders, at 1:00 a.m., and leaves it running for 20 minutes just to annoy the neighbours then this likely is a breach of the RTA. If a complaint to the landlord results in an investigation that determines the noise is being made to bother people then eviction is on the table and the tenancy can be terminated through the N5 Termination Notice process. So, intent matters! If a neighbour is trying to be annoying and has no reasonable regard for the peace and quiet of the neighbours then they can be evicted for the noise. The RTA, through the hearing process and eviction procedures will impose on tenants "reasonable" behaviour and to an extent respectful behaviour for neighbours. However, the RTA will not prohibit all noise or seek to impose onerous conditions for the benefit of a tenant who is hyper-sensitive or who wants absolute peace and quiet. This is even the case if the noise is "new" because of new tenants and the tenant complaining had perfect quiet for many years before.
Michael K. E. Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
A very common problem is with tenants making noise in apartment buildings. The noise can be loud talking, arguments, stereos, blasting music, party noise, televisions too loud, gaming systems and the games on them making war noises, crying babies, barking dogs, walking like an elephant on the floor, and all other kinds of noise arising from tenants and their guests living their lives. What are the rules about dealing with noise?
There is a very large red-herring that always interrupts this analysis. That red-herring (i.e. something that does not actually mean anything but seems like it might), is the noise by-law passed by a city, town, or township where the rental unit is located.
Tenant's who make noise will, when confronted, will often say that they quiet down at 10 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. as the by-law requires. The implication is that until the time set out in the by-law they can play the music as loud as they want or have as many people shouting and carrying on as they wish. So long as they comply with the by-law they feel that what they are doing is legal.
Certainly, if a municipal by-law requires a quiet period after a certain hour or prohibits certain activities before a certain hour then the impression is that noise before or after the time in the by-law is legally permissible. For the purposes of landlord and tenant law this is absolutely 100% false.
The Residential Tenancies Act controls noise and all behaviour of other tenants 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That control is set out in section 64 (among others) of the Residential Tenancies Act. In that section tenants are prohibited from substantially interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by other tenants and the landlord. Loud noise that at any time of the day substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by any other tenant is prohibited. This is the case regardless of what the noise by-law says.
The key to the RTA requirement lies in the words "substantial" and "reasonable". There is no noise bylaw and no RTA requirement that imposes absolute quiet in any residential complex. This does not mean that some tenants will not be disturbed. For example--a blender at 1:00 a.m. being used to make a breakfast for a tenant on shift work might very well be quite annoying to a neighbour who can hear this blender. Does this blender noise contravene a by-law or the RTA? Very likely not. While the noise is undoubtedly bothering neighbours, the use of the blender at that time and for that purpose is "objectively" reasonable. The problem is not actually the use of the blender at that time, the problem is likely that the walls are too thin, not sound insulated, or the rental unit is very old or it wasn't originally constructed for multiple-family occupation. This problem, then, becomes the reality of communal tenant living in that building. I know of a great many buildings in this region (Ottawa), where neighbours are fully aware of the intimate habits and daily routines of their immediate neighbours. They know these things not because they're snooping but simply because the noise carries and you can hear everything just walking down the hallway or while sitting on your living room couch. Perhaps the more startling revelation is when tenants realize that if they can hear the neighbours then the neighbours can hear them too.
Back to the blender example. If a neighbour decides to be anti-social and starts turning on a blender, or two blenders, at 1:00 a.m., and leaves it running for 20 minutes just to annoy the neighbours then this likely is a breach of the RTA. If a complaint to the landlord results in an investigation that determines the noise is being made to bother people then eviction is on the table and the tenancy can be terminated through the N5 Termination Notice process. So, intent matters! If a neighbour is trying to be annoying and has no reasonable regard for the peace and quiet of the neighbours then they can be evicted for the noise. The RTA, through the hearing process and eviction procedures will impose on tenants "reasonable" behaviour and to an extent respectful behaviour for neighbours. However, the RTA will not prohibit all noise or seek to impose onerous conditions for the benefit of a tenant who is hyper-sensitive or who wants absolute peace and quiet. This is even the case if the noise is "new" because of new tenants and the tenant complaining had perfect quiet for many years before.
Michael K. E. Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hello Michael,
ReplyDeleteI am a university student in Ontario as well as an apartment tenant. I am also a reader of your blogs and a fan of you. You are a great and respected lawyer. You articles are really helpful to make tenants better aware of their legal rights. Hope everything is well with you.
Great to see your update of blogs today. I read one article about roommates you posted in 2013. I would like to ask you a few questions about it if you don't mind answering me under the comments of this article. For the topic of noise, I also have a story and will share my experience with you later. Here are my two questions.
The first one is that is if the tenant has the right to request to the landlord for a sublease or assignment of the premises when the lease is on a month-to-month basis. Can the landlord reject the request with the reason that the lease is already beyond the 12-fixed term? Is this deemed as fair reason to reject the request? Actually the landlord just intends to let the tenant and the new potential occupant to sign a new lease at the higher market rent price.
The second one is how to differentiate the identity between the roommate and the unauthorized occupant. If the tenant bring in a new roommate to the unit for a long stay on a monthly tenancy, can the landlord recognize this roommate as an unauthorized occupant and force evict both the tenant and roommates? Is it mandatory for the tenant to inform the landlord of bringing in a roommate? We presume that the new roommate has an agreement with the tenant and does not make any damages or problems in the unit.
Looking forward to your reply soon.
Best regards,
Jason
Hi Jason:
DeleteThanks for the kind words. Your questions are interesting ones!
There is a concept that I think will be very helpful for people to understand. A fixed term lease runs for a fixed term (whatever the parties select--normally a year). When the fixed term ends the lease does not end. It does not end even though we talk about the lease as going "month to month". The sense that people get is that with each passing month the lease ends and a new lease starts--monthly. This is not in fact what happens. There is only one lease and one tenancy. It didn't end at the conclusion of the fixed term and it doesn't end monthly and start again. Conceptually, this is important to realize as the whole assignment and subletting concept makes no sense if the tenancy ends and renews monthly after a fixed term. Also, how do you conceptualize a "sublet", by its definition if there are expiring and new tenancies every month (short answer--it makes no sense). Hence, when you analyze the RTA and the subletting and assignment sections, remind yourself that there is only one tenancy with different terms or periods.
