Excessive Noise In Apartment Complex

I live on the first floor of an apartment complex in St. Louis Missouri. I have lived in said apartment for over a year now. A woman and her son used to live above me and about once a day or so her son would run back and forth with his dog. Which, it turs out, was quite loud from my apartment. But all in all I could stand it. They moved out a few months ago and a couple moved in with their little girl. Since then I have become very frustrated with the situation because their child is EXTREMELY loud. It sounds like she is running around all the time and I can hear her scream every once and awhile. You can hear her in the breezeway when they come home.Why is it that out of all the people that live in this same building, they are the only ones I can hear coming and going? I have spoken to a police officer about it and he claims that if it is between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. he can cite them. I have spoken to the landlord about it and she even told me that one time the lady above me was in the workout room (in the same building as the leasing office) and her daughter was so loud the landlord could not hear herself on the phone. She offered to move me to another apartment, but did not offer a viable solution. She also claims that because they are a minority it might turn into a racial issue. I have looked into my lease and I have found a part about excessive noise. While most people might say "You must not have kids" I do know how kids can be but the mother apparently has no control over her daughter. Friends who have also visited comment about the excessive noise. What can I do to solve my problem? The landlord claims they cannot keep someone with kids from living on the second floor and above (steering?). But yet I feel that they are violating their lease.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
mimic2g

Read your lease and the State L/T law. You have what is known as the right to quiet enjoyment of your property. You need to put L on written notice that your right has been constantly and continuously violated and action must be taken to resolve the problem.

Thank you for your wonderful insight! I will do exactly as you say!

My response:

. . . and if that doesn't work, there's always Smith & Wesson or Colt.

IAAL

Interesting scenario... and here is my $0.02 worth.

What we have here is one person who thinks their 'rights' are violated, and another person who if forced to change habits would claim that THEIR rights were violated.

Short of forcing the upstairs neighbors to move (a possible violation of their rights), the landlord has offered the only other viable solution... offering you a different, hopefully quieter, apartment. By your not accepting that offer, you pretty much forego any logical defense that you might try to take.

As I see it, here are the options:
1) Ask the upstairs 'folks' to be a little quieter. I am sure that it would work for a while, but would not be a long term solution.
2) Offer you a different location. This would be a long-term solution, but you have rejected it.
3) Offer an early out to your lease. Since you rejected the relocate, you would probably not want to move voluntarily.
I really don't see any other options.... unless the upstairs neighbor decided to move voluntarily.... and you have little or no control over that.

So, my question to you is.... what would you propose that the landlord do and still protect BOTH of your rights????
There will be NO winner in this one.

Another great point!

I totally agree. It really is a no win situation. Here is a quotation from my lease: "Lessee shall not use or permit said premises to be used for any legal or immoral purpose nor shall Lessee do, or permit any act or thing to be done which may be a nuisance, annoyance,disturbance,incovenience,danger or damage to Lessor, Lessor's tenants, the occupants of adjoining property or the neighborhood."

I can totally understand if someone is moving in or hanging pictures etc., and even 2 times a week I can handle. The every day thumping and booming from upstairs in my opinion is a violation of their lease. I don't feel I need to spend the money and time moving to another apartment when I am following the lease requirements. I am still at a stale mate in exactly what to do here.

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:

My response:

. . . and if that doesn't work, there's always Smith & Wesson or Colt.

IAAL

Click to expand...

Ha, those are just pee shooters. I always use an AK-47.

why use guns?

I just thought of solution. I will take time to meet the people on the third floor above the lady who lives above me. I will pay them 50 bucks a week to stomp on the floor each day for a few hours. If I did my math correctly that's 200 bucks a month to feel somewhat better. Which of course, equals to 2,400 bucks a year. Considering the fact they may not renew their lease (hopefully), It will be a few months less of the original $2,400. Which would still be less money than if I moved all my crap and my utilities etc. to a different apartment. Now I don't know the average price of an AK-47, but I could get a .45 for $500 bucks maybe. But I would have to wait for the paperwork on a permit to clear.More time wasted. I could even sell crack or become a male dancer to even out the 200 bucks a month. But then I could end up with a cell mate above me that stomps to loud, when I get arrested and go to jail for selling crack as an out of work chip'n'dale. Once again I have no idea what to do!!
NOTE: One time I beat on my ceiling extremely hard for at least a minute. Soon after there was a knock at the door. I never did check to see who it was. Maybe it was the UPS guy with my pellet gun.

You keep saying you have no idea what to do. Read my initial response.

An Open Letter to Parents
(...from your childfree neighbor)

Federal fair housing law makes discrimination based on family status illegal. In human terms, this means that (except under very special circumstances) a landlord cannot refuse to rent you an apartment, charge you a higher rent or security fee, or put special restrictions on your tenancy just because you have children. This means that despite my personal choice, at some point we are likely to share an apartment building. I am writing to you not because I hate children (I do, in fact, like them very much) but because we both have to live here, and there are some steps we can take to make this work for all of us.

Please keep your children's toys, bikes, and game pieces under control, at least when they are outside the confines of your apartment.
You may be used to hurdling balls, toys, clothes, bikes, and other obstacles left by your children; those of us without children often aren't, and a bike blocking the stairs when I've got a load of groceries is an unwelcome surprise.
In return, I promise to control and clean up after my pets.

Please try to impress upon your children that someone lives on the other side of the wall, under the floor, over the ceiling, or across the hall.
Again, you may have learned to tune out that "thud," but I have not. It disturbs my work and makes it difficult to read (and my puppy thinks the sky is falling).
In return, I promise to remember your children's sleeping schedule is different from mine, and I will not vacuum, hang pictures, or move furniture after their bedtime.

Please remind your children that my deck, patio, or balcony is part of my apartment and therefore private property.
One of the reasons I chose this apartment was for the joy of having my own piece of outdoors. I would like to enjoy it with my family and friends privately.
In return, I promise to keep this area free of "attractive nuisances" and to store all my gardening tools and supplies safely.

Please teach your children what a friend's mother called the "old house walk and talk".
Whether because of insufficient insulation, lack of super-strong structure, or simply the age of the building, when your children run up and down the hall and/or yell at the top of their lungs, it is as if they are doing so in my apartment.
In return, I promise to keep my stereo, TV and parties at a reasonable volume, especially after your children have gone to bed.

Please supervise your children when they are using the pool or other recreation facilities.
Not only will they be safer, but they are less likely to disturb other residents taking advantage of these shared resources. Please don't expect other adults to watch them for you.
In return, I promise to treat your children with respect if they are waiting to use a tennis court, lap pool, or other facility.

Please share these requests with your children's guests.
In return, I promise to share them with mine.
There is no reason why we can't live here together happily and with a minimum of inconvenience to both of us. Just remember this is a community, and as such we must all take the needs of those around us into consideration. Thank you for your attention.

IAAL, damn well done!!!

Now I just wish that your letter could be expanded to cover the differences between nations, races and politics!!

I can hear it now... IAAL for ambassador!

My response:

Ambassador ? Ambassador nothing !

I choose, and prefer, "King of the World, Sky and Space."

IAAL

P.S. Thanks for the nice comment, Steve.

I am requesting that the Dept. of Jusitce and HUD jointly adopt "an open letter to parents" from IAAL in its entirety and officially add same as addenda to the Fair Housing Act.

Please vote for HomeGuru as Ambadassador.