Depending on the facts of the case and the law where you live, you might be able to file a nuisance lawsuit against both the offensive neighbors and their landlord. A local personal injury or real estate lawyer can help you prepare your case and file a lawsuit. Call the Police When Neighbors Are Noisy
Full Answer
Neighbor harassment is a term that includes intentional harassment or offensive behavior directed toward someone who lives next door or nearby within the same community. It can include assault and battery charges if the behavior becomes severe. In any event, a lawyer will be needed to defend you if you have been charged with harassing a neighbor.
While some of them can be easy to fix, landlord harassment can get pretty serious. Experiencing harassment in any form can take a toll on your emotional and mental health. Most people struggle with understanding their rights and adequate courses of action due to the complexities of the legal system.
Neighbor harassment can take many forms, including: Repeatedly playing loud music during city "quiet hours" or after you have asked them to stop Coming onto your yard or bothering your pet after you asked them (or their kids) to stay away
Although one unwelcoming call may be deemed harassment, a single instance will not require the service of a harassment lawyer. Individuals who commit telephone harassment will be subject to fines, prison or both. Telephone harassment laws vary by state; in the majority of jurisdictions, telephone harassment is a criminal misdemeanor.
Contact Your Neighbor’s Landlord for Help. If your troublesome neighbor rents from a different landlord, consider contacting that landlord. Depending on where you live, your neighbor’s landlord might have a legal responsibility to take action, especially if it's a serious situation, such as drug dealing.
If you have any concern that your neighbor could react aggressively or violently to your request, consider asking a third party to help you address the problem. As a renter, you can ask your landlord to intervene, and request that your landlord not tell the neighbor who made the complaint.
Nuisance laws protect people from activities that interfere with their reasonable use and enjoyment of life or property. As a renter, you are protected by nuisance laws. Depending on the facts of the case and the law where you live, you might be able to file a nuisance lawsuit against both the offensive neighbors and their landlord.
If your landlord refuses to help (for example, by evicting the tenant who’s unreasonably disturbing you), you might be able to withhold rent or legally break your lease.
When an annoying situation is something within the landlord’s control—such as another tenant parking in your assigned spot or a common door that slams loudly multiple times during the night—your landlord might have a duty to take measures to restore the peace.
In fact, tenants have the same rights as homeowners under local laws that regulate activities that could disturb neighbors, such as making excessive noise. And you don’t necessarily need to solve the problem yourself: Your landlord might have a duty to help.
Although noisy neighbors are especially annoying when you share walls, they can be a problem even when you rent a single-family home. No matter where you rent, you don’t have to put up with loud music or frequent parties, especially late at night or early in the morning.
How to Sue for Neighbor Harassment. One of the most effective ways to get a resolution is to take your issue to small claims court. People can represent themselves in small claims court, but this takes time and strong evidence. If you do not have the time or knowledge to work through the court process, then a qualified attorney can handle your case.
Get a restraining order if your neighbor is threatening you or acting dangerously. File a police report (the police may not take action but it will at least be on record) File a noise complaint with your landlord or the police. Start the process of suing your neighbor for harassment (read on for more information)
Once your case is resolved, you will want to be ready to re-document new actions or call the police if your neighbor breaks a restraining order. If your neighbor repeats any behavior, they may be arrested, fined, or go to jail. It might feel tempting to move away just to escape this neighbor.
The Line Between Civil Cases and Criminal Harassment. Any harassing behavior over any period of time should be taken seriously. Things can (and usually do) escalate quickly. Say you notice a neighbor throwing items at your dog because they don't like it barking. You might ask them to stop and both of you start arguing.
Speak in court or privately with a judge. Settle the case for money or another resolution that (hopefully) makes your neighbor stop.
Neighbor harassment is a very real thing. Too often, we are told to "just deal with it," or that bad neighbors are a part of life. However, if you have neighbor disputes with the people who live next door, you do have options to get a resolution. Listen to your gut feelings if you think you are being watched or someone keeps making a "mistake.".
