Have you ever brought in the big guns as a tenant?
January 14, 2020 5:16 PM Subscribe
I have a complicated set of issues with my rental apartment and I'm wondering if this is a decent landscape (and letter) for getting started resolving them? How do I maximize my power in asking for reasonable things?
I live in a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco and I've been here for 25+ years. My downstairs neighbors are multigenerational and have had the unit for longer. They are both 2BR units and I use one of the bedrooms as my office/studio. Unless otherwise mentioned, everything I describe has been unchanged for well over 10 years. tl;dr: my profile links to Pastebin with a letter I'm preparing to send.
Background: one of the downstairs neighbors has been a problem (the whole family really, but usually only behind closed doors). He attacked other neighbors years ago, when he also threatened me verbally. When he was growing up (I moved in when he was maybe 7-10) there were insane fights I wish I had recorded. Daily fights between him and...everybody, or everybody and everybody, basically a bad temper cauldron. It was bad for years and years and I should have called CPS at the time, but I rationalized my inaction as cultural sensitivity (tolerance paradox, and they are immigrants). As the most Americanized one, he would yell all the time, slam doors, and rattle the building with h large-engined Camaro, doing burnouts down the street. The family still carrie on their daily lives loudly and with children running around with the windows open. Anyway, he is older and has a toddler now; there are 5 people down there including grandparents, he and his wife, and the child.
When I live there full time I have to go to the library during the day to get any work done. I have PTSD-ish issues with bullies that makes this worse. I am in therapy and medicated partially as a result of all this, as well as it affecting my ability (to focus) on getting a job. I can't afford to move. There is also a snoring issue from them that they have refused to do anything about and which played a role in my being fired from a job in 2012 (couldn't sleep). I can't afford to move, and I don't think tenants can decide to have a child and disrupt peoples' lives without recourse. The landlord might be prohibited from doing anything, but I'm not the landlord.
OK, that's hopefully enough background. I realize certain swaths of this happened long ago, but their effects live on.
A month ago they started complaining to the landlord about noise from my office, which is a bedroom in our identical floorplans, from a PC in my closet that has been powered on 24 hours a day for going on 20 years. The landlord suggested some rubber pads under it to mitigate, and I have done that. I semi-scientifically measured the noise at ~20dB, which is about the level of a whisper.
I have been taking care of my mom most of my time these days and haven't been in the apartment much, but over the holidays I did spend a couple of nights there. Both times my downstairs neighbors called the police with noise complaints, the first time at 2am, the second at 9am. I invited the police in to see for themselves, and they were really just doing their jobs and left without incident or orders or anything like that.
This is unacceptable, and this is where we stand with the office issue right now. I've been thinking it might be harrassment.
There are also updates and repairs I need. New kitchen counters and cabinets (I have received with no problems new cheapo appliances when they've worn out in the past), some pest and fire-escape access issues (perhaps the most legally significant) and wear and tear stuff like floors, carpet that has been here as long as me, etc. My grand plan is that I talk to the LL about these repairs and updates, and I get a voice in it. I'd love to get a figure for how much they want to spend and then I go get something I like, adding my own money if necessary (co-operative allowance). There is also the idea of capital improvements, where they update with decent stuff and pass the costs through, raising my rent. I'm amenable to this, within limits. Last choice is just to go with whatever and be happy that I can have people over without feeling like I live in a hovel. Wait, that's not true. Last choice is to start wearing hard-soled shoes all the time.
I would like to be able to find a way to force the landlord to deal with the sound issues. I have read tons and tons about STC and IIC and what number we probably have right now and what numbers they should be. I am not sure that there's been any construction that would trigger a building inspection that could force that issue, but I'm willing to find on in my unit (there is a pest problem that could be termites).
Of course, being a rent-controlled building, these problems are predictably due to bad insulation and construction where they aren't due to the behavior of jerks. My sense is that the neighbors want me to fix that situation instead of the landlords, whose ultimate responsibility it is. Things are definitely below building code, but my sense is that there hasn't been any construction in the building that would trigger an inspection.
I'm willing to find a lawyer to really put the screws to all of these issues, but money is somewhat of a concern. Ideally I find precedence or knowledge in the law that I can use, saving a lawyer for the hard parts. For instance, SF law holds that a landlord can raise the rent of a rent-controlled building to market rates when the name on the lease changes, such as when a generational unit passes to the next family member. I want to make sure that happens! I have lines into the Tenant's Union, the Tenant's Rights Committee, and the Rent Board, and none of them have had much more advice than to keep a log of problems and notice if I'm in fear for my life (I realize a lot of people have much worse situations!).
