my upstairs neighbor is a mother and father with an 8yr old autistic son. the kid is constantly pounding on walls and floors and doors. it happens at all hours of the day, every day of the week. there are times of the day that it is usually worse but it really is pretty much a 24-7 problem.

i moved to this place over the summer and these people have been living here for years. i complained at first and the father came down and apologized and told me of the situation, but said that they were moving out at the end of august. so i decided to just deal with it for the time being and i never made any formal complaints because it would just be a waste of my time. august comes and goes...and september...they never leave. i go to the office and they tell me that their moving plans fell through and that they werent sure when they would be leaving.

i was not told of this child when i moved in. the office people are never going to do anything helpful to get these people out of here because they are afraid of the repercussions from kicking out a family with an autistic kid.

i really like my apartment (other than them obviously) and have a lease through next august. i really do not want to move again. what are my options here? any way i can go about getting these people to move?

10/28/2011 10:36:13 PM

You can't really fault them for having an autistic son. And if it bothers you, then you move out. I know it sounds silly but they were there first.

Oh and the apartment complex is under no responsibility to tell you about other residents and what children they and whether or not they have a disability.

10/28/2011 10:42:17 PM

they made it illegal to cage them any more :/

10/28/2011 10:45:16 PM

Trade apartments.

10/28/2011 10:51:07 PM

Quote :

"You can't really fault them for having an autistic son. And if it bothers you, then you move out. I know it sounds silly but they were there first. Oh and the apartment complex is under no responsibility to tell you about other residents and what children they and whether or not they have a disability."

10/28/2011 10:59:56 PM

man up.

10/28/2011 11:05:47 PM

Difficult situation. Bad apartment management.

Why is this family on the second floor?

Ask to switch apartments. Ask for a different apartment. If those options fail tell them you want to break your lease.

It is unfortunate that they have an autistic son, their lives must be very difficult. This is not your problem and does not excuse the management from providing you with acceptable living conditions.

10/28/2011 11:18:36 PM

I know its not their "fault" and I have been very understanding for 5 months. It has gotten significantly worse the last month. The office people were aware of the disturbance as well bc when I spoke to the father in june he said "they should have told you..." Which to me means that they have chased away others from my apartment. I hate complaining about this stuff but it makes it impossible to even sleep it is so loud and constant. I guess for now I am just going to go complain every day at the office to annoy them as much as I am annoyed

10/29/2011 12:30:35 AM

get them to acknowledge in an email or anything written that there is an unusually noisy apartment and that it has caused you disturbance. I'm pretty sure NC law has provisions for anything unreasonable and if you can get them to admit or at least infer that there is an unusual or abnormal situation and that it has caused you grief, then you'll be better off when you go to court if you end up breaking your lease.

with that being said, get that proof and break the lease if they apartment complex won't move you to another similar apartment (you may be able to get assistance or moving fees if you push)

10/29/2011 2:11:25 AM

^^ Legally I'm pretty sure the apartment complex can't tell you about stuff like that, just like they can't be like, "So there will be some Mexicans living below you." You'll notice that if you ever ask a complex manager, "So what sorts of people live here," they'll always say something vague like, "Oh all sorts of people live her. Young people, old people, people who climb on rocks." If they say anything more than that they can get in trouble under EOH rules I've heard.

Quote :

"Ask to switch apartments. Ask for a different apartment. If those options fail tell them you want to break your lease. "

This. I have a friend who had a similar situation as you, but it was a dog upstairs that was causing the issues. She had to bitch and moan to the complex for awhile and they caved and let her move into a new unit. The most important thing is to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Don't just go to the office and complain. Issue them a written complaint as well. Email is good too. If the complex is smart, they'll just move you into another empty unit right away rather than risk you breaking your lease and losing out on that money.

10/29/2011 10:31:36 AM

If they're above you, and if you're on the ground floor, wouldn't it minimize the total nuisance to everyone to even switch with them?

I mean, it's nice that this story doesn't have any irrational people. Provided that no one is crazy, it seems like you'd want to get together and look into "how can we best satisfy everyone"

It's not like that would be trivial, and I'm suuuure you'd want to get that apartment assessed for damages first.

10/29/2011 2:37:59 PM

Quote :

"If they're above you, and if you're on the ground floor, wouldn't it minimize the total nuisance to everyone to even switch with them?"

Brilliant!

I know you don't want to move again, but you really have limited options without being a complete douche. Either you get your apartment complex to move you or get them to move the family to a ground floor apartment (which is where they should be in the first place).

10/29/2011 2:46:23 PM

^^ Yeah but for all you know they specifically requested a 2nd floor apartment when they moved in. It's just easier to move one person that wants to get away from them than trying to force the family to change units from management's point of view.

10/29/2011 3:23:27 PM

Quote :

"^^ Legally I'm pretty sure the apartment complex can't tell you about stuff like that, just like they can't be like, "So there will be some Mexicans living below you." You'll notice that if you ever ask a complex manager, "So what sorts of people live here," they'll always say something vague like, "Oh all sorts of people live her. Young people, old people, people who climb on rocks." If they say anything more than that they can get in trouble under EOH rules I've heard."

They wouldn't be in violation of the Fair and Equal Housing/Opportunities Act if they told you that people who are currently living at an apartment complex may prove to be bothersome to a potential tenant.

It is however in violation of the IWYFMC (I want your fucking money clause) in common sense business practices. Advertising that you have horrible tenants or that your neighbor will be a pain in the ass is not something landlords do, not for legal ramifications, but because they can't kick someone out for being handicapped and as such, they have basically tenants who will make renting the apartment difficult or nearly impossible.

10/29/2011 3:51:43 PM

My bad, it apparently falls under the HUD Fair Housing Regulations according to Google. I definitely remember having this conversation with an apartment manager when I was having to set up student housing over the summer for incoming graduate students. There's all sorts of crap that legally they're not allowed to tell you about the demographics of an apartment because it could be seen as trying to persuade or dissuade certain people from renting your property in the eyes of the federal government. Personally I think that's dumb but I don't make the HUD rules.

10/29/2011 4:12:12 PM

I don't see how it's brilliant to switch with them. First, you're both having to move, which is inconvenient. Second, when people move out of an apartment there is usually extensive cleaning so how would you organize that? both parties just put their shit in the yard for a few hours? You just kind of spot clean and you're left cleaning an apartment that has been lived in over a year and yours is new and presumably clean(er)? Third, you'll both have to coordinate a time to do a complete move (and I don't know about you or your neighbor but I have a TON of shit and moving in a few hours would suck). Fourth, your apartments may not be identical and you may lose something in the deal (older cabinets, different layout possibly, etc.).

Just have them move you into a fresh place or move out. make sure you document and you'll be good.

10/29/2011 4:39:37 PM