So, that being said, a landlord's rejection to sublet based on an expired fixed term is nonsense. A landlord's refusal to allow an assignment (generally) is permissible because a refusal allows a tenant to simply terminate and escape the liability of the lease. A sublet is different because the concept of subletting allows the tenant to preserve the benefit of the lease (maybe a great location, good rent, etc.), but still come and go while getting a sub-letter to help with the expenses of the lease while the tenant is away. A landlord can't refuse the sublet just because the fixed term is expired.
Your question about the unauthorized occupant is a great question. It's a great question because I see many landlords trying to take advantage of tenants who bring in roommates to share costs. Landlord's sometimes try to control who lives in units with lawful tenants. For the most part (99.9%) the landlord's restriction in this respect is unlawful.
You differentiate between a roommate and an unauthorized occupant by asking a simple question. Has the tenant vacated the unit? If the tenant has vacated the unit then the occupant is likely (though not necessarily) an unauthorized occupant. If the tenant has not vacated the unit then the other person in the unit is a roommate. The legal logic of this flows from the definition of sublet in section 2(2) of the RTA. There is no unauthorized occupant if the tenant remains in possession of the rental unit.
While many landlords really really hate it--there is absolutely no requirement to advise a landlord about a new roommate nor to inform the landlord of the new roommate. Now of course, in law absolutely no requirement means in 99% of cases. There are exceptions but off the top of my head I'd say they're rare. One exception that may be arguable is where the landlord is running a crime free housing program where tenants are required to pass a criminal background check. I can imagine that in such a building the tenant would not be permitted to subvert the program by bringing in roommates who would not pass the criminal background check.
Otherwise, though, it is not the landlord's business who lives with a tenant, or who stays overnight, etc. etc.. There are a few Human Rights cases where tenants have been awarded substantial sums of money where landlords have interfered with the presence of guests/roommates.
Michael K. E. Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hi Michael,
DeleteThank you for your great answer. Now I know the tenants should undertake their own responsibilities and risks for having a roommate not being put on leaseholder list. An interesting point I feel in this roommate case is the difficulty for the landlord to judge whether the tenant vacates or not. This is because it is hard to hundred percent define the vacation of tenant, when the tenant still keeps paying monthly rents and leaves some furniture in the unit. In such a case, event if this tenant will not stay in the unit very often, it is hard to recognize this as an change of occupancy. I think the major concerns from the landlord during a tenancy come from the non-payment or damage/noise/misbehavior issues, if these issues can be avoided by the tenants and roommates, such a roommate case will not be a big concern to both the landlords and tenants. Could you leave a comment on this?
Thanks,
Jason
I live in an apartment building. My superintendent seems to think that if a person is in a good mood, has reason to celebrate, then playing a stereo loudly is ok & to complain about such a thing at 12noon is unreasonable. I feel it is not ok, as it disturbs not only myself but others. I have a next door neighbour who constantly has the volume of his tv far too high. It blares out into the hallway, & certainly I can hear it in my apartment. This other tenant (86yr old on his own) has been asked several times to turn the volume down. His live-away daughter has been told of the situation, & has spoken to her father, but it still continues. Two years ago, he was sent (N5?) warning of this. It turned out, his hearing was fading. His daughter purchased hearing aids. No matter, this still goes on. I'm reluctant now to make any further complaints due to the attitude of my superintendent & her believe re time of day. I'm very unhappy where I am, but I cannot afford to move.
ReplyDeleteYour comment raises a difficult issue that can be very challenging as there are moral issues--and "good neighbour" issues at play. By that I mean our obligations to our "fellow man" and having empathy and compassion for them. Suffering from excessive noise generated by an 86 year old who is hearing impaired and becoming increasingly impaired is a challenging circumstance when you look at it from the perspective of the 86 year old. Is a landlord really going to evict a person of this age? Will the LTB actually terminate his tenancy? Before an eviction isn't it likely that all manner of "accommodation" steps under the Human Rights Code will be explored (one imagines "yes")? That being said, you are not required to put up with noise simply because the noise maker is elderly and suffering from a disability. You can insist that the landlord deal with the issue and serve an N5 and initiate proceedings. You would do that by filing your own T2 application against the landlord. Unfortunately, these days your T2 is unlikely to be scheduled for a hearing in the foreseeable future (begging the question of why bother) due to inefficiency at the LTB.
DeleteIf a landlord came to me with your facts and said "I need to take action" but "I'm reluctant due to age and disability and not wanting to evict an 86 year old", there would be a few different ways to talk about this. I'd suggest reaching out to the daughter and trying to get action that way. Failing that, for the landlord it might be easiest to serve an N5, file the application, and then presume to use the mediation options to force a discussion and resolution of the issue short of actual eviction. Engaging the LTB process can be useful even if the ultimate goal is not eviction (instead "compliance") so that all tenants have reasonable enjoyment.
For you, it sounds like getting the landlord engaged to do something is impossible. Hence, you are left with 3 options--I think. The first is to file a T2 application against the landlord for failing to take action to deal with the issue. You will need to get the evidence to prove disturbance, prove complaints to the Landlord, prove no action taken and file with the LTB. Second option is to be a little more creative and see if third parties can intervene. Perhaps you can call police--but not 911. Call and see if they can help you deal with the noise problem. Explain how you don't want eviction but you want the 86 year old to take the issue seriously and understand it. Perhaps local police (hopefully they have community police officers dealing with elderly persons) will engage on the issue, perhaps call the daughter to intervene, so that the elderly person and the daughter understand that this can't continue. Perhaps if the police don't or won't do anything try the same through your bylaw services. Noise making is a bylaw offence and perhaps the threat of a ticket can get action taken. You can be in the background advising that you don't want the 86 year old evicted but that you just need action taken. Lastly, the third option,--buy yourself noise cancelling headphones, distract yourself and live with it until you can change your circumstances. Perhaps if you resign yourself to the issue it will cease to be as bothersome.