I live in a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco and I've been here for 25+ years. My downstairs neighbors are multigenerational and have had the unit for longer. They are both 2BR units and I use one of the bedrooms as my office/studio. Unless otherwise mentioned, everything I describe has been unchanged for well over 10 years. tl;dr: my profile links to Pastebin with a letter I'm preparing to send.
Background: one of the downstairs neighbors has been a problem (the whole family really, but usually only behind closed doors). He attacked other neighbors years ago, when he also threatened me verbally. When he was growing up (I moved in when he was maybe 7-10) there were insane fights I wish I had recorded. Daily fights between him and...everybody, or everybody and everybody, basically a bad temper cauldron. It was bad for years and years and I should have called CPS at the time, but I rationalized my inaction as cultural sensitivity (tolerance paradox, and they are immigrants). As the most Americanized one, he would yell all the time, slam doors, and rattle the building with h large-engined Camaro, doing burnouts down the street. The family still carrie on their daily lives loudly and with children running around with the windows open. Anyway, he is older and has a toddler now; there are 5 people down there including grandparents, he and his wife, and the child.
When I live there full time I have to go to the library during the day to get any work done. I have PTSD-ish issues with bullies that makes this worse. I am in therapy and medicated partially as a result of all this, as well as it affecting my ability (to focus) on getting a job. I can't afford to move. There is also a snoring issue from them that they have refused to do anything about and which played a role in my being fired from a job in 2012 (couldn't sleep). I can't afford to move, and I don't think tenants can decide to have a child and disrupt peoples' lives without recourse. The landlord might be prohibited from doing anything, but I'm not the landlord.
OK, that's hopefully enough background. I realize certain swaths of this happened long ago, but their effects live on.
A month ago they started complaining to the landlord about noise from my office, which is a bedroom in our identical floorplans, from a PC in my closet that has been powered on 24 hours a day for going on 20 years. The landlord suggested some rubber pads under it to mitigate, and I have done that. I semi-scientifically measured the noise at ~20dB, which is about the level of a whisper.
I have been taking care of my mom most of my time these days and haven't been in the apartment much, but over the holidays I did spend a couple of nights there. Both times my downstairs neighbors called the police with noise complaints, the first time at 2am, the second at 9am. I invited the police in to see for themselves, and they were really just doing their jobs and left without incident or orders or anything like that.
This is unacceptable, and this is where we stand with the office issue right now. I've been thinking it might be harrassment.
There are also updates and repairs I need. New kitchen counters and cabinets (I have received with no problems new cheapo appliances when they've worn out in the past), some pest and fire-escape access issues (perhaps the most legally significant) and wear and tear stuff like floors, carpet that has been here as long as me, etc. My grand plan is that I talk to the LL about these repairs and updates, and I get a voice in it. I'd love to get a figure for how much they want to spend and then I go get something I like, adding my own money if necessary (co-operative allowance). There is also the idea of capital improvements, where they update with decent stuff and pass the costs through, raising my rent. I'm amenable to this, within limits. Last choice is just to go with whatever and be happy that I can have people over without feeling like I live in a hovel. Wait, that's not true. Last choice is to start wearing hard-soled shoes all the time.
I would like to be able to find a way to force the landlord to deal with the sound issues. I have read tons and tons about STC and IIC and what number we probably have right now and what numbers they should be. I am not sure that there's been any construction that would trigger a building inspection that could force that issue, but I'm willing to find on in my unit (there is a pest problem that could be termites).
Of course, being a rent-controlled building, these problems are predictably due to bad insulation and construction where they aren't due to the behavior of jerks. My sense is that the neighbors want me to fix that situation instead of the landlords, whose ultimate responsibility it is. Things are definitely below building code, but my sense is that there hasn't been any construction in the building that would trigger an inspection.
I'm willing to find a lawyer to really put the screws to all of these issues, but money is somewhat of a concern. Ideally I find precedence or knowledge in the law that I can use, saving a lawyer for the hard parts. For instance, SF law holds that a landlord can raise the rent of a rent-controlled building to market rates when the name on the lease changes, such as when a generational unit passes to the next family member. I want to make sure that happens! I have lines into the Tenant's Union, the Tenant's Rights Committee, and the Rent Board, and none of them have had much more advice than to keep a log of problems and notice if I'm in fear for my life (I realize a lot of people have much worse situations!).
