Is a tenant able to withhold rent due to noise in the building?

I have a tenant who has refused to pay rent due to construction noise one of our neighbors was making over the course of two weeks. He told me that he feels he should not pay because of being inconvenienced however the construction was done without my prior knowledge. Does he have the right to withhold rent because of this?

charlesparker

in Construction 12 years and 10 months ago

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Goatcrapp | 12 years and 10 months ago

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Some renters will find any excuse to justify witholding rent.  If you were the one causing the noise, and it was outside of the legal bounds in terms of both level and time of day – then i’d give him the benefit of the doubt.  I’ve given my renters a partial or full month’s credit when the inconvenience was created by me (whether out of my control or not, if it’s directly related to the building, it’s on the landlord). A neighbor causing noise? NOPE.  Hopefully your lease has a clause that witholding rent without permission or without arbitration by housing court is a violation of the lease.  Frankly i would send this guy that magic piece of registered mail immediately, giving him his 30 days notice if he doesn’t pay (and has expressed his intentions not to pay in some provable form – email, written, etc)

anotherposter | 12 years and 10 months ago

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It’s been a while since I had to look into such problems (as a renter) but what I recall was that if a renter withholds rent, they have to keep the money in an account and be able to prove that they had the money (and that they weren’t just short the $$) AND I think that the reason for withholding had to be a habitability reason, like no running water or no heat in the winter or somehting extreme like those. If I were you, I would talk to an attorney who does such things.  The cost of meeting and maybe a certified letter from the attorney could well be worth it.

slick | 12 years and 10 months ago

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No case. Tell them they can pay up or move out. Hopefully, it’s a tenant with assets and such.

JoeBushwick | 12 years and 10 months ago

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No!

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 10 months ago

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If the work is occuring within allowed hours, the renter has no case.  Don’t let them get away with this sort of manipulation.  A late fee is now in order.

concreteflows | 12 years and 10 months ago

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i’ve been in housing court for noise complaints.  so before everyone gets in a huff, just remember what the goal is, and what cost you’re willing to incur.  if i were you, i would 1/ speak to the neighbor who made the noise, scold them, and warn them to cooperate with other neighbors in the future with regard to construction schedule.  2/ speak to complainant and explain the situation and apologize.  if you’re looking the other way to allow noisy #1’s illegal construction, however, watch out for angry #2 to report you.  the main thing is to compromise and appease (with $ if necessary) so that everyone can continue to live peaceably.

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 10 months ago

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Pay your rentor face legal/credit troubles.

stevecym | 12 years and 10 months ago

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what control do you have over the neighbors?  were they doing it after hours and did you have anything to do with it – I mean, did you approve the after hours work?  I once held the rent for a few days from a landlord whom I lived below becuase her children were jumping off the couch and landing on the floor above my bed on a Saturday morning.  She left me a nasty note and I relized I had no choice but to pay the rent or move.  I did both.  They should pay you the rent and complain to 311 if they have any problems with anyone outside of your control.  this is NY.