What is considered unreasonable noise in a condo? When is the complaint unreasonable.

Real Estate 2 views 2 answers
We did not have any problems living in our condo before my husband and I had our 3rd child . My downstair neighbor has been banging on my floor ever since my child started walking ( now 2 1/2). On 2 occassions now (11 am and 6:30pm)my neighbor came to yell at me and following the 2nd time w/ a letter saying that she thought "i made myself clear,I am not going to live listening to your kids,that I can hear your doorbell , your alarm clock, your smoke detector, your answering machine . You have a loft, if your children has to jump make them jump there! (should I carry my child all the time?). So we moved to the loft, but then they banged again while we were watching TV in the loft then called saying they could hear a noise like paper shredder. No footstep. We don't know what to do.

Attorney Answers

2
Robert Jeffrey LongCar / Auto Accident LawyerWaukegan, IL ·
Like Paul Simon said, "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor". It's not easy living in a multi-unit building with kids and cranky neighbors. However, legally, unreasonable noise is a question of fact, not one of law. What you describe doesn't sound unreasonable to me, but I'm not a judge and I'm not hearing both sides of the complaint. If you're really accurately stating what your neighbor's been up to, then you have as much right as she does to complain to the HOA. If she's upset because a kid acts like a kid at 11 am, she's being unreasonably irritable. Hopefully the HOA can help you both sort this out because it's likely to be an issue as long as you both live next to each other. Good luck!
0 upvotes
Stephen Samuel MessuttaReal Estate AttorneyWilmette, IL ·
Your condo declaration, the assocation by-laws and/or rules and regulations should say something about undue noise, nuisances, etc. They should also have a complaint procedure. The HOA should take your complaint against the downstairs neighbor, even if he countercomplains against you, the HOA should issue violation notices and there should be a hearing. If the HOA won't act there may be other things you can do but they can get very complicated.
0 upvotes

People Also Asked