Best answer: It sounds like you are conflating a number of issues with a number of potential actions which are not clearly related in any way. You need to separate your issues and act on them accordingly. Your proposed letter doesn't propose any particular action other than an oblique note of "I think it's time for some wear and tear updates". When I was reading your letter before reading your post, I was thinking this letter was to communicate the intent of "don't evict me", when it sounds like what you want from the landlord is updates to the apartment.
What exactly are you looking for here? Are you looking to get your neighbors evicted? Are you looking to get new countertops from your landlord?
Here is what I read from your post:
posted by saeculorum at 6:15 PM on January 14, 2020 [19 favorites]
What exactly are you looking for here? Are you looking to get your neighbors evicted? Are you looking to get new countertops from your landlord?
Here is what I read from your post:
- The downstairs neighbors' past treatment of you. I'm not attempting to justify their actions. That said, you should know that any actions that occurred when you were a kid upwards of 20 years ago are far past any statue of limitations and hence, are more or less unactionable by anyone. Even getting fired in 2012 (a tenuous connection at best), is not something you can reasonably expect to be solved in 2020.
- Recent noise complaints by your neighbor. It sounds like they have made two noise complaints to the police and several to your landlord. If I understand your letter, your landlord hasn't done anything detrimental to you and you've spent all of $50-$100 buying (high-end) sound absorbing material. Further, the police didn't take any action and asked you to do nothing. I can see why you call this harassment - however, objectively, I find it hard to call actionable harassment. Regardless, the landlord has nothing to do with the noise complaints to the police and contacting the landlord about police action is not likely to result in success. If anything, you can consider asking the police what to do. I think what they'll say is two noise complaints over a single month in 25 years is being an exceptionally good neighbor.
- Finally, your apartment is starting to show its age at 25-35 years old. This is fair, but really a distinct issue from 1) and 2). If your landlord reads like I do, you'll confuse your landlord by conflating the two. You should also separate repairs that effect the safety of your unit (egress window violations) from wear and tear issues (kitchen parts falling apart) from requests for upgrades (36 year old blinds that still function are still blinds). Each of those has different solutions - notably, there's no reason for you to negotiate on egress issues, but you may consider figuring out how much the other issues are worth to you. In particular, you are in one of the most valuable assets known to me - a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco - that also happens to be contingent on the good will of your landlord. If your landlord is willing to update your unit out of good will - great! However, if they aren't willing to, are you willing to sue them to get your update? If so, what do you view as the value of winning vs the potential cost of losing your apartment when they decide its not worth keeping a litigious tenant in an apartment that can likely be rerented for significantly more than you pay?
posted by saeculorum at 6:15 PM on January 14, 2020 [19 favorites]
Am I mistaken (quite possibly), or doesn’t SFC have good-cause-only eviction?
posted by praemunire at 8:24 PM on January 14, 2020
posted by praemunire at 8:24 PM on January 14, 2020
"I don't think tenants can decide to have a child and disrupt peoples' lives without recourse" -- People have children every day. Where are they supposed to live? What should be the recourse?
Agree with saeculorum that you need to separate the issues and decide what you want exactly.
posted by valeries at 8:54 AM on January 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
Agree with saeculorum that you need to separate the issues and decide what you want exactly.
posted by valeries at 8:54 AM on January 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
Get a webcam with mic, point it at the computer. Get a light if needed. Make the feed available to the landlord. Do you have rugs and curtains? Rugs make a big sound difference, all soft furnishings help.
I don't think tenants can decide to have a child and disrupt peoples' lives without recourse. The landlord might be prohibited from doing anything, but I'm not the landlord. I can't verify for SF, but I have been a landlord, and children are usually protected from discrimination in housing.
Let go of all past issues. Focus on issues now. Document facts, not feelings. Don't retaliate by wearing hard shoes. Contact a tenants' rights organization to get better informed.
posted by theora55 at 9:10 AM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think tenants can decide to have a child and disrupt peoples' lives without recourse. The landlord might be prohibited from doing anything, but I'm not the landlord. I can't verify for SF, but I have been a landlord, and children are usually protected from discrimination in housing.
