Park Slope Real Estate Advice: Neighbor Noise

Photo by Park Slope Lens

"Dear Glen" is a recurring column meant to provide A's to your burning Q's about Park Slope real estate. Got a question for our undercover badass Brooklyn broker? Drop us a LINE or leave a comment in the box below. This week: loud assed neighbors!

Dear Glen,

My upstairs neighbor sublets their place for 3 months to a family with a kid who won't sit still for 5 minutes. I actually have it in my lease that the landlord agreed not to rent the apartment out to anyone with kids. Am I wrong to rat them out? It sounds like a herd of buffalo above my head every day at 6 AM.  There is a reason that we pay a premium to live here, its so we can be here on our terms.

 what to do? what to do?

Dear Unsure If You Should Be An Asshole,

Oh shit, that’s annoying. That must be a big-ass kid to sound like a buffalo. Or you’re just a victim of hardwood flooring. Either way, there seem to be two conflicts here: ethical and legal. If you think you'll feel like a big asshole ratting them out, don’t do it. If you won't, go for it.

As for the question of legality: does your landlord live in the building? If not, he/she needs to be careful about whom he is saying can and cannot live there. The Fair Housing Act and New York State Human Rights Laws prevent landlords from discrimination. Legally, no landlord can say they will only rent to this or that kind of person (persons with loud ass kids included). This covers the vast majority of housing sitches. However, some places are exempt, like in this case, if the building is occupied with 4 units or less. Otherwise, your lease itself is a little questionable!

You could ask the people upstairs to get a rug. Go introduce yourself, say you thought little Bobby was sick and that's why he was running around so much, and maybe offer some Benadryl? You could call your landlord, but that would be sort of dickish to them and the people who sublet it to them. Plus if they sued, the landlord would probs lose unless there is a "no subletting" clause in the lease.

Lastly, here are some more relevant points from the Fair Housing page:  

"In some circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, and housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.

It is illegal to Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act."

For more reading on loud-assed annoying neighbors, we've covered this topic before.