I am now an apartment dweller. I live in a community 55+. I have a neighbor upstairs that is very heavy on her feet. The ceilings are very very creaky... LOUD creaky. I am concernecd about the structural safety. Somebody mentioned that if they creak that badly, there is a possibility of a warped structure. Is that possible and if it is, how would I go about getting Management to address this issue.

Also, my neighbor is a smoker. I have no objections to that. However, it is permeating in my premises. My apartment has a faint smell of it and my clothing has traces of stale cigarette smoke. I get headaches from it. I just recently went on vacation and as I was unpacking, I could actually smell it in my belongings.

My neighbor upstairs is psychologically unsound but they rent to her because they get SSI (Section 8). She is very heavy on her feet, does not work, is nocturnal and virtually lives in her bedroom which, of course, is right over mine, so I sometimes get no sleep at all. I have spoken to her myself that only opened up a can of worms. The woman scares me and her smoking is also a deep concern. I am not only living with the smell of second hand smoke, but fear since she has a mental disability, she might burn the place down.

I have spoken to Management at all different levels and they offered to show me other apartments here in this complex. However, the expense of moving everything and the cost of reestablishing cable, etc and would be very costly to me not to mention they would charge ME a transfer fee.

What is disturbing is they know that she is noisey (which in the lease there is a clause about "Peaceful Enjoyment" and she certainly violates that - but they seem to ignore it). There isn't a moment in the day, when I walk into my apartment that I am not hearing incessant pounding/creaking. A previous tenant moved because of her. Isn't there anything legal I can do about this?

I sold my house so I could get some stress free living and this is what I'm forced to deal with every day.

Not really. As for the smoking get the neighbor a gift of a smokeless ashtray. As for the noise, you can only badger management. See if they can absord some of the moving costs, maybe get maintenance people to help with moving your stuff.

But if management won't do anything, there is little you can do.

Another idea would be to threaten to get a building inspector to check structural integrity.

No there is little if anything you can do.
Apartment living is noisy, and if she is merely walking around her apartment there is nothing at all you can do.

Smoke, get a air purifier and run it. They can smoke in their apartments or even common areas all they want, there is nothing at all to even complain about there.

I will say that this is some of the issues of moving into a community, you never know when a neighbor will leave a pot on, leave a candle burning and the entire place goes up.a

Noise, I can hear when any neighbor come home, anytime they turn the water on, the one next door I can tell you the TV shows they watch, and what days they often get frisky.
Welcome to apartment living

Yes Scott and friar.. thanks both for your responses. I did think of an air purifier after I sent this message. I am going to use that Building Codes/Inspection thing on them. It's plain disturbing. There are some nites I go without sleep and I work. She NEVER sits still for more than ten minutes! NEVER. So.. it isn't your usual apartment sounds. That I can deal with. She POUNDS her feet, even runs through the apartment at times and it isn't that big. I'm talking about when 95% of the east coast is sleeping!

I am looking to relocate to another state and in truth, I am genuinely looking at structure and top floors... What luck! If I didn't have bad luck...

The structure and the such will really not be a lot of help unless you have money,

You complain, they say, it is all fine, stop bothig us.
So you would have to hire your own engineering firm to inspect it to basically perhaps find it unsafe, and then the city pulls the occupancy permit and you have to move that week which is what the apartment complext has already offered to allow you to move

True, true, true...

Lol as a landlord I had no rights... as a tenant I have no rights.