Let go of all past issues. Focus on issues now. Document facts, not feelings. Don't retaliate by wearing hard shoes. Contact a tenants' rights organization to get better informed.
posted by theora55 at 9:10 AM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
For instance, SF law holds that a landlord can raise the rent of a rent-controlled building to market rates when the name on the lease changes, such as when a generational unit passes to the next family member. I want to make sure that happens!
..... Are you saying you are deliberately trying to displace the immigrant poc family below you by raising their rent to market rate? DO NOT DO THIS.
Listen. I hear that you're frustrated and upset. But the problem here is not your neighbors, it's your landlord. If you can't sleep because of your neighbors' snoring, and if your neighbors are complaining about your computer fan --- it's not your neighbors' fault, and it's not your fault; it's the fault of the landlord and poor insulation. I even suspect there are open holes in places that are leaking sound through, not just a lack of insulation.
I suggest that you find a third party to mediate between you and your neighbors, with the goal of finding solidarity. Together you should pressure the landlord into doing the necessary renovations for both of you. The minimum necessary renovation is to patch open holes, add insulation, another layer of drywall, etc, so that both parties can sleep well at night. I think you would both be able to agree that it would make both of your lives better.
posted by suedehead at 2:38 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
..... Are you saying you are deliberately trying to displace the immigrant poc family below you by raising their rent to market rate? DO NOT DO THIS.
Listen. I hear that you're frustrated and upset. But the problem here is not your neighbors, it's your landlord. If you can't sleep because of your neighbors' snoring, and if your neighbors are complaining about your computer fan --- it's not your neighbors' fault, and it's not your fault; it's the fault of the landlord and poor insulation. I even suspect there are open holes in places that are leaking sound through, not just a lack of insulation.
I suggest that you find a third party to mediate between you and your neighbors, with the goal of finding solidarity. Together you should pressure the landlord into doing the necessary renovations for both of you. The minimum necessary renovation is to patch open holes, add insulation, another layer of drywall, etc, so that both parties can sleep well at night. I think you would both be able to agree that it would make both of your lives better.
posted by suedehead at 2:38 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
Is the son the guy who attacked two other neighbors, told police you were stealing his mail, and was ordered to stay away from the building for two years?
(I presumed that this previous post was pertinent to the discussion at hand.)
posted by virago at 9:03 PM on January 15, 2020
(I presumed that this previous post was pertinent to the discussion at hand.)
posted by virago at 9:03 PM on January 15, 2020
Best answer: I withdraw my comment. It is not useful and it encourages you to focus on old incidents.
The comments by theora55 and suedehead are the way to go. Sleep deprivation sucks, and I can't imagine that the stress surrounding your mom's physical condition is helping your frame of mind. I hope you are able to pressure the landlord into making the renovations that would improve your quality of life.
posted by virago at 3:33 AM on January 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
The comments by theora55 and suedehead are the way to go. Sleep deprivation sucks, and I can't imagine that the stress surrounding your mom's physical condition is helping your frame of mind. I hope you are able to pressure the landlord into making the renovations that would improve your quality of life.
posted by virago at 3:33 AM on January 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: [Apologies for the length, I don't mean to bring any new issues into this, nor threadsit, nor dialogue in an AskMe. Hopefully I'm only clarifying for posterity]
Virago: yes
Are you saying you are deliberately trying to displace the immigrant poc family below you by raising their rent to market rate? DO NOT DO THIS.
The parents' children are not immigrants, but I appreciate your point. I tried the cultural-sensitivity rationalization 10-20 years ago when they were having screamingly physical fights every single day, for years, between the parents and kids as well as between the kids. Aggression that spilled out into the building and surrounding neighborhood. "Well maybe they just believe in corporal punishment more than I do." I resisted calling the police or anybody about any of this, just in case I was being intolerant. I now regret this. Rent control isn't title to keep the unit forever, the law is the law, and bullies can suck it. Abuse creates abusers.
And all of this has had an effect on me. I haven't been just sitting back with my Meerschaum and Frasier DVDs, clicking my tongue every time something outside of my preferences occurs. None of the historical stuff is about statutes of limitations, it's about the exhaustion of goodwill. Also, I haven't been a cheek-turner throughout this, I have reacted in desperate and/or anxious fashion. To be sure, the mere presence of the complaining neighbor is disruptive in itself.
But the problem here is not your neighbors, it's your landlord.
