How to Get Rid of Noisy Neighbors

How to Get Rid of Noisy Neighbors

  Question: We live in a townhouse community in Scottsdale where there is a common wall between town homes. The problem is that our neighbors are always drinking and partying late at night which keeps us awake. The CC&Rs for our town home community prohibit any offensive conduct, including loud noise, by a neighbor which interferes with another neighbor’s use and enjoyment of their town home. Our homeowners’ association refuses to do anything. They say that they do not have any funds to hire a lawyer, and that our only recourse is for us to hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit against our neighbors. Even if we decide to sell our town home, we obviously will have to tell prospective buyers about this noise problem. Therefore, we have to do something. Can we actually file a lawsuit now to “shut up” our neighbors?

  Answer: Your homeowners’ association is correct that, if they will not or cannot do anything, you as an individual homeowner should have the right to enforce by a lawsuit the CC&R provision prohibiting noisy neighbors. This lawsuit would request that the court order the noisy neighbors to “shut up,” and to award you attorneys’ fees and costs. If the neighbors continue to be noisy, the court can fine or even jail the neighbors for contempt of court.