Good luck
Hi I have lived in this house for over two years now and from the time I moved in basically I’ve had a compressor in various forms to supply air for my airbrush mainly but also tools if I’m repairing or rebuilding something. My airbrushing has been a form of art therapy endorsed by my doctors therapists and occupational therapist and insurance company.earlier this year we recieved a noise complaint for the compressor and the vacuum after 10pm. We didn’t argue, instead insulated and boxed in the compressor to muffle the noise and rerouted the air intake port away front m the house. I also mounted it on rubber to cut down on the vibration. As it a bigger home diy compressor and I agreed it’s loud otherwise. We also stopped using both the vaccine and the compressor after ten o’clock. Also to note my compressor only goes off maybe twice an hour for like 5 minutes when I’m using it. And it’s located outside on the “fire escape” so they call the back porch off our bedroom.
ReplyDeleteLast week we got an email from our landlord threatening us with an n5 unless we remobed the “industrial compressor” from the property.
This time, we wrote her back explaining first it is not an industrial piece of equipment as it’s advertised as a hobby compressor for your garage at home for balls and tires and auch and sold by Canadian tire as such. It also runs on a 110v system. For a home.
We also included the mods I had made to hush it further and that we cut it off at ten pm Out of consideration for our 1 neighbour downstairs as the third rental unit is illegal and not registered and alarmed isn’t bothered at all b the compressor. I know because I Asked and extended to both to knock on my door and tell me if it did at anytime. To date I’ve had no such visits.
I understand a right to reasonable enjoyment to a rental unit as this is what I do to enjoy my life and to take it away would seriously diminish that. We also live right behind a car wash that is extremely loud all hours of the day including 2am from people cranking their music, screaming at each other over the loud spray of the spray guns and yea the car wash itself. So the noise I concluded from my compressor was not unreasonable, was cut off at a decent time so I questioned the validity of the complaint. I got a response saying to remove the industrial compressor and she would be down the following day with an n5 notice of termination.
Absoloutley no recognition of anything we had explained and no consideration given to us. I still have yet to receive this notice but my question is Where are we in violation and where are we in the right and how do I go about fighting this as now we feel targeted with eviction looming over our heads. Thankyou in advance for reading my little delemna.
Thank you for the question. The details you have provided show you to be a reasonable person with due consideration for other people in the building. This certainly matters and counts to your credit if this ever gets to a hearing before the Landlord and Tenant Board.
DeleteAt this stage, I think you are safe enough to retain the compressor and just keep doing what you are doing. Of course, you will be inviting a fight (perhaps), but I think it is a reasonable fight to undertake based on what you have explained. What happens is up to the landlord.
If the landlord serves you with an N5 you will have 7 days to correct the alleged misconduct (whatever it might be). The details on the N5 will also be very useful to determine if you actually need to do anything. If the landlord is required to provide you with sufficient details so that you know exactly what the basis of the complaint is. The required level of detail was discussed in a case call Ball v. Metro Capital many years ago and it is still the guiding case today on the details required in an N5.
When (or if) the landlord serves you with an N5 you can see the basis of her objection to your compressor. If she says the compressor is bothering neighbours then, if you can, go to neighbours and document whether they continue to be bothered. Determine whether the compressor being on is indeed bothering anyone (if the neighbours are being unreasonably difficult). If the details in the N5 say that the neighbours are disturbed and you can confirm that they are not, then the N5 is unlikely to hold any water at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
If the neighbour(s) refuses to confirm that the compressor is okay then you should try to gather evidence of the actual impact of the noise (video perhaps). Also, document the changes you've made to prevent noise transmission and advise the landlord of that in writing. Perhaps ask the landlord to see if the changes are effective. Do this even if you don't expect a response. It is important just to have asked. If the landlord refuses to work with you and you feel that the resulting noise does not substantially interfere with the reasonable enjoyment then you can just let the landlord proceed with an application to the LTB and you can fight it. The landlord needs to prove the allegation and if you have evidence to the contrary of the allegation then you should rightly win.
The N5 details will be interesting, of course, because the landlord may be objecting to the compressor for reasons that you are unaware of. The N5 can also be citing a "lawful right interest or privilege" of the landlord. So maybe the landlord is objecting to the compressor for other legal reasons. If this is the case then consider the basis carefully and determine whether it is reasonable or not. It can be very useful to have a lawyer or paralegal look at the N5 and help you make that assessment.
Aside from that, what jumps out at me is your comment about the work you do with the compressor as being therapeutic and helpful with a medical condition. Presumably (I'm making assumptions) the medical condition reflects a disability and the treatment of that disability is this art therapy. If so, and it is alleged that your therapy somehow warrants an N5 then you could ask the landlord to assist you in finding a way to have the compressor as an accommodation under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The landlord has a duty to accommodate you, for disability related issues, and can't simply say "no". The LTB would consider the landlord's response to your request. You mention having medical documentation etc., all of this will be relevant in support of your therapy and the medical condition that it addresses.
DeleteLastly, consider finding a local community legal clinic. The clinics do typically have lawyers/paralegals who handle landlord and tenant cases. These lawyers should be able to guide you and give you sufficient comfort to stand your ground or make suggestions that leave comfortable to stand your ground. Do note, that the LTB hearing process does not result in an automatic termination of your tenancy. Even if the LTB finds the compressor unacceptable it would be reasonable (and I'd expect the LTB would) to ask for an opportunity to remove or simply stop using the compressor so that your tenancy is preserved. It seems highly unlikely to me that you would be evicted based on how you describe what is going on but that is something a lawyer can better determine after an interview. Good luck.
Hi, I live in a house-turned-triplex with very bad sound insulation between units. My boyfriend and I are both gamers and can get a little loud playing as most gamers do. We intentionally aren't loud any time before 10am or after 9pm, but I have concerns that my neighbours and landlord might think otherwise. Would they have grounds to serve us any legal documentation if the disturbance would otherwise be non-existent if the units were properly insulated?
