What to do when you’ve got an awful neighbor?

I hate to say this, but if you rent, maybe moving is the answer.

I had people who had late-night parties next door to me for awhile, but it turned out they partied so much they lost their jobs and could not pay the rent, so they had to move, which solved the problem. Any chance that could happen to you?

And have you taken it up with your own landlord, as well as the one next door? I hope it’s not the same landlord! If you rent, and your landlord is aware of the problem because you’ve complained a lot, then that might make it easier to get out of your lease if your landlord is inclined to be nice and let you out of it. I’d also make sure your own landlord knows your tires were slashed and, if you are fearful, that you tell him or her that, too. By law, landlords have to provide “reasonable and adequate security.” That means stuff like lighting on your porch and in stairwells, decent locks on your doors, plenty of light and not having large plantings obscure a parking area for an apartment complex, etc. There’s nothing in the Landlord Tenant Act about next door neighbors, but it doesn’t hurt to let your landlord know.

I hope you told the police about your tires being slashed. Did they have any suggestions? And how about the other neighbors, any help from them? You say you’ve consulted them, aren’t they concerned too?

If you do move, you might want to survey the block where you’re thinking of going, drive it late at night so you get a feel for it and this doesn’t happen again.

I’d make an appointment to see your police sector lieutenant at the very least and explain the situation personally. I can’t imagine this wouldn’t get some results.

Are they VCU students? Call up the administration.

I have found that VCU students care more about the possibility of getting kicked out of school than they do about getting in trouble with RPD.

Hi Molly,

Relocating is a hassle and expensive. I like Right on Broad’s suggestion. Visit with Commander Odetta Johnson:

2501 Q Street – 804-646-3602 (phone)

http://www.richmondgov.com/police/…

I visited with the Chief last year about a problem I was having. A fortune of building materials was delivered & sitting in the backyard waiting to go up. Men in trucks began cruising my job site like sharks within 24 hours. A temporary chain link fence was put in and that same night someone tried to pull it out of the ground. Their presence conveyed a strong message.

The Police added my house to their patrol through the neighborhoods. They even parked in the alley behind the house for a few minutes throughout the night. The sharks were gone in a couple of days.

Call and ask to speak or meet with the Commander in person and ask her if she can have patrol cars circle your block or park on the street near their house on a regular basis. Good luck!

There are several things that can be done. First do you know they are getting Section 8? If they are they could be in violation of they Section 8 agreement with the number of people in the house. Don’t bother with RRHA they are worthless, since most of the money is federal money go directly to HUD. You can submitt the complaint directly with them.

If there is trash on the proptery, peeling paint, over grown grass, >12in, or more then 4 unrelated people in the house. Or inoperable cars in the yard. Report it to city code enforement and ask for it to be reviewed for CAPS case.

When you call code enforement or submitt online get a tracking number. There are some code inspectors that love to close their cases without doing anything. You will need to follow up with that office within 30 days to make sure they are doing what they are doing.

If any of there cars are on the street with dead tags or inspection stickers call it into police. The police will come out, put NOV on car and they have 3 days to come out and correct violations.

And the number 1 thing is don’t engage with them. This holds true with all new nieghbors you should let them show you what they are about before you start having conversations other then “hi” and “bye”.

And number 2, if you are doing what you suppose to be doing, meaning you abid by the law, then don’t let someone run you off. They are the ones that need to be run off.

I moved over into Battery Park 5 years ago on my block alone there were 7 drug houses. The first three months I was trying to figure out how to sell my house and get out. Then I decide to stand my ground, and one house at time “fell”. Sometimes it was the police that busted the house, another time it was HUD.

And if you feel stongly Battery Park neighborhood also welcoming new people into our neighborhood. There are some loving houses for sell over and federal govenment is kicking back $8K.

Regarding dealing with a landlord who won’t control their tenants, I argued this during a similar situation I had with loud neighbors.

As I told the landlord, I didn’t sign a contract with the neighbors, I signed a contract with you. However, the same obligations I have under my lease (ie to not leave trash lying around, to not interfere with the quality of life of my neighbors, etc) are under the other tenants lease. By the landlord not enforcing those terms against your loud neighbors, especially if you have made numerous documented complaints, that constitutes a material noncompliance on the part of the landlord’s with the lease. If you notice them of that, they either have to rectify the issue or you can end your lease within 21 days. Or you can threaten to hold the rent in escrow and have them explain in court why they can’t control their tenants.

Hope that made sense. It worked for me and got me out of my lease when I had a similar situation. In Church Hill, coincidentally enough.

That’s life in the hood, my friend. We all deal with it – at least those of us that live deep in the hood.

The cops don’t have the time for stuff like this. Nor should they, really. There’s way bigger stuff in this neighborhood than rude neighbors.

Have you tried speaking directly with your neighbors? Maybe if you maintain a relationship with them, they’ll settle down a little.

If that doesn’t work I’d go with making a serious presence. Get to know them. Learn their names and call them by their names so that they know you know them. Sit on your front porch a lot. Let them see that you’re watching everyone that visits the house and everything that goes on in that house. If they know someone is watching, maybe they’d be inclined to take their activities (particularly if they are illegal activities) to another location. If they have late parties and make lots of noise, call the police (over and over again). Eventually, they’ll get tired of your shit and they’ll take their parties elsewhere.