Obsession with unpreventable noise

Started by LeeS6 • 3 replies • 1421 views

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LeeS6 (Minnesota)
Posts: 7

Posted:

We live in a multi-level 48-unit condominium. One of our first floor owners (a kind elderly woman) has a reputation of complaining about noise from the unit above her, dating back to two previous owners of that second floor unit.

Our board brought the two parties together after the first floor owner made a midnight call to the police. (The police found nothing out of the ordinary, no appliances running or pets). The upstairs couple agreed to be as quiet as possible, and I believe they have acted that way. But he is a very heavy person and works nights. So when he come home, it's impossible for him to not make the floors creak as they would in any unit.

Our first floor tennant phoned last night and was again very upset because of the noise the upstairs owner made the previous evening ("there's going to be a war..."). It seems like she is obsessed with listening to footsteps and complaining about them.

Any ideas on how to handle this situation?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Lee,

You might need to look into products to better sound proof your unit. It will cost some money but might be worth it in the long run. That, or find a new tenant.

Tim

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

tell the complainer to get a documented report from a licensed accoustical engineer

or

call the police

the BOD can not and should not take any action w/o verifiable documentation

she don't like people living above her? - sell out and get a detached home

period - end of discussion

LizS4 (California)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Finding a new tenant isn't the answer when you're dealing with owners in a condominium!

We have the same issue. We have 18 units on three levels. Owners in the top and bottom units have obsessively complained about noise coming from the middle unit for no fewer than 10 years and 3 different owners (one of them an 85-year-old woman!). The owner in the top unit is now trying to complain for both units stating that the owner of the bottom unit doesn't think it's worth it because "the board never does anything." So, the owner of the top unit is threatening a "mulit-million dollar lawsuit" against the HOA and the board members for being negligent in our duties! We are addressing only the complaint from the top unit since he cannot speak for any other owner.

We recently sent a certified letter to the complaining owner that we have contacted the owner of the "offending" unit. We are offering a face-to-face discussion between the two, mediated by the HOA board. Our attorney stated that while this is clearly an owner-to-owner dispute, it behooves the board to address it, as there are noise restrictions. However, he said that if the complaining party refuses mediation we can wash our hands of it and the owner can pursue whatever legal action he desires. Our attorney further stated that we insist the owner submit a written log of all offensive noise and possibly an audio recording as well. The thing you don't want to do, as a board, is to ignore the complaint. We are located in California.

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