ReplyDeleteHaving experienced the "little loud" excitement from gamers playing COD I think I understand what you mean! Whether your excitement amounts to a "substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment is a rather subjective concern too. Are your neighbours bothered by a little noise? If your neighbours are fine with some excitement then there isn't really an issue regardless of the time of day. It is with the neighbours that you should check. If you have neighbours who are overly sensitive or even reasonably sensitive then the time of day doesn't really matter as you are required to not substantially interfere with reasonable enjoyment 24 hours a day and not just before some notional quiet time.
DeleteYou raise an interesting point about poor insulation. There are many places like this and if you happen to live in a building where noise transference is particularly bad then you will undoubtedly know all of the personal habits and conversations of your neighbours--like it or not. When the building is simply a drum where everyone hears everything then the sounds of ordinary living become something that tenants just have to put up with. Tenants can not demand absolute silence or the level of noise that they might wish if the building is poorly insulated. Ordinary noises that arise from usual behaviour can not be stopped. On that scale, the noises of gaming will also be something that needs to be put up with, so long as the gaming noise fits within the general activity of ordinary living. Your neighbours don't have any particular veto over your gaming noises BECAUSE it is gaming as opposed to say a television, microwave flushing toilet.
A rational landlord, instead of immediately serving a Notice of Termination for gaming noise, is probably going to speak with you first. With notice of the time and date you can decide whether your behaviour was/is truly out of hand. If you think that your noise level is reasonable you can wait for a Notice of Termination (Form N5) and then proceed to fight it at the LTB or you can then void the Notice of Termination by complying with the terms of it.
Hello, I moved in a basement unit about 2 months ago. The upstairs neighbors are tenant. I was told by my landlord that the insonorisation was good and neighbors very quiet. Turn out the mom works from home, her mother (an elder lady is always there) and their teenager son is always there after school hours. And god they are always miving and walking and busy! I dont have a mo day to Friday or normal schedule (i am à flight attendant) i was expecting to hear little more noise than a normal unit but i feel like we could live on the same house because of the bad insonorisation and the fact that I am below her. Now shws somtime noisy very early (she woke me up with loud noises and vacuum few times around 7h30-7am or very late. We had a discussion where i explained to her my reality about noise and disturbances and agreed to be careful on early morning and after 9pm at night. I don't feel shes respecting the evening part of our verbal agreement and on top of it, her brother, his wife and their kids comes visit every Saturday to sunday (sometimes monday) which add up 3 more ppl stomoing above my head. I dont want to cause any drama but i want to be out of that lease and move asap. Will i have any rights to break my lease? Thanks
ReplyDeleteYour complaints are certainly legitimate and the landlord should take them seriously. That being said, landlords often make contact with the "loud" tenants and tell them to quiet down and then, when that fails, they become less willing to take action. This is especially the case when the tenants tell the landlord that they are living normally and that you (the complainant) are being overly sensitive. At that point, less is done and then you are told that this are the usual and normal sounds of the building. It is very frustrating.
DeleteSo, a different approach but similar in thrust to encourage the landlord to offer you an exit (as that seems to be your preferred option). You should invite the landlord to experience the noise transmission between the two units. You can record noise, have witnesses, and also try to set up a demonstration if the landlord is willing to hear it. You can tell him that he will need to bring in an acoustical engineer to install sound insulation and noise dampening materials to prevent the noise transmission or to reduce it to an acceptable level. He is obligated to do so as you have the right to quiet enjoyment and what you are experiencing is not that. The landlord will likely be reluctant to start spending money on acoustical engineers and then on contractors to dampen the noise transmission but what are the alternatives? He will suggest first to speak to the tenants--perhaps that works. He will perhaps be more forceful knowing you are demanding expensive renovations to prevent the noise transmission. Presuming again that the noise continues unabated then perhaps the landlord will suggest that the better path forward is to terminate your tenancy (i.e. better than spending money to renovate). To that you can agree or even demand a rent abatement. You will have raised the issue of rent abatement (i.e. you should have a XX% reduction in rent because you do not have quiet enjoyment) until the unit is fixed and noise transmission dampened. You can telegraph how serious you are by asserting how much money you will withhold from the rent. You will need to note that withholding rent is often frowned up at the LTB--but arguably the RTA provisions keeping fundamental breach applicable gives you some flexibility. The reason you need to exert pressure is that your traditional recourse of filing an application to the LTB (Form T6 & T2) is rather ineffective given the extraordinary delay in processing times. If the LTB would receive and hear your case within a reasonable time then you could use that venue to exert pressure--but these days it is ineffective.
Hey, I do have a question.
ReplyDeleteAs a generally loud person I do have an issue keeping my noise down, and have done immense steps to do so. I often work from around 12pm, and get home at about 8pm. When I finally settle down and eat, i like to talk with friends (which I don't get to do because we live in different areas). I've tried everything from a tone slightly above a whisper to buying my roommate earplugs, which I said I'd continue to pay for. He refused the earplugs and seems to be a light sleeper (since even the Whispers that my friends can barely hear tend to wake him. What can I do about this situation? And can he do anything against me about it? It's clearly affecting both of our enjoyments here.
In addition to my side, he doesn't work at all, and most days he's in his room watching TV or playing Video games. It's not like I'm interrupting a working person's sleep schedule that could determine their performance at work.
The Residential Tenancies Act is not going to cover your relationship with your roommate. If your landlord is an "experienced" landlord s/he won't touch this either as a dispute between co-tenants is not something that they can effectively deal with. It will be left to the two of you to sort it out. Now, I presume that you are a tenant on the lease and that your roommate is as well. If you are both "tenants" then you both have the protections of the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act. However, if you are not a tenant and just a roommate of your actual tenant roommate then you might have a problem. If you do not have status as a tenant then your roommate can ask you to leave or give you notice to leave. It will not matter why, or even if the basis of the request is reasonable. Otherwise, and presuming you are RTA covered, your description of your own behaviour sounds very normal and reasonable and if your roommate is complaining he should perhaps stop.
