Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: neighbors are too loud

A person who persistently uses his or her property in a way which results in an unreasonable interference with the rights of his neighbor may have committed a nuisance. They can be sued for money dmages and/or for an injunction ordering them to stop such behavoir. Noise may constitute an actionable nuisance, but it must be a noise which injures the health or comfort of ordinary people in the vicinity to an unreasonable extent. In general, the noise must significantly interfere with the ordinary comfort of human existence, or be materially detrimental to the reasonable use or value of your property. You must prove that the noise is unreasonable under all the circumstances, including the nature of the neighborhood, the time of day, etc.

Noise may also constitute the crime of disturbing the peace. To constitute a crime the noise must be intentional and unreasonably disruptive and actually disturb at least one person. Of course, as a practical matter, it may be difficult to get the police to take such complaints seriously enough to do something about it. If they won't, you could apply at the local District Court yourself for a criminal complaint to be issued. If you do, the clerk of the Court will decide if the facts are sufficient to have a criminal complaint issued. However, he or she may be reluctant to issue a complaint if this just seems to be a question of noisy neighbors. Before you decide to pursue a criminal complaint, however, you should discuss the matter with an attorney who can advise you as to the possibility that it will result in a civil action being begun against you by the person whom you accuse.