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My tenants have emailed complaining of renovation noise, first in the apartment next door, now in the apartment below. They want a rent reduction for the period of renovations, “especially as M works from home and the noise will severely affect her ability to focus…” They say: “Under the Tenant’s Right to Quiet Enjoyment, tenants are entitled to live in their rental property without undue interference or disturbances.”
I fail to see how I, as a landlord, am responsible for noise in the building – which everyone else will have to endure also. Am I liable for this? My agent says they get these queries often and I should refuse, as renovating is a standard process and the unit is not designed as a home office (it’s a very small one bedroom unit). Opinion please?(As an aside: four months ago, these same tenants complained of mould, saying it was so bad one had to go to hospital due to asthma. I immediately instructed the agent to do an inspection and let’s take care of the problem. In all this time the tenants have not given the agent access, so I’m not sure how bad a problem the mould actually is.)
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I hate to say it but it sounds like you have serial and maybe even professional complainers as tenants. This small subset of renters sees the landlord as the enemy and therefore any financial gain they can get is worth pursuing. Perhaps you could invite them to leave on the grounds that you have to treat the apartment for mould. They could hardly argue, given that they claimed it sent one of them to hospital.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
If it was you the landlord in the place – you would probably get ear phones. Even if you were in a stand alone home – there is not much you can do about noise from renovations that happen at certain times of the day.
Suggest earphones – that will help with concentration?Some years ago, my building underwent renovations that extended beyond the expected finish date (surprise!) and everyone in the building looked at scaffolding instead of a harbour view throughout the summer. My tenants complained and demanded compensation and we enlisted the help of our managing agent to agree on an appropriate amount, which I paid.
In hindsight, I should have turned to the Owners’ Corporation and asked them to stump up. The renovations caused a flood in one of the apartments and the affected owner demanded new carpet (and got it). But that was before I started tuning in to FlatChat and learned sooo much more. If this happened again, I would first approach the OC and if they said “no” I would wait for the tenants to initiate mediation.
I agree with Jimmy that your tenants may be serial complainers and if you give compensation (whether paid by you or the person or persons responsible for the noise) you may unleash a hungry beast.
You could find out how much longer the renovations are going to last? if they finish next week then your problem is solved. If you feel they already have a low rent, then provide a sample of current 1 bedroom rentals nearby, end tell them that they are already on a low rent.
Not intending to prick anyone’s balloon but I heard of a similar case where tenants got nowhere with a landlord and property management company when seeking rent reduction. Mediation got nowhere (if it took place, I don’t know,) and so they went to NCAT asking instead for the right to break the lease without penalty, given their “suffering from noise” which was not disputed.
They got their wish.
Lease terminated two weeks later with no penalty for the tenant to pay.
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