DeleteThank you for such a wonderful article . My every day suffering living in a rental apartment building has brought me to this page . It’s over three years , I have been writing emails to my landlord ( close to 40 emails ) regarding the noise issues created by tenant above me . Apparently it’s the superintendent of the building who lives above me . Super does some furniture work almost every other day at odd hours ( hammering / drilling / moving furniture / dropping screws on floor leaving sharp noises/ throwing heavy items on floor) . My unit ceiling keeps on shaking as if there is an earthquake which is giving me bad headaches and causing sleep deprivation. At times , cut off time is past midnight when such noises are being clearly heard . Super’s unit flooring also seem to be worn out , as I could hear stomping noise and walking footsteps which wake me up almost every other night and I am on the verge of mental breakdown . My landlord seems to ignore the noise complaints which gives an impression that he is trying to protect the super for reasons best known to him. Nothing has changed over last 3 years . I am a peaceful tenant staying in the building for close to six years , pay rent on time every single month , no nuisance , no wrongdoing . For what am I made to suffer like this ? What are my rights as a tenant if landlord ignore my emails and haven’t taken any action so far to control the noise .
ReplyDeleteThank you for this question and I am sorry for your suffering. It appears that you have made repeated complaints to the landlord over an extended period of time. I hope that these complaints are in writing and that you are able to prove them. Do take some time to collect evidence of the noise. Recordings would be good, getting in neighbours or other third parties who would ultimately be willing to testify would be useful too. Approach the superintendent directly and ask him to reduce the noise and perhaps even just insulate the floor with carpeting, underpadding--or try something. If you can have a witness with you when you ask that would be useful too.
DeleteUltimately, when a landlord ignores you (as yours has), I think your only practical remedy is to file an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board. The application to file is a T2 application. You may name the landlord and also the superintendent as a respondent to the application. I think it will take an application like this to get the attention of the landlord.
There is another option--but it depends on whether you are able to retain legal help. You can see about hiring a legal clinic (usually free if you qualify), or a lawyer or paralegal. It may be that having a lawyer/paralegal/clinic write to the landlord might get their attention and perhaps steps would be taken voluntarily to resolve the matter in a way that is satisfactory to you.
I need some help. I moved my daughter into an apartment and went through a realtor explaining that she is a very quiet and studious college student and residence was too loud last year, parties, noise ect and needed a quiet place for her final year.
ReplyDeleteFound a bachelor appartement and didn’t see it first as we live near Montreal and trusted her.
First night here, party until 5 am, then in and out of the building all night, people parking at our windows ( we are in the basement) and idling their cars, the whole building does drugs, cocaine. I hear them snort it. So I decided to stay here with my daughter while my husband stays home with my 4 other kids.
La lors says to wear ear plugs, close our windows or get a fan. It was 40 degrees humid and we have no fan or air circulation..we need our windows open…
There was a physical altercation this week with tenants here, Ã pregnant woman involved and she also does the heavy drug.
The doors here are metal so it bangs and creaks each time a tenant goes in, and the other night, kept going in and out 18 times until 3:30 am.
The upstairs neighbour is so loud, her child running back and forth all day and late at night, the adult stomps and my light scones rattle as well as my stove.
Right now it’s 12 am and I’m losing my mind because they are all so loud.
We have not had a quiet night or a good night sleep since September 3rd!
Please help. Landlord tells me she cannot do anything before 11 pm and to call the cops!
Im going crazy!
Hi. I'm answering a few questions on the same topic so read below for the legal test on substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment. What this will tell you is that the landlord is 100% wrong and that what you are experiencing is nothing that you have to put up with. The landlord can most definitely do something. It must be the case that the landlord chooses not to do anything.
DeleteUnfortunately, getting money out of the landlord (through an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board) will be an exercise in frustration. Filing an application to have the LTB terminate your tenancy early because of the misrepresentation and the danger that the building presents is also an exercise in frustration for how long it will take. It is more likely that the lease will expire (or be close to it) by the time you get a hearing date.
You could approach the landlord and ask for a return of your deposit and sign a Form N11 (Agreement to terminate). It is a negotiation. You could see what you can get from the landlord and then move out. The landlord might play hardball and offer you nothing and insist that you follow through on the lease. You can respond with the threat of an LTB application and seeking damages and tell her that until the noise, drugs, violence stops that zero rent will be paid. As I say, it is a matter of negotiation. Ultimately, if you don't pay rent the landlord will need to serve you with a notice of termination and that will end your obligation to stay (read about the N4 Notice of Termination and read the notes on the form that explain the implications).
Can you be made whole for being mislead by the misrepresentations about the nature of the building? Frankly, probably not. Your best bet is to find a new place and get out asap. If negotiating and the technical aspects of terminating are a bit intimidating consider retaining a paralegal (or lawyer) to do that work for you. Be sure that the lawyer/paralegal is experienced in residential tenancies law. This is short work for someone who knows what they are doing---but there will be a cost of course.
Good luck and I am sorry for your daughter's experience. It must be very hard to only want to be a good student and to have this nonsense going around her.
Michael Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI've been residing in this apartment for nearly three and a half years, and unfortunately, there hasn't been a single year without some sort of problem. Our family members lived here for an extended period, and when they decided to move out, we moved into their apartments. Strangely, during their time here, our downstairs neighbor never had any complaints about them. They had more children than we do and hosted guests more frequently. However, since we moved in, this neighbor has been consistently lodging complaints about noise disturbances.
In our first year here, she complained about us having a washing machine, which is not allowed in the building, as she claimed to hear water sounds. However, upon a thorough search of our apartment by the building manager, no washing machine was found because there never was one to begin with. Afterward, she began filing complaints about various noises, including banging and other disturbances. We tried to engage in conversations with her, but our attempts to explain that we have a child with us, who might be responsible for some of the noise, fell on deaf ears.
We have resorted to calling the police on her a few times, and she has also called the police on us. The most recent police visit seemed to temporarily halt her complaints for almost a year. It appears that whenever she encounters one of us and realizes that we are still living here, it triggers her to make a complaint.
