Upstairs Neighbor Disturbs Their Peace, Property Value

Question: Two years ago we purchased a fifth-floor condominium in a multistory building in an upscale area of Los Angeles. Before we purchased, we researched the area, talked to other owners, visited the police department and viewed the complex during the day and at night. We bought it because there is no grass, pool, sauna or Jacuzzi, no amenities other than a doorman and valet parking. We thought the building was safer and the fees would be more controllable here than in a typical condo complex with grounds and amenities to upkeep.

Shortly after we moved in, so did the new unit owner above us. Our upstairs neighbor is a wealthy drug dealer who has been in and out of jail and currently is on probation. He is an insomniac who never leaves his condo, runs the air conditioner all day and night and has a stream of traffic to his condo 24 hours a day. The association allows wood floors, and his squeak, creak and crack around the clock.

Since he moved in, so have the ants. The ants streaming into our unit have been so thick that two walls actually appeared black. At great expense we tried to rid our unit of the ants but have been unsuccessful.

We have complained so often to the police that they now consider us a nuisance. The police said this is not considered a public view issue but a dispute between neighbors that needs to be resolved by the board or management company.

We complain to the board and the management company but to no avail. For two years, the management company has had us fill out form after form yet done nothing.

Now the management company wants us to solicit our neighbors for signatures to support our claims. The board will do nothing about the floor noise, air conditioner and ants. We hired an attorney who wrote the drug dealer a threatening letter. The day after he received the letter, our cat was found dead.

Then his attorney threatened to sue us for harassment. The board and management company are now retaliating against us and the situation has grown unbearable. What can we do?

Answer: As egregious as your circumstances are, the law allows the board to issue rules and regulations designed to deter complaints rather than solve problems.

Pest problems affecting the entire complex are usually the responsibility of the board, although only termites are specifically mentioned in the Davis-Stirling Act. If the board ignores those problems, they will also ignore the real issue of nuisance neighbors.

Two alternatives remain after your board declines to take action. Visit the Department of Health Services Web site (www.lapublic health.org) and locate the L.A. County Quick Reference Guide for department phone numbers, including those that deal with bugs and pests such as ants.

Next, contact the police department with information you may have with respect to possible criminal activity in the building. Many law enforcement agencies have neighborhood law enforcement teams with designated lead officers to whom you can take your report.

Whether in public view or not, a crime is a crime and law enforcement should be interested in taking your complaint. If the officer answering your call doesn’t take your complaint, keep asking for superior officers until someone takes the report.

Make sure you obtain a copy of that report for your files. “Proving” any violation is not your responsibility and further involvement by you could be dangerous.

Write to your board, management company and the neighbor explaining that the circumstances are a constant nuisance that interfere with your quiet enjoyment. Unit flooring may not come under the purview of the board to repair and should the neighbor choose to ignore your request, the remaining option may be to file a nuisance lawsuit, a choice likely to cost more than the resulting solution.

If your building is not a security building, suggest that the board hire guards and require everyone who is not a resident to sign in and show proper identification, a tactic that may deter your neighbor’s visitors. The common areas of your building are owned by your homeowners association and rules regarding visitors make much more sense than those designed to control the individual homeowners.

Short of exhausting your remedies with the board, and having already reported the problem to the police, your last resort is to sue your upstanding upstairs neighbor for nuisance. Given the result of your police report, we cringe at what your lawsuit might bring.

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Stephen Glassman is a writer and an attorney in private practice specializing in corporate and business law. Donie Vanitzian, J.D., is a writer and an arbitrator and manages commercial property. Both live in common interest developments and have served on various association boards. Please send questions to Common Interest Living, P.O. Box 451278, Los Angeles, CA 90045 or e-mail cidcommonsense@aol.com.