Neighbor from hell

The apt bldg I live in is located in the city in a historic neighborhood that is walkable with several urban parks. I've lived there for a few years now, despite past financial difficulties that I posted about here. I even posted about a neighbor from hell (who finally has employment so her sobriety has become her priority and she's not putting the bldg at risk anymore with her gas stove issues).

Well, there's a new neighbor from hell. This one is a 20-something guy. Believe me, I'd sooner move into a 55+ bldg if I could but I'm still a few years younger (although I know the property mgr at my mom's former 55+ bldg so I think I'll call her this week).

And yes, I remember what being in the 20s was like; you're brain's not fully developed so you don't think the "rules" of society really apply to you, and don't think about how your behavior impacts other people. At least that's how this 20-something guy acts.

For the past three weeks, he invites 3 guy friends over to sit in his car with him, which is parked directly in front of the apt bldg. They will sit in his car all day, sometimes at night until 3 or 4 a.m., blaring loud music, whooping and hollering, littering food throwing take out trash outside the car windows and generally being a nuisance noise-wise. There are 11 units in my bldg and two floors. His studio is on. the second floor and my apt is in the front of the bldg. So I can see and hear everything that goes on esp. when there's noise on the street.

Getting to the incident. On Friday, he and his friends came into the apt bldg around 3 a.m. whooping and hollering. The caretaker who lives on the first floor opened his door and told them to be quiet. They just laughed and ignored the caretaker. I was woken up. So, I walked down the hall and knocked on the guy's door. He answered, and I asked him and his friends to please be quiet. He said, "That's your opinion ma'am."

Then they went outside and were running around the street, banging on people's cars and stood on the corner yelling and screaming and laughing. They also went to the tenant's car, opened beers or some kind of drinks and blared the tenant's car stereo. I called the police non-emergency number and reported the tenant. The dispatch operator said they'd send a unit by. I tried to get back to sleep but the noise continued until 4 a.m. when the tenant and his friend decided to have a drag race up and down our street. Then after that, the friend drove home and the tenant came back inside the apt bldg.

This morning, the 4 guys were sitting in the tenant's car again, rinse repeat; blaring music, eating take out food and littering onto the front yard of the apt bldg and the street. They sat in the tenant's car for two hours doing this.

I emailed the tenant coordinator over the weekend and her one email response was to dismiss my concern as ageist, "he's young and you're middle age. Maybe you should give him a break." Um, no thank you. The lease clearly states that each tenant has to create a safe environment for each other by their behavior which includes respecting property and following the city ordinance for noise, which is, no noise between 10 pm and 6 a.m.

I took a photo of the tenant and his friends trashing the front yard of the apt bldg while sitting in his car and emailed it to the property manager. I could move, but I don't want to. Why should I let some 20-something punk's terrible behavior force me to leave a neighborhood I love and a bldg where I've lived for a few years now.

Do I need to worry that this is going to reflect bad on me with the property manager? What else can I do other than file a police report (the mailbox for the new tenant has not been updated so I don't know his name and the tenant coordinator won't give me that information for privacy reasons).

I'm so frustrated. I spoke to a few other tenants about this guy and they just want to stay out of it. But where do you draw the line on terrible neighbor-from-hell behavior? Letting this 20-something guy continue intimidating the neighborhood with his antics (sitting in his car for hours outside the bldg, blaring music, drinking alcohol and trashing the street with garbage), shows him there's no consequences for his terrible behavior. I'm not the property manager, just a tenant. But tenants have rights, esp. when it comes to neighbors from hell.

Anyone go through something similar with a terrible neighbor? What did you do to resolve your situation?

Maybe write to your local councilperson? Like email them every time they break the noise ordinance, you call police, and they never show up.

That is WEIRD that they sit in the car. Is your apartment smoke-free? I mean, is it a big car?

It sounds like this guy gets high with friends in his car because they probably smoke pot and think if they play loud music it’s not actually in the building so they can do it past normal time stated in the rules. He probably does it there so he doesn’t have to drive home but instead just walks inside to his apartment to crash.

I would take videos with sound and keep reporting it to the police. With pot being legalized the police can’t get them for using recreational marijuana. He is probably a pot head.

I was going to ask if he’s selling drugs out of the car but then realized he’d not be loud like this. Drug dealers are quiet as not to attract attention

I had couple of rowdy neighbours in the past. Nothing like what you described but bothersome enough. If we called the police they always showed up. Weird yours doesn't show up?