Recently, she has filed a new complaint about banging noises and hearing "voices" throughout the day. At this point, we are at a loss regarding how to address her concerns. We've received multiple letters threatening the termination of our tenancy, even though our unit has carpets throughout, and the building itself is quite old. This situation has become incredibly stressful for us and is causing conflicts within our family. We find ourselves constantly having to caution each other to avoid making noise. Every knock at the door or receipt of a letter sends us into a state of anxiety.
Unfortunately, relocating is not an option for us, as we cannot afford the rent elsewhere, and the same appears to be true for our neighbor, given her rent of approximately $1600 per month. I am at a loss for how to proceed, and I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the ongoing situation.
Thanks for the comment. Please read the answer immediately below the next comment as I just wrote it and much of what is there applies to you as well. When you read that answer take some comfort from what the legal test is. Consider what you do in the context of "substantial" and "reasonable" (see answer to next comment below) and realize that you are likely doing nothing wrong.
DeleteSuggestions to protect yourself. From the sounds of what you are writing I wonder if your downstairs neighbour is not suffering from a mental health problem. Over the years I have represented many tenants (and landlords trying to deal with the problem) where they are suffering from some sort of delusional disorder or other mental health problem that causes them to imagine issues that are not real. There are many different possible conditions and not all present as wildly debilitating so that it is "obvious". You might wish to raise with the landlord (if you believe that this is possibly the issue) that you suspect a mental health problem and that the landlord might wish to reach out to the tenant or her family to see if she can get some help.
Aside from that, it is worth your time and effort to write a letter to the landlord setting out that you believe that you are being unfairly accused of making noise and that there is no basis for the noise complaints. You should explain that you live as regular and ordinary people, that there is no screaming, fighting, shouting, loud music, heavy thumping, moving of machinery or anything of the sort. You should state that you live in a way that is appropriate and "normal". Then mention that you do not appreciate the allegations by the neighbour and the landlord not taking action to stop the neighbour from interfering with your reasonable enjoyment through false complaints. You can remind them of the washing machine issue.
Then mention to the landlord that if the unfounded complaints do not stop that you will consider this harassment by the tenant and if the landlord does not STOP making or enforcing the tenants complaints that this too will be considered harassment by the landlord and that you will file a T2 application against the landlord for all of these false complaints. You will need to be a squeaky wheel for a bit and become a greater source of liability for the landlord than your neighbour. The landlord, it seems, is picking on the more docile tenant (you) and needs to be encouraged to look where the problem actually lies.
Note that there are many ways to measure noise. You can tell the landlord that they should hire a sound engineer to measure noise transference between the units and to propose a solution that the landlord can implement (and pay for) that reduces sound transference. If living normally, walking normally, talking normally, so significantly disrupts the downstairs neighbour (and the landlord agrees--see test below), then the landlord needs to take remediation steps and spend the money to make the building less susceptible to noise transfer.
Good luck
Michael Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hello,
DeleteI hope this message finds you well. I wanted to update you on the recent developments after communicating with my landlord about the ongoing issues. Unfortunately, their response has been limited to discussing the matter with my neighbor. However, this approach has proven ineffective over the past few years, as my neighbor has been approached multiple times without resolution.
Considering the persistent nature of the situation, I am contemplating filing a T2 application. Before proceeding, I am seeking information on potential consequences that I might face by taking this step. Your insights on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, I am curious about the possibility of being moved to another unit within the apartment building. I have noticed that when a unit becomes vacant, it undergoes renovation, the rent is increased, and it is put back on the market. Would it be reasonable for me to request a transfer to another unit without a corresponding increase in rent?
Thank you in advance for your assistance and guidance on these matters.
Best regards,
Another thing that I wanna add, is that we have our upstairs neighbors making noises. Like constant excessive noises. I put up with that for months because I did not want to put them through what our downstairs neighbours puts us. But last time, they were beating each other up, there was a lot of noises coming, we could hear a woman cry. It was very bad. I had to complain (and I do have recordings that the noises were indeed coming from them).
DeleteWe are in a funny situation, 🤣. The downstairs complains about us making noises, and I have to complain about upstairs because they are excessive. For that too, nothing is being done. The management sends them a paper, and they do not stop. My only fault is that I did not complain when there was noises, so I cannot add that to my T2 application.
Hi, thanks for the update. You are asking about the potential consequences that may arise from filing a T2. I can address the "legal" possibilities in the sense of what the Landlord and Tenant Board processes can impose as a result of starting a legal proceeding. The "other" potential consequences have little to do with law--they are of the human nature type of things. Your landlord could become vindictive, file applications, act outside the law, try to make your life unpleasant, try to raise your rent, or otherwise just be nasty. Or, maybe the landlord will recognize the application for what it is and deal with it professionally. There isn't much to be done to prevent people from being jerks as the law gives you "after the fact" remedies but nothing to prevent the behaviour from happening.
DeleteAs for the consequences of filing a T2 application---there really aren't any that are terribly worrisome. Of course, in filing an application you are starting a legal process and this is a serious matter. You should take it seriously and comply to the best of your abilities with the Rules and Interim Orders (if any) of the LTB. Be respectful of the process and the people in it--but be firm in your position and insist on being heard--you have a right to be heard. Don't waste time or pursue arguments that are frivolous etc.. If you advance your case within the "normal" parameters of behaviour before the Board you will ultimately receive an Order that addresses your issues. That will be the consequence of filing the T2 application.
Are there costs consequences? That is often the big question. In regular Court, including Small Claims Court, the loser of a case is often and regularly ordered to pay the legal costs of the winning side. The risk of being Ordered to pay costs is a persuasive issue in deciding whether to pursue a claim or not and in fact informs an awful lot of settlements. Those considerations are virtually 100% absent in Landlord and Tenant Board cases. The LTB as a matter of course does not award costs against the losing side. The most that a winner may typically expect, with respect to costs, is the payment of the Application fee that the applicant paid to file the application. Misconduct by a party (the type of behaviour I warn against above) can draw costs sanctions and a possible fine. The costs are low but the fine has room to grow. However, such costs and fines are extraordinarily rare and I think you'd have to try really hard to get tagged with such costs and fines.
