Full question:
I signed a one-year sublease with the primary leaseholder in a commercial office building. I am to give 60-days notice prior to ending the sub-lease. The office neighbors were running a recording studio in the building that was inadequate sound-proofed, and I was unable to conduct business in the office (which I have documented multiple times in writing to the leaseholder and the building owner). Despite the fact that the neighbor's contract expressly prohibits her from interfering with the business of other tenants, the owner refused to take any legal action against this tenant to stop her from making noise. Additionally, the primary leaseholder admitted to me (in an e-mail that I still have) that she knew about the noise issue prior to me occupying the office and 'probably discounted' the issue. Prior to signing the sub-lease, I asked her if there was a noise problem, and she said that there had been one previously but that it had been resolved. I am now 2 months into the sub-lease, and I want to terminate my contract and to take the leaseholder to small claims court to reclaim my security deposit and one month of rent (since the noise wasn't a disruption until the 2nd month). The leaseholder will allow me to terminate the contract but will not refund me the money. Can the leaseholder hold me to the sub-lease, and do I have a case for getting a refund?
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Violation
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
It will be a matter of subjective determination for the court whether there was fraudulent inducement and/or a breach of the warranty of quiet enjoyment warranting a termination of the lease, based on all the facts involved. In some cases where a person is intentionally misled to enter into a contract, based on misrepresentations or intentional omissions, it may be the basis to rescind a contract.
A tenant has an implied right to the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the premises. It would be a matter of subjective determination for the court to determine whether the congregating persons are disturbing enough to be considered to be depriving the tenant of the intended use of the premises.
It may be possible to claim a material breach of the lease by the landlord if you have provided written notice of the condition and there has been a failure to take action to remedy the situation in a reasonable time.
There are various strategies for dealing with noisy neighbors. Some of these include:
-Discussing the problem with or writing a letter to the offending neighbor
-Calling the police/sheriff's office to file a complaint
-Asking the landlord or neighborhood body to remedy the situation
-Filing a lawsuit for breach of warranty of habitability, peaceful enjoyment, infliction of emotional distress, nuisance, harassment, etc.
-Talk to a councilperson about passing a local noise ordinance
Depending on the bylaws of a housing association, a tenant may be required to have certain soundproofing measures. I suggest contacting city hall or the police department to determine if a local noise ordinance has been passed. It may be possible to petition your local representative to enact a noise control ordinance if one doesn't already exist. Most local governments have some form of noise control based on either subjective nuisance or disturbance based standards, or an objective decibel based standards, or a combination thereof. Many of the subjective noise ordinances seek to control excessive noise that is of such character that it "tends to annoy, disturb or cause physiological or psychological harm to a person with normal sensitivities." Improvements in sound measurement technology and federal noise initiatives have led to a trend among local governments to adopt detailed objective decibel-based noise regulations that incorporate noise emission limitations and noise assessment criteria. These ordinances are often combined with traditional nuisance based regulations that allow for a two-pronged approach to noise control.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