Make police reports. You don’t need to know names to make reports. Descriptions and location will suffice. You know his license plate. So they’ll figure the name.

Every time you email your landlord CC local government, city and county. Eventually this guy will move or there will be enough evidence to evict him for constant violation of regulations

I totally sympathize. I've had a noisy neighbor from hell. This falls on the local police & mayor. (I had written to my mayor about a nearby concert stadium music flowing right into my window. I mentioned I am a mental health patient & lightly mentioned what happens if I killed some people running the concert? A police sergeant stopped by my house, where I also told him about my noisy neighbor. Thereafter the concerts were at reasonable sound levels). About the noisy neighbor, I called the police one night at 3am. They sounded reluctant to come, so I told him I had spoken to your sergeant. Cops came & gave a summons to my noisy neighbor (nn). Later I hear my nn saying "all I wanna know is who called the cops". I couldn't believe he wouldn't own up to his mistake & man up about it. Noise stopped that night but days later in the daytime (which is still wrong) he started up again sitting in his front yard playing loud music. So this time & many times after this I came outside telling him "can you please lower it a few notches?". He said okay after this song. Again I couldn't believe the audacity of this ahole. But he did stop while I heard him speaking in defiance to his wife about my request. The house was owned by his wife's mother. I since have moved Thank God but what I should've done was call the police again & again but I'm too nice of a guy.

I think your leverage is calling the police & getting your nn to understand his eviction is at stake. He seems to think he's doing no wrong & nothing can be done about it. Well I am sure he is wrong! Fight for your right! You can also buy or maybe rent a handheld decibel meter to record & prove to the authorities how loud he's being. They cost about $20 new. I don't believe you need your super/caretaker's help

Update: I filed a police report and my property manager sent the noisy neighbor from hell a written warning. The property manager asked myself and my building caretaker to update them if I see the tenant and his friends loitering in a car again in front of the building.

I also verified with my city's county website, that my neighbor's drinking in public is illegal on city streets (esp. on the hood of a car). I also learned that it's illegal to loiter in a car in front of a business or residence.

I sent video of the tenant's car to the property manager and gave it to police for the police report (they wrote down the car's year, make, and model and color). I'm certain he has a police record on him already for public nuisance. Now he has another police record which includes the car and his three friends (per the video I took).

It's been one week now, of peace and quiet. The neighbor from hell has not been loitering in front of our apt bldg or anywhere on the street. Also, he and his friends have not been whooping and hollering like they did before, for the past three weekends.

I doubt he's seen the police report (you aren't notified if someone files a report on you). But the written warning must have sufficed because he's already violated 2 county statutes for public nuisance (public drinking and public loitering).

He's also violated two lease conditions (the city and bldg noise ordiance of no noise past 10 pm, and creating a safe space for the other bldg tenants by being responsible -- yes that is a lease condition, pretty cool, I think).

He knows eviction is the final step if he and his friends get caught making a ruckus or being a public nuisance again. I'm ready with my cellphone camera and the other neighbors now know (I informed everyone). He has no allies now, in the apt bldg. Everyon hates him. Plus side: I haven't run into him in the hallways either. He's such a punk.

Thanks everyone for your advice and for sharing your own personal experiences. I feel so much better now that I took steps to ensure I can live in my apt bldg peacefully.

Congratulations! Well done!

Thank you, Bill3! I'm so relieved that it worked out like this.

I even put in a maintenance request to the property mgr to let me install 2 exterior cameras (no extra cost to me with my cable/internet package). Hopefully, he approves it. They're easy to install too. Then I'd feel 100% secure b/c this new young guy who moved into the bldg really is a trouble-maker.

The first three weeks, he and his 3 friends would loiter inside or on the roof of a black $27K car (I googled it to get info on the car via the license plate), and would drink, smoke, be on their phones (doing who knows what), then would be out on the street until 3 a.m. or so making all kinds of noise. It was horrible.

But now it's been quiet. I can only pray it stays this way. I'd move if I could afford to. But I can't and I love my neighborhood.

Good to hear! Really incredible how some people think loud sounds are not annoying or against the law. Btw, Manuel Noriega, former Panamanian dictator & drugs smuggler was on the run & sought sanctuary in a church. By law authorities could not invade it, so Special Forces played loud rock music outside. After 10 days Noriega surrendered