If the apartment complex can offer you another unit on an upper floor I would take that. At least you don't have someone playing elephant jumping on top of you. As for the smoking problem, the air purifiers would be your best option. Sometimes even asking for a nice "quiet" apartment does not work. I had an apartment horror story similar to yours but only worse. The apt was a 6 plex. I was at one end. The apt next to my livingroom was the next door's bedroom. This woman was pregnant and thought nothing of cooking her husband breakfast at 3AM and having the smoke detector go off at 3AM as she burned everything. Then at 7:30AM when I was getting ready to go to work and had my TV on she would pound my livingroom wall and yell at me to be quiet as she was sleeping! My other neighbor's apt was at the other side of my apt. They were a real fun couple. She was bipolar and would think nothing of throwing furniture around the apt at 4AM and yelling "F***k you Rick, F**K you" and throwing more furniture around. I had specifically asked for a nice quiet apt and look what I got. Where I moved out from was not quite as bad only worse. The common bedroom wall of the apt was so thin it was scary. The original tenant would "rent" out her apartment as she lived elsewhere. I would be awakened at 2AM to some very loud "sex" noises that would continue until 4AM. The only way I could get any sleep would be to take a heavy hammer and pound on the wall and scream at the top of my lungs that I work for a living and pay rent and you don't so knock it off over there. Or they would play a radio real loud in the middle of the night for hours on end leaving me with no sleep whatsoever to go to work. They were real fun and any complaining to the management went nowhere with any of the above mentioned tenants at either place. If anything I was the one who was picked on because I was the one who complained about them!

I'll never live in an apartment setting again no matter what I have to do to avoid it.

I had a nightmare story about living in a ground floor apt too... I complained to the management who would do nothing... you DO have a right to Quiet Enjoyment by law... maybe next time she walks across your head at night, 'cause that is what it is like, call the cops... tell them that your neighbor is violating your rights... not sure if they will do anything, but maybe... I had people tell me that I could force the management to move me to to another apt, but by that time, I didn't want their help... I wanted out... it cost me, but by the grace of God, I found a two-story, 2-bedroom, garage, two patio townhome ON THE END, have only 1 neighbor... woo hoo... for just $70 more than what I was paying for their two-room shoe-box... my apt was in the center of a rectangle... I had people on three sides of me AND on top of me... my bedroom window looked out onto the front porch which my neighbors used for family gatherings and would rock their baby in the rocking chair outside my window and bang my window each time they rocked!. I couldn't open my blinds!! I had two windows, they both looked out onto this porch, EVERYONE could see straight in... I lived in a closet!. There were 4 people above me in a 1-bedroom apt, the kids didn't go to school, so they were up all night... and I could tell how much sex he got... which infuriated me, 'cause he got MORE than me!! Ugh... I approached him and, you guessed it, he told me off... then the noise got louder... I started screaming at them and in the middle of the night when they finally got quiet, I hate to admit this, but I would throw things at the ceiling and turn my music up loud, 'cause I was out of my mind... your only out is to move...

I am currently looking to buy a condo/townhouse. Trust me, I am VERY particular about location. Top floor or high/soundproof ceilings and walls. I ask questions to people that live there. Most are pretty honest. They have nothing to lose.. especially if they rent.

I started screaming at them and in the middle of the night when they finally got quiet, I hate to admit this, but I would throw things at the ceiling and turn my music up loud, 'cause I was out of my mind....your only out is to move.....

It's a shame that we are reduced to that type of insanity. I keep reminding myself that there are others to the right and left that are quiet.. it's not fair to disturb them to get even with her. To become like her is not right either... she has psychiatric problems. I just try to deal with it... music during the day, earplugs/and with the grace of God he makes me deaf during the night.

I'm sorry you had such a horrid deal. I too am going to be looking for another 'quieter' place to live until I relocate and not in an apt complex unless it's well constructed. This will continue after I'm gone. Mgmt will not get rid of her. She's a sure paycheck. Unfortunately, there will be one tenant after the other that will be moving in and out. I for one will be sure to let everybody know the type of complex it is. In this market, bad publicity isn't something they would want.

I have a few cop friends. They discouraged me calling the police because they said... after they leave [cops] it can and probably will escalate.

I was just hoping there was some legal recourse I could take. Apparently not.

Thanks for your input.

Good luck with your quest. God gave me a gold mine when he gave me this place. It is on the end of a little private dead end drive... there are only 8 of us... I have woods to the back of me... and to the front is an alley and the back of other houses... far away... to my left... a huge vacant field that borders an arroyo... and to my right, one lone townhome that has just now been leased, but the tenant has yet to move in... it is an older townhome which means the rooms are actually larger than what they build today... it was a little dirty and abandoned, I had a lot of cleaning to do which was OK with me, I have a large patio upstairs and a large enclosed patio downstairs with a grassy area large enough to do anything with... makes me feel like I am finally at home... at the end of my little private street, I am at the hub of everything... I couldn't have asked for anything better... hope you get the same...

