Posted by Kris on February 23, 2001 at 12:51:47:
In Reply to: My apt is HELL! Please help! posted by Bruce on February 20, 2001 at 18:05:52:
Bruce... Sorry to hear that you are having problems!
Contrary to what another poster said, you do have rights when you rent a dwelling. If you lease does not give specifics on notice to enter for the landlord, it usually defaults to 24 hour notice. If you continue to live there, I would first send the landlord a written letter (keep a copy for yourself) stating that except in the event of an emergency (you might want to define emergency here) you require 24 hour notice before he/she enters. Tell them how you want that notice (written or verbal on your answering machine). If the landlord does not comply you could actually use that as a reason to break the lease. Don't stop paying or anything like that since it will look bad if things go to court.
Now my real suggestion is to simply talk to your landlord and see if he will let you out of the lease. If the landlord was causing the noise or being truely negligent, then that would be legal grounds for breaking the lease. Despite the hardships, I don't think he / she is being truely negligent. A good landlord will understand that this just is not going to work out and would let you out of the lease. They will usually expect you to pay for any costs associated with getting a new tenant and to pay the rent until that new tenant is found (legally they must really try to get a new tenant and not just claim they are).
Next time you rent an apartment, I would suggest getting an upstairs apartment (being above someone is always less noisy than being below). Also check out the neighboorhood better. Get police statistics and drive by / hang out in your car at several different times during the day to get a real picture. Also to find out how competent your landlord is, see if you can look up the court records for that area and see how often the landlord has evicted people. If it is often then their screening procedures suck and they tend to rent to lower end people. That translates into how they care for their property and to what type of neighbors you will have. Even good landlords have had to evict occasionally, but cronic evictions show a real problem
By the way, if the landlord really wanted to solve the noise problem, the cheapest and easiest way would be to install a suspended ceiling in your apartment with good insulation between it and the original ceiling. Also if the upstairs apartment does not have carpeting, carpeting the ceiling would also help.
Good Luck
: Hi, Thank you in advance for anyone who can give me some advice.
: I rented the first floor in a 2 fam home, located in Nassau County NY.
: I've been here for 3 months, and everyday has been a nightmare since I moved in.
: In a nutshell. The people above me never stop making noise.
: The neighborhood has turned out to be very "ghetto"...and the RE agent/ landlord involved me in a legal issue with the previous tenants ( she actually ripped up their mail and left it on my steps.AS IF I DID IT!)
: I had taken the place because the landlord seemed very nice and I also work from home. It was the perfect set up for me, and he assured me I would not be disturbed.
: Turns out, I cannot work, sleep, or live here. These are also new tenants. The last tenants, (who were evicted)had a small child and dog that would sit at my door and also make noise. They were actually better than the new tenants. The problem here isnt exactly the people.. it's the house itself. The walls and floors might as well be made from cardboard.
: The landlord has tried making adjustments to the house, but it's just not possible for me to live, work, or sleep here. I spend most of time at Kinkos. The only room in the house that's OK is the bathroom, which I often have to take calls from! It sucks.
: The first month I was here, I replaced the entire floor with my own money. I had planned to live here 2 years and the landlord knocked $100 p/m off the rent.
: My question. I really don't feel I should pay rent for a space which I cannot live or work in. I want to get out of here as soon as possible and I am looking for my own house to rent. I don't want to leave here losing money... for the floor.. the money i spent on the agent.. and the moeny I have been paying in rent for a space I havent been able to use. What are my options? I want my money back ( 3 months rent ) and will leave right away. This probably wont happen..so should I claim my space an "independant nation" and stand it out rent free until I find a new house?
: Also, just today..while I was out. The landlord let himself into my apt with an electrician to install a new stove for the people up stairs. No call.. didnt ask.. just came in and turned off the gas while he installed the oven. I thoght he could only do this in emergency..like a gas leak.
Follow Ups:
Note: Posting is disabled in all archives
Post a Followup