Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York

Re: Problems with neighbors that management will not take care of

Under New York State law, frequently recurring excessive noise disturbance constitutes a breach of the warranty of habitability, the implied-by-law landlord's guarantee to tenants of safe, livable residence. After your complaint to the landlord about a frequently, regilarly noisy neighbor, your landlord is legally obligated to investigate your complaint and then to take whatever action necessary to eliminate and prevent this noise disturbance.

Such landlord action could begin with the landlord's request that the noisy neighbors cease and desist from making the noises. If that does not work, then the landlord is required to followup with whatever further action wil eliminate the noise disturbance which could include warning the noisy neighbor of eviction if the neighbor does not desist, soundproofing the noisy tenant's apartment, and even up to actually initiating eviction proceedings aganst your noisy neighbor.

Please note the following: If the landlord refrains from taking action to compel your noisy neighbors to stop the noise, then the landlord can be legally liable to you for damages which often take the form of a rent abatement, i.e., a retroactive rent reduction.

Some tenants in your situation refuse to pay rent unless and until the landlord takes action to stop the noise, but that is a risky course of action which could backfire and result in the protesting tenant's eviction.

Moreover, please note: To rise to the level of a breach of warranty of habitability, that excessive noise must be regular and/or happening on a recurring basis and must be sufficient to disrupt such of your routine activities as sleeping or conducting conversation or listening to television, etc. Your noise problem seems to meet these criteria.

Re: Problems with neighbors that management will not take care of

I myself posted a reply earlier today to your question. However, upon reviewing my own response, I see that I was too vague in explaining your options in addressing the situation. I apologize as well for the multiple postings of my earlier response which were due to a computer malfunction.

Complain in writing to the landlord about the problem. This will serve as evidence that the landlord was aware of the problem should this situation develop to court proceedings. In the written complaint, detail the type and nature of the noise disturbance and its effect on you, interference with sleep, with ability to read and concentrate and conduct telephone conversation perhaps.

Amass evidence for possible use in legal proceedings. Keep a written diary of times and dates the noise occurs and description of the noise. Make audiotapes of the noise disturbance for possible use in legal proceedings.

As regards your options: You could sue the landlord in New York State Supreme Court. In that lawsuit, you could request a court order compelling your landlord to take action to prevent the noisy neighbors from creating further noise disturbance as well as money damages (possibly in the form of a rent abatement, i.e., a retroactive rent reduction), and possibly even punitive damages. Note that to maximize your chances of winnig such a lawsuit, you may want to retain an attorney and depending how much you are able or willing to spend, you may also want expert witnesses to be paid to testify on your behalf e.g., about the decibel levels of the noise disturbance.

Instead of suing, you could withhold rent until the problem is resolved, but that is risky and could backfire against you, since you could end up being evicted for non-payment of rent if the landlord wins in a court action he brings against you.

Theoretically, you could move out and seek other lodging, since a tenant does have the rght to move out when his or her apartment is rendered uninhabitable. However, this course of action is also risky, since the landlord could sue you

for breaking your lease and for lost rent for the period until a new tenant rents your apartment, and you may not be able to demonstrate to the court that the noise disturbance rendered your apartment uninhabitable to the extent necessary to justify your breaking your lease.