What standing does Mgt Co have in a dispute between neighbours? & related Qs.

Ive changed the title to reflect this well worded and interesting question. Let me know if its ok.

aj
moderator
 
PadraigB,

hope this helps, this is what we sent to the Landlord and to the tenant of an apartment that was giving us hassle, we were sucessful! If you have a copy of your lease agreement for the property and download a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004




Further to recent complaints made to XXXXXXX Property Management we XXXXXXXXXXXX
Management Company () now wish to advise that we will have to follow the matter
with your landlord.
Under section 16(h) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 you are obliged not to behave
within the above dwelling, or in the vicinity of it, in a way that is anti-social. You are also
obliged not to allow other occupiers of, or visitors to, the above dwelling to behave within it,
or in its vicinity, in a way that is anti-social.

In accordance with section 17 of the Act "behave in a way that is anti-social" means;
(a) engage in behaviour that constitutes the commission of an offence, being an offence the
commission of which is reasonably likely to affect directly the well-being or welfare of
others,

(b) engage in behaviour that causes, or could cause fear, danger, injury, damage or loss to any
person living, working or otherwise lawfully in the dwelling concerned or its vicinity and
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes violence, intimidation,
coercion, harassment or obstruction of, or threats to, any such person, or
(c) engage, persistently, in behaviour that prevents or interferes with the peaceful occupation
(i) by any other person residing in the dwelling concerned, of that dwelling,
(ii) by any person residing in any other dwelling contained in the property containing
the dwelling concerned, of that other dwelling, or
(iii) by any person residing in a dwelling ("neighbourhood dwelling") in the vicinity
of the dwelling or the property containing the dwelling concerned, of that
neighbourhood dwelling.


By contacting your landlord they are obliged under section 15 of the Act to enforce the
tenant obligations applying to you. They are also duty bound to inform you of the house
rules that are in place in accordance with the Lease agreement in particular sections XX and
XX pertaining to parking which read as follows;


If any further form of anti-social behaviour recurs or is engaged in by you or your visitors or
other occupants of the dwelling, take note that we will ask your landlord to immediately
proceed to terminate your tenancy and will accordingly, if such behaviour occurs, serve
Notice of Termination on you to terminate your tenancy of the above dwelling.

Signed: __________________________
Date: ____________________________
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Mers1.

I am actually on the other side of a dispute, representing the landlord's interest where there have been complaints about the tenant. I have met the tenant, who has a wife and four young children. They are a polite family and the children seem to me to be very well-behaved (and I say this as somebody who is frequently irritated by the behaviour of other people's feral children). They feel oppressed by the neighbour, who bangs frequently on the party wall when the children are playing in the house, and has shouted over the fence when they play in the garden. The tenant, in his imperfect English, says of the neighbour that he thinks "she is not right in the head".

I am irked by the tone of the letter from the management company, which treats of the matter as if it were a proven fact that the tenants are misbehaving.
 
Ah ha,

Well I can understand where you are coming from also, one of our members who insisted on this letter being sent lived next to the property in question. Whilst the tenant was v. noisy on a number of occasions, she became totally intolerant of any noise at all - a clash of personalities played a huge part also.

Again I would refer to your lease agreement where it states what you are entitled to do, and to the tenancies act which says what tenants are entitled to. If the complaints persist have complainant/mgmt company ask the EPA come and put a decibel monitor in the property, this can be done over a period of time which will gauge the actual noise levels.

All I can recommend I'm afraid.

Good luck
 
Thanks, again, Mers1.

I am broadly aware of the legal rights and obligations in the matter, and conscious also of social obligations that are not enforceable in law. I know the tenants sincerely believe that they are not particularly noisy, and they tell me that they are constantly conscious of the neighbour's requirements because she hammers so frequently on the party wall, and they wish to minimise any unpleasantness. But, as they point out, children need to play.

I believe the tenants. I know that I could be mistaken, but I have a high level of confidence in my judgement on this one.

I think the complaints to the management company are vexatious. I recognise that a management company gets caught in the middle in matters like this. But, as I said, I am irked by their apparent willingness to communicate with me as if the complaints were well-founded. There is an ominous tone when they write
Please also be aware that if the situation does not improve [name of management company] will have no option but to take the matter further.
Click to expand...

I think that your idea of moving the issue sideways to the EPA is the way to go.
 
What type of property is it? Semi-d, terrace, apartment? Try asking the nighbours on the other side (assuming there are any) if they have any issues with noise from your tenants.
 
It's a terraced house. The neighbours on the other side have no problem with the tenants. Neither did the previous occupants of the house where the complainants reside. Everything seems to feed into the one idea: that the problem is the neighbours, and not the tenants I am dealing with.
 
Is the complainant a tenant or an owner? If a tenant, complain to the management company about her behaviour and see how they react.
 
The complainant is an owner. I do not have my own knowledge of the behaviour, so do not think I have a basis for making a complaint. The tenant in the house for which I have responsibility has complained, but I think neither strongly nor frequently. He is a very mild-mannered man.

I would be satisfied if the management company concluded that the neighbour's complaints were ill-founded, and told the neighbour so. I think this is a situation where the wheels will have to turn slowly.
 
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