Harassing Neighbors Can Become Dangerous. This is no longer a civil case if you are being threatened or stalked. By law, you have the right to safety in your home. These are criminal charges, and you need a criminal attorney to press charges and get an order for protection.
Send a letter—Ask your landlord to stop harassing you in written form. Be as detailed as possible about the situations when they verbally or physically attacked you. Save a copy of your letter. Call the police—Do not hesitate to call 911 if the violence escalates, and you don’t feel safe at your place.
Any aggressive method used by a landlord to pressure, intimidate, or coerce you to break your lease or move out of the premises can be considered landlord harassment. In most cases, harassing actions must be repeated several times—isolated incidents will not count as strong enough grounds for legal action.
A tenant can get up to $1,000 if they win a landlord harassment case. The rent can be decreased if a landlord is found guilty of harassing the tenant. Boston. A tenant can take their landlord to a small claims court for up to $7,000, if there are legal grounds for a lawsuit.
Landlord retaliation—takes place after you submit a legal complaint to authorities and can involve any of the harassment examples mentioned above as a method of revenge against you; one Reddit user even reported a bizarre situation where the landlord had her face painted on a mural after she started a lawsuit.
Honor your lease agreement: Make sure to follow the rules stated in your lease to the letter. Any violation can weaken your claim or hinder your success in court. Don’t throw loud parties, don’t get a pet, and avoid doing anything that the landlord might use against you.
Raising or overcharging rent—the laws might differ a bit from state to state, but if the rent is increased without a timely notice before the lease expires or the increased amount gets unreasonable, a landlord might be accused of harassment.
While DoNotPay can help you stop a stalker, you should know that you can always report such incidents to the police or even start the procedure to get a restraining order against your landlord. Situations like this can often occur after you reported initial harassment to authorities as a form of landlord retaliation.
Harassing phone calls represent an unwelcome intrusion on your privacy; the Federal Communications Act and an assortment of state laws prohibit all forms of telephone harassment. If you are a victim of telephone harassment, contact a harassment lawyer in your area to put an end to the aggressive party’s intrusive actions.
Consulting with a harassment lawyer is the first step to quell your problem. Although there are a number of types of harassment, you should understand the legal issues associated with the activity before you contact a harassment lawyer. For starters, if you are being harassed over the telephone, having a basic knowledge ...
In the legal sense, harassment is an intentional behavior that is found disturbing or threatening.
No individual should live in fear of harassment; there are steps to take to curb incessant obstructions like harassment. Consulting with a harassment lawyer is the first step ...
Although one unwelcoming call may be deemed harassment, a single instance will not require the service of a harassment lawyer. Individuals who commit telephone harassment will be subject to fines, prison or both. Telephone harassment laws vary by state; in the majority of jurisdictions, telephone harassment is a criminal misdemeanor. ...
Neighbor law covers the many disputes that may occur between two individuals that live side by side. Of course, there are many sorts of disputes that can, and do, arise.
One of the most common neighbor disputes is perhaps property boundary issues. After all, fences exist not only for privacy, but also for the purpose of keeping others (mostly neighbors) out. Property boundary disputes can exist in two different forms; trespassing, and encroachment.
Such as most other disputes with neighbors. .. Property boundary disputes are often best resolved through talking with your neighbors. After all, you may be living next to them for a long time. Building a culture of resentment may be more stressful than correcting your neighbor’s actions involving police or the courts.
Some cities have stricter noise ordinances than others, so the police may not be able to help very much. If you chose to file a lawsuit on your own, you must weight the benefits with the costs. The benefits may be a quiet neighbor, and even some extra cash. On the other hand, the cost of having an angry neighbor.
A landlord could be fined between $3,000 and 11,000 for each harassment offense they are convicted of. In addition, they are unable to increase the rent on a tenant who they have been convicted of harassing until the Division of Housing and Community Renewal lifts this ban. 1  If a landlord in New York is convicted of a felony for physically injuring a tenant, he or she could face jail time, as well as a fine. 11 
Harassment is the use of aggressive methods by the landlord in an attempt to pressure or intimidate a tenant. A landlord may perform these actions to disrupt the tenant's quiet, peaceful enjoyment of the rental unit, force the tenant to move from the unit or force the tenant to refrain from pursuing a legal right they have. 1 .