Good luck in pursuing your claim. It is a time consuming process. Be aware, that as an applicant you have the burden of proof. Often times landlords complain about a bias in the LTB as they feel everything favours the tenant. I don't believe that this is the case--but it can feel that way--and I think that is because landlords are typically the applicants and are the ones who have to prove the case. Nothing they say is simply "accepted" and hence they can feel that the deck is stacked against them. Note that when a tenant is an Applicant that same feeling of a stacked deck can seem to be the reality for tenants. The truth is that it is very difficult to be an Applicant and meet the burden of proof in a case. You will need meticulous preparation and consider the depth of your evidence and try to be ready and able to prove your case from different corroborating pieces of evidence. Your "say so" will not in most instances be sufficient to meet your burden.
Good Luck
Michael Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
I recently got a complaint from the landlord about noise disturbance in my apartment. It was on a Saturday we were playing music in the balcony at 920pm. The upstairs neighbor kicked the balcony so loud that my wife from the inside heard it. At this time we had talk with the neighbor and he said to turn down the music. Me and my guest got mad because of the fact he kicked the balcony. He started to threathen us and call the police and it eventually got heated. We continued to play the music till 11:30pm and went inside. I thought during Saturday's we were allowed to make noise till at least 12am, i assume this not true anymore because the the letter from the building says 10pm-6am no noise. The fact the landlord gave us this got me annoyed because it was the upper tenant who threaten us. Although i wont make any noise after the time provided my the landlord is there any way i can respond to the landlord about our tenant upstairs started with us at 9:20pm and banged his balcony and got us angry in the first place?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this question. It is a good one that highlights some misconceptions about noise disturbances. Many municipalities, towns, cities, have noise bylaws. These bylaws set out with some great detail what types of noises can be made and when--including instructions about when construction may begin or when a person can start their lawnmower. It is these bylaws that people (landlords and tenants) often think of as governing behaviour. This is apparent in your own question where you believed you could make noise until midnight and the landlord corrected by saying from 10 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.. In reality, neither is correct.
DeleteThe Residential Tenancies Act provides (in section 64) that a landlord may give a tenant a notice of termination if the conduct of the tenant substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the complex for all usual purposes by the landlord or another tenant [this is an abbreviated description of section 64]. This is the section that covers "noise" and it is the section that the landlord uses to serve a Form N5 to terminate a tenancy for noise issues.
What needs to be noted is that there is no time frame for music or noise. The fact is that any noise at any time can be the basis for a termination notice (Form N5). What matters is not the time of day but the nature of the complained about noise.
Often, we end up at hearings disputing whether the noise complained of is "substantially" interfering. It is a given that any noise that enters the hearing of a neighbour tenant can be considered "interfering". This does not matter. The noise needs to be "substantially" interfering. This nuance means and reflects that the Law recognizes that neighbours and other tenants are indeed going to have to listen to certain noises and sounds. This includes music, talking, television, flushing of toilets late in the night, door bells, cell phones ringing etc.. There is nothing in the law that imposes perfect quiet or gives a tenant total protection from being annoyed by noise from neighbours.
The second part of section 64 sets out that the "substantial interference" must also interfere with not just enjoyment--but "reasonable" enjoyment. The way to interpret the qualifying work "reasonable" is to take into account the nature of the building, the proximity of the units, how sound travels in that particular building, and all of those unique aspects of a particular building. What might be "reasonable" or equally "unreasonable" in one building might be entirely the opposite in another building. Context is everything.
DeleteWhen considering "context" a building's quiet time rules are relevant to inform what is substantial and what is reasonable----however, it is only a factor and not licence to do whatever you like outside of those hours.
I think that the behaviour your describe of playing music on your balcony is entirely reasonable even up to 11:30 p.m.. Why should adults not be able to have a nice evening on their balcony, entertaining with music, until late into the evening. This does not seem extreme or rude or anything like that. Of course, it depends on how loud the music was that you were playing. Could you sit on the balcony and still carry on a normal conversation? Was it like a rock concert? How loud was it? This matters in deciding whether the volume was substantially interfering and whether the neighbours "Reasonable" enjoyment was being interfered with.
It is not reasonable to expect your neighbours to never sit on their balcony or to do so while quiet as a mouse only. Context is everything---regardless of the hour.
Aside from that, your neighbours response is uncouth and not proper. Kicking the balcony, threatening and being aggressive and hostile is not acceptable. You can complain to the landlord and the landlord, if motivated to do his job, can serve an N5 (yes same form) on the tenant for how he confronted you.
Ultimately, an apartment building has tenants living in closer quarters than they might like. Trying to be cooperative and respectful is certainly called for. If your neighbour had asked you to turn it down a bit while at the same time not being an idiot and saying to turn it off--then maybe a compromise would arise. That kind of willingness to compromise and work together is also relevant in any LTB hearing looking into the issue.
Michael Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hello Michael,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your article “Making Noise — what is the cut-off?” from November 2018. If you are able to speak to my specific situation relating to this topic, I would very much appreciate your advice!
I’m a music teacher, running a studio from my rental unit, and my neighbours have complained to my landlord about the sound of mine and my students’ classical acoustic stringed instruments. I teach lessons at different times throughout the week, between the hours of 7:30am and 8pm for between 1.5-4 hour periods. My landlord knew that I would be doing this when I signed the lease.
Given this context, my main questions are:
Do you think my landlord would be able to successfully file an N5 form against me?
Can my landlord use the fact that I run a business out of my rental unit against me?
Is my landlord responsible for covering the cost of soundproofing our units?
Thanks so much for your help!!
Thank you for the question. In my view there is not an immediate or obvious answer to the problem you identify. In no particular order, and just as it occurs to me, I wonder how long you have lived there, what the communication with the landlord about music lessons actually said, whether the sound levels have changed, whether you have moved your lessons to different locations in the apartment, whether the complaining tenants are "new" tenants, how loud is loud?
