Neighbor situation

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 02:35 PM

Back in January I moved into a triplex. In the first apartment there is a married couple with a small baby. In the second apartment the landlord's son, his girlfriend and her daughter live. I live in the 3rd apt. I have not had any trouble from any of the neighbors on the entire street except the landlord's son and his girlfriend.

One on occasion the son locked the girlfriend out of the apartment because she didn't come home that night and she threatened to break in. Some guy came over there with her and forced the door open and there was all kinds of cursing and profanities.

Two fridays ago I came home from being out with friends to two cop cars sitting at the apartment. Apparently (from what I overheard) the girlfriend had stolen (she said "taken") a car and ran it into a pole (driving drunk) and then was running around in the alley behind where we live calling 911 and requesting to be arrested. The cops showed up and she told them there was weed in the apartment and they found that too. The cops threatened to take her to jail that night and call CPS but they did not. (This whole time the little girl is screaming and crying). They arrest the landlords son, but he was back the next morning.

Earlier last week I smelled them smoking weed AGAIN right outside my window (this has happened multiple times). And the little girl is playing right there beside them while they get intoxicated and high!! They also smoke cigarettes right beside my window where a window unit is and so it comes in my apt.

Saturday morning I overheard both the landlords son and his girlfriend yelling at the little girl telling her she "better find my ****ing cell phone" and threatening her if they she didn't. They apparently cannot have a conversation without yelling, late at night. And on another occasion they got into a fight and the landlords son ran off with the g/f's cell phone and so there are all kinds of domestic disputes going on over there.

My question is, what should I do? Should I complain to my landlord? This is an otherwise nice neighborhood except for these two. I'm afraid if I complain to my landlord they will either kick me out or the son will retaliate in some way. Should I just call the cops on them everytime something starts happening? It's very frustrating when I have to be up at 6 am, or even on the weekends when I don't and I want to sleep, but all I can hear is their drama lived out right outside my window!

The New Black · 03-09-2009, 02:42 PM

Move.

Complain to the guy's dad? Um, I wouldn't even burn the calorie.

SOMEBODY is seriously spoiled (the landlord's son).

And the kid's going to have major issues later (if not now).

Good luck.

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix

Move.

Complain to the guy's dad? Um, I wouldn't even burn the calorie.

SOMEBODY is seriously spoiled (the landlord's son).

And the kid's going to have major issues later (if not now).

Good luck.

I can't move, I signed a 6 month lease. Unless I can get a copy of the lease from them and try to see if there is a way to break it I'm stuck.

meryn · 03-09-2009, 02:52 PM

The landlord will probably let you break it, as opposed to throwing his son out. If he doesn't, he'll have to deal with the noise and drug issues. And if he doesn't do that, it's time to file a consumer complaint.

Sucky situation.

wild~hair · 03-09-2009, 02:56 PM

I am all for working things out with neighbors, normally. But this is not a normal situation.

First, just ask if you can move out now. Your landlord might just let you, especially since your lease is a relatively short one.

Edited: I see how short your lease is and that you're almost halfway through it. Honestly, if he won't let you move now, I would just wait it out. Sorry.

Sorry you're going through that. That sucks.

One time, my apartment got sold to some dude who then moved in upstairs and proceeded to do whatever the hell he wanted. My advice: start saving for your own place! That's what I'm trying to do. [Trying.]

I have to ask: Why don't you have a copy of the lease? Any document that you sign you should always get a copy of. Always.

The New Black · 03-09-2009, 02:57 PM

I would think there's something you could do to show the landlord is giving preferential treatment to his son, which allows drug and/or other criminal behavior and potentially poses harm to other tenants as well as the child.

Consumer complaint, like Meryn said. Call CYS? HUD complaint? Or another BBB-type org for housing?

Call the local news? Anonymously...

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild~hair

I am all for working things out with neighbors, normally. But this is not a normal situation.

First, just ask if you can move out now. Your landlord might just let you, especially since your lease is a relatively short one.

If he says no, then I would start documenting all this, write down dates, times and who did or said what.
Your city is going to have their own rules about what kind of circumstances will allow you to break your lease, so find out what those are. Familiarize yourself with your city's ordinances and laws and record which ones are being broken. This needs to be things that directly affect you: like the right to a smoke-free environment, no noise after certain hours, etc.

Once you have enough to go on, then you can bring a complaint to the housing board, or whatever group oversees such things in your municipality.

Of course, all this could take 6 months, in which case you might as well not bother with it.

Sorry you're going through that. That sucks.

ETA: Wait, you're already on your third month? Honestly, I would just wait it out. Sorry.

One time, my apartment got sold to some dude who then moved in upstairs and proceeded to do whatever the hell he wanted. My advice: start saving for your own place! That's what I'm trying to do. [Trying.]

Honestly at first they were alright, nothing too bad, they would occasionally get loud, but now it's like they've gone nuts!

