Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I have a tenants of well over a year with a newborn baby girl that just started walking. A few weeks ago the tenants below started banging on their ceiling whenever the little girl is up and about. The tenants below also yell out their door to �keep it down up there� with upper tenant�s windows being open at the time. They are quite unreasonable and clearly discriminatory toward children. They are disturbing the upper tenants and the building as a whole. Both the lower tenants are home all day since they both lost their jobs. This has to stop or they will drive my upper tenants crazy and they will move out. The tenants before were in the unit for nine years and then they had a baby. Once the baby was walking they started harassing the tenants with yelling, banging on the floor and calling the police. This was even happening after they put down foam tiles all over. They decided to move out becauce they didn't want to go to court for their peace and quite and were worried about the tenants anger problem. I would appreciate you help with the matter, or do you only help with tenant on property owner complaints?


Asked on 11/28/12, 10:50 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

If one tenant or set of tenants are harassing other tenants, you not only have the right but probably a duty to stop them or evict them. You appear to be subject to the Santa Monica rent control ordinances, but you have a right to evict under section 1806(a)(3), which provides you can evict when: The tenant has continued, after written notice to cease, to commit or expressly permit a nuisance in, or cause substantial damage to, the controlled rental unit, or to create a substantial interference with the comfort, safety, or enjoyment of the landlord or other occupants or neighbors of the same. So you need to give written notice and you need to document that what they are doing is wrongfully interfering with the comfort and enjoyment of your other tenants, i.e., you need to make sure and document that it is the downstairs tenants that are out of line, not the upstairs tenants actually being too noisy. Once you have that proof, however, you can give them written notice to stop and evict them if they don't.

Read more
Answered on 11/28/12, 1:33 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in California