My landlord is my neighbor and he’s really loud!

By Gabriela

I have a bit of a strange situation because I live on my landlord’s property in a detached unit. My lease is up at the end of the year. Here is the story: I consider myself a very good tenant who pays on time, and who is very quiet, perhaps too quiet. I have also taken care of the landlord’s cat for a total of 8 weeks in 9 months free of charge while the landlords traveled. I work full time and go to a grad school. I made it clear when I was looking at the place that I needed peaceful surroundings to concentrate on my school and was willing to pay a high rent (for this area) for that kind of environment. The hell broke loose in March when the weather became nice. The landlords started to entertain out on their patio nearly every other day, played their music very loudly till past 10 PM on weekdays, and allowed another tenant on the property to organize a disco party without notifying me. My home was vibrating from the noise. (Police came because the music was too loud; there is a strict noise ordinance in Sonoma). Moreover, a relative of theirs visited for three weeks in July with a small child who was crying outside every two hours, at times as early as 6 AM. All of that was basically right in front of my home. There are also repair issues among other things. When I complained, the female landlord got upset, telling me that I basically had to live ‘according to their lifestyle.’ Things continued getting worse as 3 times in the last month, my home was filled with the smell and smoke of marijuana with my windows closed at times like midnight and 3 AM. I cannot and do not want to have anything to do with drugs even if someone has a medical reason to take them. I have my future job to think about. I am sure that your response is most likely move out when the lease is up. I could even break the lease and move now, but having difficult exams to take in addition to going to work every day, I have no energy to go through another move. Is there anything I am entitled to? Or do the landlords always win, and I hve no options other than moving out even if my situation is borderline abuse? This is so brutally unfair. The landlords have collected a lot of rent money from me, continued their lifestyle as if I were their house guest, living free of charge. To top it off, I provided free services to them, thinking that it would strengthen our relationships. They did nothing to make my stay peaceful. The opposite is true. Now I am the one who has to move again. Another issue is that after one year here, my lease turns to month-to-months, which is very convenient because I graduate in March and will most likely relocate. If I move out now, I will have to commit to another long term lease, tying me to the area longer than I need to be. Whatever I do, there is no win for me. There has to be something I can rightfully claim. Please advise. Thank you, Gabriela

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