Without accounting for history, the problem is not mine at all. The landlord said themselves that to deal with this requires going in through the ceiling below. Modifying the neighbor's unit is literally the only real solution, the landlord knows it, and so it's between them and the landlord. Short of that, they can do what I have had to do: wear earplugs, use a white noise generator, and play the radio in order to sleep (which affects my ability to wake to an alarm). Or move.
My intent here was about setting boundaries so that the responsibility isn't pushed onto me any more than it has already. The neighbors have spent their goodwill, leave me out of it. I have put a lot of shoe leather and googling into all of this, and now a lawyer appears necessary in order to keep things straight. Meanwhile, the police may be at the door the next time I stay overnight.
I am indeed trying to untangle all of this, which I know is jumbled together. The point I'm at now is in sending a letter to put the management company on notice about these issues on paper. They'll know it's a first step in raising the stakes. It also marks a point after which retaliation laws apply. In general though, I'm confident my lease is safe and in general I don't have an antagonistic relationship with the management company.
If your landlord is willing to update your unit out of good will - great! However, if they aren't willing to, are you willing to sue them to get your update? If so, what do you view as the value of winning vs the potential cost of losing your apartment when they decide its not worth keeping a litigious tenant in an apartment that can likely be rerented for significantly more than you pay?
This is actually the easy part! I've already come up with categories of unit updates: building code, wear and tear, capital improvements, purely my expense, etc. I have no plans to use a lawyer to force any of this unless necessary, which I don't think it will be, but I do want help in prioritizing, being realistic, etc. I have a substantial list of updates and repairs that aren't germane here. There are also laws against them just booting me out for asking for too much.
Get a webcam with mic, point it at the computer. Get a light if needed. Make the feed available to the landlord. Do you have rugs and curtains? Rugs make a big sound difference, all soft furnishings help
I have years of recordings. What I've been doing lately is recording in my office, to prove that I can hear them talking over the noise of my computers.
People have children every day. Where are they supposed to live? What should be the recourse?
I phrased this inartfully. My assertion had to do with whether their choice to have a child creates an obligation to modify my own behavior, to change what hasn't changed in decades. I'm pretty sure the obligation lies with them to move if they don't like the way the building is built, same as if the unit was too small.
posted by rhizome at 8:29 PM on January 19, 2020
Virago: yes
Are you saying you are deliberately trying to displace the immigrant poc family below you by raising their rent to market rate? DO NOT DO THIS.
The parents' children are not immigrants, but I appreciate your point. I tried the cultural-sensitivity rationalization 10-20 years ago when they were having screamingly physical fights every single day, for years, between the parents and kids as well as between the kids. Aggression that spilled out into the building and surrounding neighborhood. "Well maybe they just believe in corporal punishment more than I do." I resisted calling the police or anybody about any of this, just in case I was being intolerant. I now regret this. Rent control isn't title to keep the unit forever, the law is the law, and bullies can suck it. Abuse creates abusers.
And all of this has had an effect on me. I haven't been just sitting back with my Meerschaum and Frasier DVDs, clicking my tongue every time something outside of my preferences occurs. None of the historical stuff is about statutes of limitations, it's about the exhaustion of goodwill. Also, I haven't been a cheek-turner throughout this, I have reacted in desperate and/or anxious fashion. To be sure, the mere presence of the complaining neighbor is disruptive in itself.
But the problem here is not your neighbors, it's your landlord.
Without accounting for history, the problem is not mine at all. The landlord said themselves that to deal with this requires going in through the ceiling below. Modifying the neighbor's unit is literally the only real solution, the landlord knows it, and so it's between them and the landlord. Short of that, they can do what I have had to do: wear earplugs, use a white noise generator, and play the radio in order to sleep (which affects my ability to wake to an alarm). Or move.
My intent here was about setting boundaries so that the responsibility isn't pushed onto me any more than it has already. The neighbors have spent their goodwill, leave me out of it. I have put a lot of shoe leather and googling into all of this, and now a lawyer appears necessary in order to keep things straight. Meanwhile, the police may be at the door the next time I stay overnight.
I am indeed trying to untangle all of this, which I know is jumbled together. The point I'm at now is in sending a letter to put the management company on notice about these issues on paper. They'll know it's a first step in raising the stakes. It also marks a point after which retaliation laws apply. In general though, I'm confident my lease is safe and in general I don't have an antagonistic relationship with the management company.
