Every tenant has the right to both peace and enjoyment while renting a Charleston property. However, if some tenant is misusing their rights and creating a disturbance for the neighbors, it is time for you to intervene as a landlord.
It can be challenging to handle noisy neighbors if they are aggressive and try to deny their actions. Nevertheless, landlords can competently deal with such tenants as long as they enforce proper legal action while dealing with them.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you deal with noisy neighbors in Charleston.
Understand The Difference Between Normal and Unreasonable Noise
To deal with nuisance complaints, you first need to understand the difference between normal and excessive noise. Any loud and unwanted sound that causes harm to other dwellers qualifies as noise. For example, noise caused in day-to-day activities like cooking, walking, and door closing is acceptable and doesn’t cause damage to tenants. In contrast, loud television music, quarrels, biking, late-night parties, barking dogs, and yelling can adversely affect dwellers.
Analyze The Complaint Against Noisy Neighbors
Once you understand the difference, check if the complaint is genuine. In some cases, tenants are more sensitive to normal noise and file unreasonable complaints against neighbors. We would therefore recommend you take some time and analyze the issue. Understand the type of noise, date, and time of its occurrence, and if it is constant. You can check the state ordinance on noise for more specific details.
Communicate With Your Charleston Tenants
As a landlord, you should stay neutral until you listen carefully to the offender and the offended. Then, you can call a meeting with both parties to discuss the noise issues thoroughly. Often noisy neighbors are unaware of the nuisance caused by them until someone complains. Sometimes, they may also lie and try to hide their mistakes. It is, therefore, advisable to hear both sides and note things down.
Check If the Behavior Of Noisy Neighbors Improves
After you warn noisy neighbors, wait for some days and see if their behavior improves. You can speak to the tenants again and ask them if there is any change. If the problem persists, remind the noisy tenant of your noise pollution clause from a lease agreement and explain the consequences they might face.
Last Resort: Send An Eviction Notice
If your tenants continue to violate the lease agreement and do not cease their troublesome behavior, don’t wait for too long. Delaying eviction might cause other tenants to leave your rental property. Therefore, don’t hesitate to take a firm and quick legal step. You can also hire a Charleston property manager to draft an eviction notice and send it to noisy neighbors.
Add A Clear Noise Policy to Your Lease
Your tenants’ continuous noise complaints might affect your business and increase rental vacancies. A good way to prevent this is to outline a noise policy in your lease agreement. Include the definition of noise, its types, quiet hours, and consequences of breaking the clause. If you live in a crowded area with a lot of traffic, consider soundproofing your rental property and insulating the walls to prevent noise.
Know the State Laws On Noise Issues
As a Charleston landlord, you should be aware of the South Carolina Noise Control laws and ordinances to take quick action on nuisance complaints. In addition, federal laws protect your tenants from unreasonable noise and provide you with the right to fight for the neighborhood’s peace. Just ensure that you follow the proper legal procedure and do not jump the gun when handling noisy tenants.
Sometimes, dealing with noise complaints can feel like a lot of work, but it is necessary to respond quickly to them to retain your tenants in the long run. Hiring a property management company can make this process easy for you.
Meridian Residential Group is a full-service property management company in Charleston that provides full-service rental property management. In our property management experience of over a decade in the Charleston rental market, we have seen all sorts of troublesome tenants and dealt with them effectively. If you need help with noisy neighbors and assistance in eviction, we are here for you.
For more information, contact us at Meridian Residential Group.