PartyHair · 03-09-2009, 02:59 PM

I would document everything for about a week then go to the landlord. I don't give a rat's ass it's the neighbor's dad.

I would give the landlord the information I had collected over the week, and ask him to speak to his son. I would also tell the landlord that unfortunately, the next time they are being loud and/or smoking weed I'd be calling the cops.

If he balks at that, ask him if you can break your lease with no penalty.

cympreni · 03-09-2009, 03:00 PM

Call CPS and report them yourself. You can do that anonymously. Call the cops if you suspect violence is going on, and try to find a way to move.

I sympathize. I really do. I was the exact situation at my last apartment, except he was abusive to her. But luckily for both of us she came to her senses and left his sorry ass.

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cympreni

Call CPS and report them yourself. You can do that anonymously. Call the cops if you suspect violence is going on, and try to find a way to move.

I sympathize. I really do. I was the exact situation at my last apartment, except he was abusive to her. But luckily for both of us she came to her senses and left his sorry ass.

I already reported them to CPS earlier today, anonymously.

wild~hair · 03-09-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyHair

I would document everything for about a week then go to the landlord. I don't give a rat's ass it's the neighbor's dad.

I would give the landlord the information I had collected over the week, and ask him to speak to his son. I would also tell the landlord that unfortunately, the next time they are being loud and/or smoking weed I'd be calling the cops.

If he balks at that, ask him if you can break your lease with no penalty.

Why not ask if she can break the lease first? Seems like this would be alienating him, then asking him to do her a favor.

inheritedcurls · 03-09-2009, 03:02 PM

For one, CPS needs to be called. In my opinion that child is in danger. Maybe you can do an anonymous call???

Second, try to get out of your lease without losing your deposit. Speak to your landlord. If this doesn't work file a consumer complaint. It's not right that you should have to deal with that. I'm guessing there has got to be some kind of law protecting you that you could break your lease if you felt unsafe...etc.

I do agree with meryn...it's a very sucky situation.

SpunkyCurls · 03-09-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyHair

I would document everything for about a week then go to the landlord. I don't give a rat's ass it's the neighbor's dad.

I would give the landlord the information I had collected over the week, and ask him to speak to his son. I would also tell the landlord that unfortunately, the next time they are being loud and/or smoking weed I'd be calling the cops.

If he balks at that, ask him if you can break your lease with no penalty.

Document, document, document- dates, times of day, everything.

I wouldn't even go to the landlord first. I would call the cops, then CPS the next time this happens and share the report numbers with each. Let the authorities deal with it. Otherwise, you are going to find yourself in a stickier situation because people who know you reported them can be incredibly vindictive- but its the right thing to do to report.

PartyHair · 03-09-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild~hair

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyHair

I would document everything for about a week then go to the landlord. I don't give a rat's ass it's the neighbor's dad.

I would give the landlord the information I had collected over the week, and ask him to speak to his son. I would also tell the landlord that unfortunately, the next time they are being loud and/or smoking weed I'd be calling the cops.

If he balks at that, ask him if you can break your lease with no penalty.

Why not ask if she can break the lease first? Seems like this would be alienating him, then asking him to do her a favor.

Because I personally hate moving.

Honestly. If I were the OP, I would want to exhaust every avenue before I decided to move again.

cympreni · 03-09-2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amandacurls

Quote:

Originally Posted by cympreni

Call CPS and report them yourself. You can do that anonymously. Call the cops if you suspect violence is going on, and try to find a way to move.

I sympathize. I really do. I was the exact situation at my last apartment, except he was abusive to her. But luckily for both of us she came to her senses and left his sorry ass.

I already reported them to CPS earlier today, anonymously.

Thank you. Don't be afraid to report every single incident you witness.

wild~hair · 03-09-2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyHair

Because I personally hate moving.

Honestly. If I were the OP, I would want to exhaust every avenue before I decided to move again.

Oh, I hear ya, believe me.

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 03:18 PM

I had also thought about going to the neighbors on the other side (who also rent from the same landlord) and asking them if they had ever complained or if they were having troubles too. I've taken down our police stations' non-emergency phone number and plan on calling it whenever necessary.

wild~hair · 03-09-2009, 03:24 PM

Make sure you're calling the right number — it might not be non-emergency. In my city, it's 911, even for noise problems, believe it or not.

Amandacurls · 03-09-2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild~hair

Make sure you're calling the right number — it might not be non-emergency. In my city, it's 911, even for noise problems, believe it or not.

No it's a regular number. I've had to call it before.

RedCatWaves · 03-09-2009, 03:31 PM

If someone was smoking pot right outside my window, I would call the police. I wouldn't bother with the landlord, because it's criminal behavior. If they were mistreating the kid, I'd call CPS. Let the law take care of the lawbreakers...that's what your taxes are supposed to be for.