If your landlord is willing to update your unit out of good will - great! However, if they aren't willing to, are you willing to sue them to get your update? If so, what do you view as the value of winning vs the potential cost of losing your apartment when they decide its not worth keeping a litigious tenant in an apartment that can likely be rerented for significantly more than you pay?
This is actually the easy part! I've already come up with categories of unit updates: building code, wear and tear, capital improvements, purely my expense, etc. I have no plans to use a lawyer to force any of this unless necessary, which I don't think it will be, but I do want help in prioritizing, being realistic, etc. I have a substantial list of updates and repairs that aren't germane here. There are also laws against them just booting me out for asking for too much.
Get a webcam with mic, point it at the computer. Get a light if needed. Make the feed available to the landlord. Do you have rugs and curtains? Rugs make a big sound difference, all soft furnishings help
I have years of recordings. What I've been doing lately is recording in my office, to prove that I can hear them talking over the noise of my computers.
People have children every day. Where are they supposed to live? What should be the recourse?
I phrased this inartfully. My assertion had to do with whether their choice to have a child creates an obligation to modify my own behavior, to change what hasn't changed in decades. I'm pretty sure the obligation lies with them to move if they don't like the way the building is built, same as if the unit was too small.
posted by rhizome at 8:29 PM on January 19, 2020
Response by poster: And now I'm being asked to turn the machine off "for a few days." I'm inclined to say "I'm sorry that won't be possible."
I went to the Tenants Union the other day about my letter, looks like I should pop by again today.
posted by rhizome at 11:44 AM on January 23, 2020
I went to the Tenants Union the other day about my letter, looks like I should pop by again today.
posted by rhizome at 11:44 AM on January 23, 2020
Response by poster: I've had this page open in a tab hanging around for months now, so I'll update with the current state of things, though a lot has happened that I'm not including.
I've been working with a lawyer for a few months now and things are slowly resolving. I have two grievances in with the landlord, one about fixing the generally deteriorated state of the unit, and one about the neighbor issues, which are apparently an issue under "the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment." This is usually invoked when you have something like a nosy landlord always hanging around, but here my understanding is that it can be used to address the neighbor's effect on my (and other tenants') life in the building given their history of hostility toward neighbors in general, and that the landlord allowed them to move back into the building after previous incidents.
After having called the police before, they then started making complaints to the city, including one saying I wasn't living in the unit. The building inspector sent people out twice, and they couldn't hear anything, so there seems to be something deeper going on. They went to mediation with the landlord and the Rent Board and however it played out, the landlord got a quote and approached the neighbor about insulating the ceiling, which they declined. [shrug] I've told this whole story to several people along the way and there has been mention of auditory hallucinations caused by mental illness of some kind, so that may be where this ends up.
All in all, the repairs are proceeding slowly, after which the neighbor thing will be resolved. The neighbor stuff involves potential damages against both the landlord and the neighbor, so it's probably good that the fixes happen first in the event that the landlord is also on the hook for writing me a check for my troubles.
Sorry for the length of all this, I get into fourth-beer mode whenever it comes up.
posted by rhizome at 1:04 PM on June 30, 2020
I've been working with a lawyer for a few months now and things are slowly resolving. I have two grievances in with the landlord, one about fixing the generally deteriorated state of the unit, and one about the neighbor issues, which are apparently an issue under "the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment." This is usually invoked when you have something like a nosy landlord always hanging around, but here my understanding is that it can be used to address the neighbor's effect on my (and other tenants') life in the building given their history of hostility toward neighbors in general, and that the landlord allowed them to move back into the building after previous incidents.
After having called the police before, they then started making complaints to the city, including one saying I wasn't living in the unit. The building inspector sent people out twice, and they couldn't hear anything, so there seems to be something deeper going on. They went to mediation with the landlord and the Rent Board and however it played out, the landlord got a quote and approached the neighbor about insulating the ceiling, which they declined. [shrug] I've told this whole story to several people along the way and there has been mention of auditory hallucinations caused by mental illness of some kind, so that may be where this ends up.
All in all, the repairs are proceeding slowly, after which the neighbor thing will be resolved. The neighbor stuff involves potential damages against both the landlord and the neighbor, so it's probably good that the fixes happen first in the event that the landlord is also on the hook for writing me a check for my troubles.
Sorry for the length of all this, I get into fourth-beer mode whenever it comes up.
posted by rhizome at 1:04 PM on June 30, 2020
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posted by katra at 6:09 PM on January 14, 2020 [1 favorite]