You can always retain an Attorney in your jursidiction - I am aware you were in Queens when you had problems with the sticker on your windshield and your former tenant - and ask for advice. He/she may find a loophole in the local Law.

Did you not know all this before you moved in? Didn't you take a tour of the apartment? I would think that the smell of second hand smoke would be present at that time, and her loud foot steps which seem to be constant would have been heard as well.

I'm not a legal expert, but I think this is a case of buyer beware (correct me if I'm wrong legal eagles ;)) and you'll just have to live with it or break your lease and find a new place to live. That won't be cheap as you'll still be required to pay the remainder of rent on your lease, but at least you'll get out of these terrible living conditions.

Once again, I'm not a legal expert, this is just an opinion.

Good luck.

Did you not know all this before you moved in? Didn't you take a tour of the apartment? I would think that the smell of second hand smoke would be present at that time, and her loud foot steps which seem to be constant would have been heard as well.

I'm not a legal expert, but I think this is a case of buyer beware (correct me if I'm wrong legal eagles ;)) and you'll just have to live with it or break your lease and find a new place to live. That won't be cheap as you'll still be required to pay the remainder of rent on your lease, but at least you'll get out of these terrible living conditions.

Once again, I'm not a legal expert, this is just an opinion.

Good luck.

I looked at the apartment in the daytime. She is nocturnal (sleeps in the day). I didn't expect that they would give me any 'honest' answers and possibly ruin a rental deal given the housing and economy these days, not to mention, she was quiet as a mouse during the times that I was coming and going, measuring, etc. I even asked if someone lived upstairs at all. I indeed inquire about the smoke smell and asked if the previous tenant smoked. The apartment was clean as a whistle and the agent said he didn't believe that the previous tenant smoked and claimed he didn't smell anything (I am sensitive to the stale smell since I am not a smoker). In truth, unless there is a reason, Management knows nothing of my lifestyle as I'm sure if I was a loud obnoxious person, they certainly wouldn't tell the new tenant either. Anything for a buck, if you know what I mean.

Buyer beware isn't always applicable when it comes to renting an apartment. There is only so much research you can do on the private lives of neighbors without getting their SS#'s and names, etc. and do background checks, if you get my drift.

Thanks for your input.

I've made it a point of letting her know that I am NOT angry at her and I pound on the ceiling to let her know she wakes me during the night with the noise. I don't want to be on bad terms with my neighbors and I've found that you can get more flies with honey. I looked for some support on here about this problem and truthfully I received it. Hearing other's dilemmas helped me to deal with this issue. She seems much quieter again.

Life is too short to be fighting with people. There is enough strife in the world and as a military Mom I can assure you there are lots worse to worry about, especially this Mother's Day.

You can always retain an Attorney in your jursidiction - I am aware you were in Queens when you had problems with the sticker on your windshield and your former tenant - and ask for advice. He/she may find a loophole in the local Law.

When situations happen, there is frustration and there is nothing wrong with looking for solutions. The sticker on the windshield... it was dealt with. My employer and the account manager addressed this issue and as a result we are provided parking when we have to work there. (Also, that car was a lemon and I found a lemon lawyer on here that got me a brand new car!! :D.) I love this website.

My tenant, he paid me what he owed me, moved out and I've sold my house. Problem solved and I lived in Nassau County. Good memory JKT! ;)


Interesting quote, I love it. I had a dog for 16 years... she was the daughter I never had. She was rarely ever leashed and was loved by all the neighbors and children. My neighbors felt the loss of her presence sitting outside on the front lawn watching the world go by. The day I had to put her down they all felt badly (4 years ago.. and I still weep at my loss). My neighbor dreamt she was in his house visiting his cat the night before I moved. I guess she paid him a visit.

I have a pillow that says, I want to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. I can smile with satisfaction when I read that.