DeleteYou are aware of complaints but you don't say what the landlord is demanding of you. Are the complainers just whiners in general and is the landlord passing on the message but doing nothing because in his view the noise complained of is neither substantial nor a serious impairment? Certainly the landlord could take the position that the sounds from instruments (as you describe) constitute a "normal" part of the sounds of this building in that these kinds of noises are reasonable in the building type that you are in. It is certainly not reasonable to expect perfect quiet in an apartment building. If one has to listen intently to hear your students then I'd have little sympathy for the complainers. If your students' sounds interrupt almost every activity through walls, through floors and ceiling--well, that might be a different story.
I presume that teaching music represents your livelihood and simply "stopping" teaching is not an option. In this circumstance I do think you will want to open lines of communication with the landlord if he is inclined to take the complaints seriously. I would indeed like to know if there was some detailed discussion about your intentions and if the landlord did agree. Depending on the depth of the communication about the music lessons (description of the sounds etc.) and what the landlord said--the right to give music lessons may (in the strongest sense) be a term of your lease (not everything needs to be in the written document). It is possible that the landlord would have to install sound proofing or provide some other kind of accommodation. It would be worthwhile to figure out exactly what kind of noise transference there actually is. The process could get involved with a few persons in the complainer's unit and then playing instruments in your unit to assess the sound to determine whether the sound does actually constitute a substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment. Just because the instrument can be heard (perhaps) does not mean that there is a breach of the RTA. Further, in doing the testing you might be able to figure out a good room to be in or might be able to tackle the issue with thicker carpeting in the music room space, perhaps screens, etc.. It all depends. This is the type of work that I think you could demand. However, you need to do this proactively and in a way that makes it clear that any N5 is premature and that absent the cooperation to figure out the exact nature of the problem and possible fixes the landlord is failing in his duties. In a sense, it can be a game of chess. What you demand, how you communicate, and how you cooperate will inform any legal process.
As for the home based business--well, I know Ottawa encourages them. Teaching music from one's home might be one of the original home based businesses--I remember my own piano lessons a million years ago. Certainly the RTA does not make such a business illegal and there is no problem with running such a business per se.
Good luck
Michael Thiele
www.ottawalawyers.com
Hi Michael,
DeleteThank you so much for your prompt and thoughtful reply!
- I have lived here for approximately 5 months
- The communication with the landlord about the music lessons before I signed my lease was only verbal unfortunately, so I do not have any record except my own memory. As I remember, I basically told him that I am a music teacher, and would be teaching in my apartment many days per week. I don’t remember what he said in reply, but he accepted me as a tenant with this knowledge, so I figured that that was somewhat of an implicit acceptance of this fact.
- The sound levels have not changed since I moved in, but the number of hours of teaching did increase somewhat substantially at the beginning of September once my students all returned from holidays.
- I have not moved my lessons to different locations in the apartment because I don’t really have any other viable room options to do so. The only other option really is my bedroom, which would be quite tight to fit me, my students and their parents, and also would mean they would have to walk past my then bedroom (my current teaching space) which has no door.
- The upstairs tenants moved in very slightly after me (less than a week). I think their lease may have started slightly before mine though, I’m not sure.
- My own playing of my instrument measured a max of about 80 decibels on one app, and 90 decibels on another app, both from 2 meters away. I would only play at this max volume for probably a total of 10 min out of every hour of teaching. My students are mostly children, and so their instruments are much smaller and therefore much quieter.
- The landlord is demanding that I do something to make the upstairs tenants happy. He has used the term “reasonable enjoyment” several times in his communications with me, indicating that he thinks that I am interfering with it. Whether the upstairs tenants agree or not, I do not know. So, I get the sense that he does not think they are “just whiners” or that the noise is not “substantial or a serious impairment.”
- What the upstairs tenants tell me is that they can hear the noise quite clearly in their unit, not having to listen intently to hear it at all. They often crank their television/music/radio extremely loud to drown the sound of my lessons out.
- Yes, teaching is my livelihood, my only source of income. I would not be able to pay rent if I did not teach.
- I conducted some tests similar to what you suggested, to see where the sound-transference was occurring the most, with the upstairs tenants giving me feedback from their unit. However, the results were inconclusive, the upstairs tenants telling me that any attempts I made to reduce the noise in their unit (blocking heat vents, hanging duvets on my walls and doors etc) did not make a substantial difference to the levels in their unit. The upstairs tenants also told me that they already have a very thick carpet on the floor in the room above where I teach, with a special sound-insulating layer under it. And I already have 2 layers of curtains, two carpets and many padded chairs in my teaching space to dampen the sound. However, despite these inconclusive results, they requested that I purchase soundproofing panels and install them in my unit.
- When doing these tests, I did not ask the upstairs tenants whether they would classify the sound levels as “a substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment.” Would you suggest I do so? If they say that it does, hopefully the landlord would want to verify this claim himself before submitting an N5?
Continued from above…
Delete- In my most recent email with my landlord, I told him of the results of these tests that I proactively conducted with the help of the upstairs tenants, and outlined several types of soundproofing options that I thought would be the most effective according to my research. I told him that I did not have the budget to pay for this soundproofing in full, and requested that he at least chip in. He declined, saying that it is not his responsibility to soundproof the unit. I even asked if he would be willing to contribute the amount of money that he agreed to pay me to paint my unit (a discussion that occurred many months before this noise discussion began) towards soundproofing, but he did not address this request in his response.
- Do you think that I should try to convince my landlord that it is his responsibility to reasonably soundproof our units? The UPSTAIRS tenants told me that they can hear ME just walking in my unit below them, which seems to indicate that our units are really not very soundproof at all. It used to be a single-family home, that was later divided into two units.
- I have not specifically requested it of my landlord yet, but he has not contributed at all to figuring out the exact nature of the problem or possible fixes, aside from putting me in contact with the upstairs tenants via email, requesting that we collaborate to find a acceptable solution. Do you think I should request that he come visit our apartment and assess the situation himself?
- Ok, that’s very comforting to know about the home-businesses. Thank you.
Thanks again for your advice!! Any further suggestions according to my replies above would be very appreciated!