Improper Notice: Landlord-tenant law requires landlords to give a certain amount of notice for events such as entry, nonpayment of rent or evictions. 4 5 If the landlord does not give the proper notice, it could be considered harassment.
Raising Rent : Most states will require a landlord to give a tenant at least 30 days’ notice before the landlord is allowed to increase the tenant’s rent. 3 Demanding more money without the proper notice could be a form of harassment.
A landlord is usually only allowed to make a buyout attempt once within a certain number of days as repeated attempts could be considered harassment. 6.
16 Examples of Landlord Harassment. There are endless ways a landlord could harass a tenant. Some examples include: Illegal Entry: Advance notice is usually required before a landlord can enter the tenant’s apartment. Emergencies are an exception to this rule. Entering a tenant’s property without warning or prior approval could be considered ...
Physically Threatening the Tenant: A landlord could try to pressure a tenant using physical harassment. This could include using their body to block a tenant’s exit from a room, getting in a tenant’s face or even putting their hands on the tenant.
Neighbor harassment laws protect people from every form of behavior that can be deemed offensive, derogatory, or even just annoying. You are also entitled to protection from violent behavior and threats of violence and assault. Solve My Problem. Get Started.
Here are some things your landlord might do to protect you: Change the locks. Buy vandal-proof letterboxes and fences. Install a security alarm system.
According to a study by BMC Public Health, neighbor noise annoyance can even be associated with various mental and physical health issues. When your neighbor disrupts your comfort by being loud or playing loud music, it’s time to do whatever you can to solve that issue and avoid further complications.
Here are the most common forms of harassing behavior to keep in mind: Noise. Living next to a loud neighbor can be a real nightmare. The noise your neighbor makes can be particularly annoying if it bothers you during the quiet hours determined by your lease or your city’s laws.
For instance, your neighbor might smoke in the building, and the smell can even reach your apartment, which is particularly annoying if you don’t smoke. Property damage. Sharing your wall with a neighbor means that almost everything that happens in their apartment affects you.
If you notice that the person next-door continues doing whatever it is that bothered you even after you asked them not to, it means that they are doing it on purpose. Your neighbor’s intention to annoy you or disrupt your life in any way is a clear sign that you are the victim of harassment.
The good news is that there are ways to put an end to this issue and get back to your life in peace and tranquility. To be able to take action against offensive behavior of this or any other kind, for a start, you should know what exactly constitutes that specific form of harassment.
Landlord harassment is when the landlord creates conditions that are designed to encourage the tenant to break the lease agreement or otherwise abandon the rental property that he or she is currently occupying. Landlord harassment is a specific set of behaviors that the law recognizes and landlords can be punished for this kind of activity.
In NYC a landlord can even be fined somewhere between $1,000 – $10,000 for harassment.
Tenant refuses to pay rent citing repair issues. The landlord constantly receives noise complaints about the tenant. The tenant sends threatening emails or texts to the landlord. The tenant pays rent in large amounts of change. The landlord goes through the proper procedures to raise rent and the tenant refuses to pay or leave the rental.
Threats of financial injury, such as reporting to a credit bureau or refusing to provide positive references to future landlords. Physical intimidation and threats of physical violence. Landlord harassment often happens when landlords feel like they cannot wait for proper methods to raise the rent or not renew lease agreements.
The tenant shows up at the landlords home. A tenant assaults the landlord. The tenant refuses to follow parking guidelines. The tenant claims to have sent cash by mail for the rent and refuses to pay rent now.
The courts automatically recognize such action taken by a landlord (typically within six months) after tenant action as retaliation. Therefore, if the tenant complains, the burden of proof is up to the landlord to show that their actions are not in retaliation for what the tenant has done.
Creating a nuisance (like loud noise or throwing trash) that disrupts the tenant’s ability to quietly enjoy the rental unit. Deliberate destruction of tenant’s property.