Gathering Adequate Proof for Noisy Tenant's Eviction Proceeding

Actress Amanda Bynes was recently evicted from her New York City apartment following her May 23 arrest. On that day, when cops arrived at her apartment, the 27-year-old allegedly threw a bong out the window. She was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and taken for a psychiatric evaluation, but no bong was ever found. Residents in the building have allegedly complained about her numerous times already due to her reported marijuana use and rude behavior.

While you may not have a tenant that flaunts the law as egregiously as Amanda Bynes, you may have tenants who are constantly complaining of a particular neighbor's loud music, shouting and arguments, or barking dogs. And sooner or later, if asking the noisy tenant to stop doesn’t work, you may have to start eviction proceedings. It's that, or risk the continuing anger of other tenants in your building.

Most leases contain a provision permitting termination where a tenant is committing or permitting a “nuisance.” By definition, a “nuisance” is something that interferes with someone's enjoyment of his own property. This includes a tenant's leasehold interest in an apartment. However, evicting a noisy tenant can be difficult because it’s tough to prove a noise nuisance. Another consideration is that when it’s one tenant's word against another's, an owner should have his own corroboration so that he doesn't needlessly bring a case. To help you gather the corroboration of other tenants in the building, click here for an example of a noise complaint form designed to get witnesses’ cooperation.